Daily Brew: May 21, 2019

May 21, 2019

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Today's Brew highlights efforts to recall multiple state legislators in Colorado + ballot measure elections will coincide with partisan primaries in Philadelphia today   Welcome to the Tuesday, May 21 Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: One Colorado legislative recall ends and another begins Philadelphia voters to decide charter amendments along with municipal primaries today Want to join me at Ballotpedia? Now's your opportunity One Colorado legislative recall ends and another begins Last month I brought you the story about efforts to recall a state legislator in Colorado. Due to her leaving office, that process ended but another recall effort against a different legislator is underway. Colorado state Rep. Rochelle Galindo (D) resigned on May 12, saying in a statement to The Denver Post that it was due to false allegations against her. Her statement said, in part, “I will not put my constituents through what will surely be a recall campaign based on political smear tactics and false allegations.” The Colorado Secretary of State’s office had approved a recall effort against Galindo on April 4. According to the website supporting the recall, Galindo was targeted because of her support of SB-181, which was passed by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis (D) in April 2019. The bill is designed to give local governments more control over regulating the oil and gas industry and also mandates that the state emphasize safety over promoting oil and gas production. It passed the House by a 36-28 margin with all votes in favor from Democrats and all 24 Republicans joining with 4 Democrats in opposition. Since 2011, 79 recall petitions have been filed against state lawmakers. Nine recalls were successful, nine were defeated at the ballot, 55 did not go to a vote, and six are still ongoing. Two Colorado state senators—Angela Giron (D) and John Morse (D)—were successfully recalled in 2013. The most recent recall of a state legislator was in 2018 when California state Sen. Josh Newman (D) was recalled. State legislators can be recalled in 18 states. An effort to recall another Colorado legislator, state Rep. Tom Sullivan (D), was approved for circulation by the secretary of state’s office on May 13. Supporters have until July 12 to collect 10,035 signatures to force a recall election. According to recall supporters, the effort against Sullivan is due to his support or sponsorship of four specific bills, including legislation designed to temporarily remove guns from people who are deemed a threat to themselves or others. That bill, which created Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO) in Colorado, passed the House by a 38-25 margin with all votes in favor from Democrats and 23 Republicans joining with 2 Democrats in opposition. It was signed into law by Gov. Polis in April. Sullivan was one of the primary sponsors of the ERPO legislation. His son was killed in the 2012 shootings at an Aurora movie theater. Sullivan was elected to the state House in 2018, defeating then-incumbent Cole Wist (R) in the general election with 54% of the vote. Wist, who held the seat for three years, co-sponsored an ERPO bill in 2018 and stated on Twitter that he did not support the effort to recall Sullivan. Four other Democratic state lawmakers are being targeted for recall for their support of the legislation designed to give local governments more control over regulating the oil and gas industry. As of today, none of those recalls have been approved for circulation. Colorado became a Democratic trifecta in 2019 after Democrats flipped the state Senate in the 2018 elections. Democrats control the state House by a 40-24 margin and the state Senate by a 19-16 margin. Gov. Polis succeeded John Hickenlooper (D) as governor in 2019. Learn more         Philadelphia voters to decide city charter amendments along with municipal primaries today In yesterday’s Brew, I highlighted three battleground races that are among elections happening across five states today. In addition to holding partisan primaries for mayor, all 17 seats on the city council, county sheriff, and register of wills, the city of Philadelphia will also decide four amendments to the city’s charter. All four were referred to the ballot by the city council. These four amendments would: change gender-specific references, such as councilman, to gender-neutral references, such as councilmember. make the Office of Immigrant Affairs permanent. This department was created in 2013 by an executive order issued by then-Mayor Michael Nutter. The current mayor, James Kenney, also authorized the office. call on the Pennsylvania State Legislature to increase the minimum wage to $15.00 by 2025 and request the legislature to allow Philadelphia to increase the city’s minimum wage. Since 2006, Pennsylvania has preempted local governments, such as cities, from setting their own minimum wage standards. Therefore, Philadelphia cannot increase its minimum wage for private employers unless the legislature repeals the preemption clause. create a new class of law enforcement officers, called public safety enforcement officers (PSEO), to assist the police department in regulating traffic and enforcing code provisions. PSEOs would not have the authority to carry firearms or to detain or arrest any person. Philadelphia voters approved both charter amendments that appeared on the ballot in May 2017 and all three such amendments that were decided in May 2018. Visit Ballotpedia.org for updates on all of today’s election happenings. We’ll have more updates for you later this week in the Brew. Learn more→ Want to join me at Ballotpedia? Now's your opportunity Do you have the ability to write clearly and concisely about complex topics, as well as a strong interest in politics? Do you believe in the power of a free, neutral encyclopedia? If so, come join our team and apply for one of our open staff writer positions. Our staff writers develop and improve information on Ballotpedia. Employees at Ballotpedia must be self-aware and personally invested in constant improvement. You must have a passion for creating a delightful experience for Ballotpedia’s readers, and you must strive to develop expertise in your subject and the inner workings of your project. Learn more and apply to be our new Elections Team Staff Writer→

See also

• Daily Brew: February 26, 2019
• Daily Brew: December 30, 2019
• Daily Brew: December 23, 2019
• Daily Brew: December 20, 2019
• Daily Brew: December 19, 2019
• Daily Brew: December 18, 2019
• Daily Brew: December 17, 2019
• Daily Brew: December 16, 2019
• Daily Brew: December 13, 2019
• Daily Brew: December 12, 2019