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Yuma Mayor and City Council recall, Arizona (2014)
| Yuma Mayor and City Council recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Cody Beeson Edward Thomas Leslie McClendon Bill Craft Gary Knight Gary Wright |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2014 Recalls in Arizona Arizona recall laws Mayoral recalls City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Mayor Douglas Nicholls and council members Cody Beeson, Edward Thomas, Leslie McClendon, Bill Craft, Gary Knight and Gary Wright in Yuma, Arizona from their positions was launched in March 2014.[1] As of December 2015, this recall effort appeared to be abandoned and Ballotpedia discontinued active coverage. Please contact us if new developments occur with this recall effort.
Recall proponent arguments
Recall proponent Jack Kretzer made the following allegations and complaints against the mayor and city council members:[1]
- Mayor and council failed to reappoint the city administrator, attorney, clerk, and finance director
- Beeson failed to return unused city money in a timely manner
- McClendon is involved in a conflict of interest because she works for the Yuma Vistors Bureau, which receives city funding
- Council violated the state's open meetings law by neglecting to post an added item to the agenda of a recent executive session at least 24 hours in advance
- Council violated the city charter by neglecting to follow up with an investigation into "allegations of irregularities" in the construction of the city hall and the riverfront development brought by Kretzer and Phil Clark
- Council wasted taxpayer money by holding a council retreat in Phoenix, Arizona
Officials' responses
Nicholls said, "Some people are very interested in the city moving forward and some don't want that to happen. I'm going to focus on those who want to move forward. In the three months we've been in office, we, the council, have worked hard to move the city in the right direction. I have no intention of letting that get undermined."[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Arizona
Petitions for the recall of Beeson, Thomas and McClendon were taken out on March 21, 2014. Recall proponents had 120 days to collect 1,694 signatures of qualified electors for each recall petition. The petition applications filed with the city clerk identify John Hellstrom and Kretzer as the chairman and treasurer respectively on the political action committees spearheading the recall effort.[1]
According to state law, elected officials must have been in office for at least six months before recall efforts can be launched against them. Because Nicholls, Craft, Knight, and Wright assumed office on January 1, 2014, recall petitions could not yet be filed against them. Hellstrom and Kretzer expressed their intention to initiate formal recall proceedings against these officials as soon as they were legally able to do so.[1]
See also
Footnotes
