Township supervisor and board of trustees recall, Douglass Township, Michigan (2022)
| Douglass Township Board of Trustees recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Ronda Snyder |
| Recall status |
|
| Recall election date |
| November 8, 2022 |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2022 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An election to recall Township Supervisor Terry Anderson, Clerk Ronda Snyder, and Trustee Tom Jeppesen was held on November 8, 2022, in Douglass Township, Michigan.[1] Voters approved the recall against each official.[2]
The recall effort originally also included Treasurer Amy Laper, but the Montcalm County Election Commission did not approve petitions against her in a hearing on March 23, 2022.[3] The fifth board member, Pat Althoff, was not eligible to be recalled.[4]
Recall vote
Anderson recall
General election
Special general election for Douglass Township Supervisor
Cynthia Shick defeated incumbent Terry Anderson in the special general election for Douglass Township Supervisor on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Cynthia Shick (No Party Affiliation) | 53.9 | 581 | |
| Terry Anderson (R) | 46.1 | 496 | ||
| Total votes: 1,077 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Snyder recall
General election
Special general election for Douglass Township Board of Trustees At-large
Holly Huff defeated incumbent Ronda Snyder in the special general election for Douglass Township Board of Trustees At-large on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Holly Huff (No Party Affiliation) | 53.1 | 568 | |
| Ronda Snyder (R) | 46.9 | 501 | ||
| Total votes: 1,069 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Jeppesen recall
General election
Special general election for Douglass Township Board of Trustees At-large
Ken Bunting defeated incumbent Tom Jeppesen in the special general election for Douglass Township Board of Trustees At-large on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Ken Bunting (No Party Affiliation) | 55.2 | 585 | |
| Tom Jeppesen (R) | 44.8 | 475 | ||
| Total votes: 1,060 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Recall supporters
Resident Ben Reynolds initiated the recall campaign.[4]
Initial petition language
The first recall petition that Reynolds filed read, “On Jan. 5, 2022, [Anderson] voted in favor of appointing Paul Olson to the Douglass Township Planning Commission.”[4] The Montcalm County Election Commission ruled that the petition language was not sufficiently clear in a hearing on February 28, 2022.[5]
Second set of recall petitions
Reynolds filed an additional set of three recall petitions against each officeholder. The text of each petition is the same for each officeholder and appears below:[5]
Petition 1
The Montcalm County Election Commission approved the following petition language in a hearing on March 23, 2022.[3]
| “ |
On Jan. 5, 2022, Terry J. Anderson voted to appoint Paul Olson to the Douglass Township Planning Commission despite the fact that Mr. Olson had signed a Nov. 4, 2019 letter as a member of a landowner group negotiating for ‘long-term wind easements with Apex Clean Energy’ and later signed a wind energy easement agreement with Coral Wind I LLC on or about March 30, 2020. Terry J. Anderson voted to appoint Mr. Olson to the Douglass Township Planning Commission with full knowledge that Paul Olson’s contractual relationship with Coral Wind I LLC would preclude him from deliberating or voting on any matter involving the creation or adoption of a wind energy zoning ordinance.[6] |
” |
Petition 2
The Montcalm County Election Commission rejected the following petition language in a hearing on March 23, 2022.[3]
| “ |
On Jan. 5, 2022, Terry J. Anderson voted in favor of appointing Paul Olson to the Douglass Township Planning Commission. To quote the letter previously submitted to the Election Commission members by Terry J. Anderson, ‘We did vote yes for Paul Olson and the reason was because Paul had already been told he would need to recuse himself from any wind ordinance discussion and voting.’ By voting yes, Terry J. Anderson knowingly eliminated a Planning Commission member from any deliberating or voting on a wind energy ordinance.[6] |
” |
Petition 3
The Montcalm County Election Commission rejected the following petition language in a hearing on March 23, 2022.[3]
| “ |
On Jan. 5, 2022, Terry J. Anderson voted in favor of appointing Paul Olson to the Douglass Township Planning Commission. Terry J. Anderson knew Mr. Olson had signed a wind energy easement agreement with Coral Wind I LLC and that he would not be able to deliberate or vote on any matter involving a wind energy ordinance.[6] |
” |
Recall opponents
Anderson, Snyder, and Jeppesen signed the following letter, which was mailed to Douglass Township voters in April 2022.[7]
| “ |
Family, friends and neighbors, In the coming days, an anti-renewable energy group may be knocking on your door asking you to sign a petition to have us recalled. We stood up for our principles and voted to have Paul Olson (who has signed a lease with Apex Clean Energy) on the Planning Commission. Paul has been rooted in the Douglass community all his life as a dairy farmer. As farmers and conservatives, we believe property rights are sacred and part of our nations founding principles. Over the last several years, we have watched Carson City schools, Gratiot County, Sheriff’s Department, township fire departments and the Gratiot County Road Commission benefit from their renewable energy development and the increased tax base. Also, in talking with farmers and township trustees east of us, they have related their positive experiences. We’ve also listened to the many people that live here that believe renewable energy would be a good thing for West Michigan and for Douglass Township. One thing we’ve heard repeatedly is that it’s a shared belief that property rights are important, that a landowner has the right to be a steward of their land as they see best. We want to thank the overwhelming number of residents that have reached out to the three of us in support of these ideals. We have worked very hard to always make sure the health, safety and welfare of our community is considered. Together we have serviced our community for around 30 years. Tom Jeppesen has been serving as a trustee for the last 24 years. Terry Anderson was a trustee for 10 years before he became your supervisor for the last 23 years. Ronda Snyder served as a deputy first and then as a clerk for six years. She has also been doing elections for the last 20 years before and during her time working for the township. We have been humbled by the trust you have placed in us. Respectfully we would ask you to leave your name off of this petition.[6] |
” |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan
The Montcalm County Election Commission denied the initial petition language in a meeting on February 28, 2022. After Reynolds filed three new sets of petitions, a second hearing was scheduled for March 23, to determine whether signature collection could proceed.[4][5]
In the March 23 hearing, the commission rejected all recall petitions against Treasurer Amy Laper. The commission approved a set of recall petitions against Anderson, Snyder, and Jeppesen.[3]
For a recall election to be scheduled, organizers needed to collect signatures equal to 25% of township voters from the previous gubernatorial election.
Organizers submitted 355 signatures against Anderson, 356 against Snyder, and 358 against Jeppesen. The recall election was scheduled for November 8, 2022.[1]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 County of Montcalm, Michigan, "2022 Elections," accessed August 31, 2022
- ↑ County of Montcalm, Michigan, "Canvass Results Report - November 8, 2022," accessed November 15, 2022
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Daily News, "Recall effort moves forward for 3 Douglass Township officials," March 25, 2022
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Daily News, "Montcalm County clerk voices concern about ‘excessive recalls’," February 16, 2022
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Daily News, "Second hearing on Douglass Township recall set for March 23," March 5, 2022
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Daily News, "3 Douglass Township Board members sign letter as recall looms," May 6, 2022
