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Tim Toomey recall, Rowley, Massachusetts (2016)
| Rowley Water Board Commissioner recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| February 2, 2016 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2016 Recalls in Massachusetts Massachusetts recall laws Special district recalls Recall reports |
An effort in Rowley, Massachusetts, to recall Water Board Commissioner Tim Toomey from his position was launched in October 2015. Recall supporters submitted petitions for verification by the town clerk in early November 2015.[1][2] The recall was approved on February 2, 2016, with Mark Emery elected to replace Toomey.[3]
Recall vote
The filing deadline for candidates interested in challenging Toomey for his spot on the commission was December 15, 2015.[2] Mark Emery, a former employee of the town's water department, filed to replace Toomey.[4]
| To Vote For Or Against The Recall of Water Commissioner Timothy A. Toomey | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Recall | 661 | 93.23% | ||
| Retain | 48 | 6.77% | ||
| Vote For Replacement of Timothy A. Toomey | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Mark Emery | 675 | 96.15% | ||
 Tim Toomey | 26 | 3.7% | ||
| Jack Cook | 1 | 0.14% | ||
| Election results via: Town of Rowley, Massachusetts accessed February 2, 2016 | ||||
Recall supporters
Mo Levasseur initiated the recall effort, which was supported by Water Board Commissioner John Manning. The recall petition cited Toomey's decisions to use executive sessions rather than public meetings to approve new policies. These policies included hiring an interim water superintendent, placing the existing superintendent on leave and spending $5,000 on an investigator.[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Massachusetts
Levasseur and other supporters had to submit at least 1,200 signatures to the Rowley Town Clerk by November 6, 2015. This total equals 25 percent of the town's voting-eligible population. They supplied signatures by the deadline and the clerk verified that supporters received enough valid signatures to move the effort forward. The town selectmen were informed of the clerk's verification on November 16, 2015. The Board of Selectmen sent a letter to Toomey informing him that he could resign from office within five days of notification or face a special election for the office. Toomey did not resign from office, leading to a recall election on February 2, 2016.[5][6]
Toomey filed a lawsuit to halt the recall in Salem Superior Court on January 4, 2016. The lawsuit cited technical errors in the signature gathering process as grounds to remove the recall from the ballot.[7] The effort to halt the recall was rejected in a decision published on January 22, 2016, citing a lack of bad faith or fraud by election officials.[4]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Tim Toomey' 'Rowley Water Commissioner'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Recall campaigns in Massachusetts
- Political recall efforts, 2015
- Political recall efforts, 2016
- City official recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Newburyport News, "Recall effort to remove water board chairman," October 29, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Newburyport News, "Water board recall petition set for Feb. 2," November 30, 2015
- ↑ Town of Rowley, Mass., "Rowley's Election Results," accessed February 2, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Newburyport News, " Request to stop recall denied," January 23, 2016
- ↑ Newburyport News, "Rowley recall efforts move forward," November 9, 2015
- ↑ Newbury Port News, "Water commissioner given five days to resign," November 23, 2015
- ↑ Newburyport News, "Toomey fights to stop recall," January 7, 2016
