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Traverse City Area Public Schools recall, Michigan (2020)
| Traverse City Area Public Schools recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Matt Anderson Pam Forton |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2020 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall three of the seven members of the Traverse City Area Public Schools Board of Education in Michigan did not go to a vote in 2020. Recall supporters did not submit signatures by the deadline on July 31, 2020. They needed 11,700 valid signatures to get the recall on the ballot on November 3, 2020. Recall supporters said they could not collect signatures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1][2]
The effort began in November 2019. The effort sought to recall Sue Kelly, Matt Anderson, and Pam Forton after the board announced in October 2019 that Superintendent Ann Cardon would be stepping down in a mutual separation agreement. The announcement came a week after the board held a closed meeting to hear a complaint against Cardon. Cardon had served in the position for less than 80 days.[3][4][5]
Recall supporters
The recall petitions were filed by Justin Van Rheenen. Van Rheenen co-founded the nonprofit organization TCAPS Transparency.[6][7] According to its website, the organization's mission "is to promote transparency, good governance and fiscal responsibility in the TCAPS Board of Education."[8]
All three recall petitions included the following language:[9]
| “ | We, the undersigned, registered and qualified voterspetition for the calling of an election to recall M. Sue Kelly from the office of Board Trustee of Traverse City Area Public Schools for the following reason(s): M. Sue Kelly voted for Superintendent Ann Cardon to start August 1, 2019, but then within 78 days of service, M. Sue Kelly voted to terminate Ann Cardon’s employment with Traverse City Area Public Schools on October 17, 2019 in a mutual separation agreement, costing the district and taxpayers $180,000 in severance pay.[9][10] | ” |
Recall opponents
In her appeal against the recall effort against her, Kelly said the use of the word terminated in the petition was misleading to the public. She said she did not vote to terminate Cardon as Cardon submitted her resignation to the board. Kelly also said that due to a provision in the separation agreement with Cardon, she could not mount a defense against the recall effort. The agreement said that Cardon and the board agreed "not to make any statement, written or oral, or cause or encourage others to make any statements, written or oral, that defame each other’s reputation, practices or conduct."[4]
After she appealed the approval of the recall petition's language, Forton said, "I broke no laws, I have not lied, I broke no promises to Ann Cardon."[11]
At the hearing for his appeal, Anderson said, "I wasn't involved with any of the closed-door sessions or anything leading up to that so I actually don't even know why I'm here."[11]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan
The language on the petition seeking to recall Kelly was approved on December 18, 2019. Kelly appealed that decision. On February 3, 2020, Circuit Court Judge Kevin Elsenheimer ruled against Kelly and approved the petition's language.[4][9]
The language on the petitions seeking to recall Anderson and Forton was approved for circulation on November 26, 2019.[12] The two board members appealed that decision. On January 13, 2020, Circuit Court Judge Kevin Elsenheimer ruled that the recall efforts against Anderson and Forton could not move forward because the petitions had been filed before the two members had served a full year in office. Michigan law does not allow recalls of officials serving four-year terms during the first or last years of their term. Anderson and Forton passed the first year of their terms on December 31, 2019.[11][13]
On January 28, 2020, the Grand Traverse County Election Board asked Elsenheimer to reconsider his decision on the two recall petitions as the law allows recall petitions to be submitted—but not filed—after the first six months of an official's term, according to the Traverse City Eagle Record. Kit Tholen, deputy civil counsel for Grand Traverse County, said the election code was unclear in defining the difference between submit and file. Recall supporters filed a second recall petition against Anderson and Forton, which was approved in a clarity hearing in January 2020.[11][13] Elsenheimer granted the Grand Traverse County Election Board's appeal on February 28, 2020, allowing the recall efforts to begin circulating petitions.[2]
Recall supporters had 60 days to collect approximately 11,700 signatures.[12] To get the recall on the ballot on November 3, 2020, they would have had to submit the signatures by July 31, 2020.[2]
2020 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 29 school board recall efforts against 64 board members in 2020. Four recall elections were held in 2020. The school board recall success rate was 7.8%.
The chart below details the status of 2020 recall efforts by individual school board member.
See also
- Traverse City Area Public Schools, Michigan
- Recall campaigns in Michigan
- Political recall efforts, 2020
- School board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Traverse City Record-Eagle, "Recall petition on TCAPS trustees passes deadline," August 1, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Traverse City Record Eagle, "Decision reversed, recall petitions against TCAPS trustees ruled timely," February 28, 2020
- ↑ UpNorthLive, "Angered Traverse City Area Public Schools parents call for recall of school board members," October 25, 2019
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Traverse City Record Eagle, "Appeal denied in TCAPS board president recall," February 4, 2020
- ↑ UpNorthLive, "Grand Traverse County officials asking for another look at TCAPS recall petition," January 28, 2020
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedkelly - ↑ The Ticker, "School Board Recall Effort Taking Steps Forward, Eyeing Petition Signature Effort," November 7, 2019
- ↑ TCAPS Transparency, "Home," accessed February 12, 2020
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 UpNorthLive, "Leelanau County approves language in recall petition against TCAPS School Board President," December 18, 2019
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Interlochen Public Radio, "Judge throws out recall petition against 2 TCAPS board members, but likely to be re-filed," January 13, 2020
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Ticker, "TCAPS Recall Hits Legal Snag," December 7, 2019
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Traverse City Record Eagle, "Petition language approved again in recall against TCAPS trustees," January 29, 2020
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