Mayoral Recall on April's Ballot
There has been some question as to whether or not the Mayoral Recall will be on the ballot in April. According to the St. Louis County Election Board it is in fact scheduled to be on the ballot now and removal would require a successful legal action opposing it.
In Missouri Revised Statutes Chapter 77 (Third Class Cities) the specific reference is Section 77.655 (and to a lessor degree Section 77.650). The line of 77.655 in question is:
"If the petition shall be found to be sufficient, the council shall order the question to be submitted to the voters of the city."
The St. Louis County Election Board reviewed the petition and certified it as valid. The above requirement is considered administrative in nature. The City Council must order the question submitted to the voters. The "shall order" portion suggests an action that must be taken.
That said, the Mayor could choose to file a legal action against the St. Louis County Election Board in an effort to prevent the question from appearing on the April ballot. Though the Mayor has referenced this possibility multiple times since mid December 2006, to the best of our knowledge, she has yet to file a suit on the matter.
With the Recall added to the Municipal election in April the cost to the residents of Overland is negligible as all of the election expenses (polling places, poll workers, etc) exist regardless of the Recall being on the ballot. Should the Mayor file a suit against the Election Board and successfully argue that the measure should be removed from the ballot until that legal dispute is decided the cost to residents could be significant. If a legal challenge fails, The residents of Overland could be stuck with the expense of holding a special election for just the Recall. Every expense for an election, from poll workers to voting machine programming, would be passed directly to the city as a result.
Based on the statutes, discussions with election officials, and plain old common sense, we should expect to see the Recall measure on the ballot in April. Whether or not the Mayor is recalled will ultimately be up to the voters of Overland.
Labels: Election Board, Mayor, Purzner Recall
posted by Overland Sailor @ 5:55 PM 
2 comments
Post Permalink
links to this post
2 Comments:
Thank you again, Sailor, for your reliable assessment of the Overland Soap Opera or "As the Municipality Turns"
I fail to see what Her Dishonor and company can realistically expect to gain by her repeated appearances in court other than more negative attention and her own designated parking space as a frequent flyer. She must soon make a grand entrance in federal court to account for her unlawful actions to our police officers when she witheld their wage increases weeks after approving their promotions and after they were performing their new duties according to those promotions.
I only regret that her attempts to appeal may delay the Recall and cost the taxpayers additional court costs, legal fees and the expense of a special election to depose her.
To give credit where credit is due, our illustrious mayor has certainly done her best to enrich the legal profession. I don't doubt that right now mothers are tucking in their children with whispered encouragments to pursue a career in the law.
Well Sam, you can't stop someone from filing a legal action. If I wanted to file suit against the makers of "Tickle-Me-Elmo" for duplicating my goofy laugh I could do so. A would likely toss it out as soon as he/she saw it though. Based on my research so far, it seems the Mayor's suit to block the Recall has about as much merit.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home