Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

For those that have wondered if appointed councilmen can be re-called. Copied from the Pickerington City Charter.

Section 1.04 Definition of Elected Official

The term ?“elected official?” means the Mayor and / or a Councilperson, whether elected or appointed to fill a vacancy.

Procedure to recall

Section 8.07 INITIATIVES, REFEREDUMS, RECALL


(3) RECALL

The electors of the Municipality shall have the power to remove from office by recall election any elected official of the Municipality. If an elected official shall have served six (6) months of the term, a petition demanding removal may be filed with the Municipal Clerk, who shall note thereon the name and address of the person filing the petition and the date of such filing, and deliver to such person a receipt therefore and attach a copy thereof to said petition. The petition may be circulated in separate parts, but the separate parts shall be bound together and filled as one instrument.

Each part shall contain the name and office of the person whose removal is sought and a statement in not more than two hundred (200) words of the grounds for the removal. Such petition shall be signed by at least that number of electors which equal twenty-five (25) percent of the total number of electors voting in the last preceding regular Municipal election.

Within ten (10) days after the day of which such petition shall have been field, the Municipal Clerk shall determine whether or not it meets the requirements hereof. If the Municipal Clerk shall find the petition insufficient, the Clerk shall promptly certify the particulars in the petition is defective, deliver a copy of the certificate to the person who filed the petition, and make a record of such delivery. Such person shall be allowed a period of twenty (20) days after the day on which delivery was made in which to make the petition sufficient. If the Municipal Clerk shall find the petition sufficient, the Clerk shall promptly so certify to the Council, shall deliver a copy of such certificate to the official whose removal is sought, and shall make a record of such delivery.

If such official shall not resign within five (5) days after the day on which delivery shall have been made, the Council shall thereupon fix a day for holding a recall election, not less than sixty (60) nor more than seventy-five (75) days after the date of such delivery. At such recall election, this question shall be placed upon the ballot: ?“Shall (naming the official) be allowed to continue as (naming the office)??” with provision being made on the ballot for voting affirmatively, or negatively on such question. If a majority of the votes cast at such election shall be voted affirmatively, such official shall remain in office. If a majority of the votes cast shall be voted negatively, such official shall be considered as removed, the office shall be declared vacant, and such vacancy shall be filled as provided by this Charter. The official removed by such recall election shall NOT be eligible for appointment to the vacancy created thereby.

Some recall questions

The section regarding office holder recalls seems simple and straight forward but I am sure there is a great deal more that needs to be known before the circulation of petitions goes forward.

How many signatures will actuall be required?

How are vacancies filled after a successful recall?

Does the charter specify anywhere the specific language required on a recall petition?

Who pays for the special election?

In what specific ways can the petition be declared insufficient?

And probably the most important question, one that will require some research by a competent attorney.
What is case law in Ohio regarding recall petitions?

My offer to help fund this effort still stands.

How many others are willing to help?







By Picktown Cowpoke

Good Luck

Cowpoke

I do not have all the exact answers for you. As you can read from the city Charter they require 25 % of the electors from the last Mayor?’s election. I would estimate that it would be in the neighborhood of 750 to 800 signatures. If you want to call the Fairfield County Board of Elections their number is 740-687-7000.

The vacancies are filled by those remaining on council. If Council can?’t make the decision then the Mayor can appoint councilmen. If the Mayor is recalled then the President Pro-Tempore fills in as Mayor. In this case it would be Lou Postage.

The language on any petition whether it be Recall, Referendum, or Initiative is dictated by state law. In the case of Pickerington, they have set out some requirements outlined in my previous posting for a Recall. It is required that the disclaimers be clearly written on all petitions. First there is the one in bold RED ink that states: ?“Notice ?– Whoever knowingly signs this petition more that once, signs a name other than his own, or signs when not a legal voter, is liable of prosecution?”. The circulators of each petition must also sign the petition that they circulate. The circulators must be registered voters in the state of Ohio. They have a warning next to where they sign: ?“Whoever commits election falsification is guilty of a felony of the fifth degree?”.

The current petitions before The City Council had old wording on them that Mr. Mapes declared to be ?“INVALID?” He called this a ?“FATAL ERROR?”. Let me skip the special election for just a second and go to the ?“Competent Attorney?”. In any legal action there are two sides to the legal question at hand. Given enough time and a large enough legal budget, objections can be filed in almost every case. So no matter how competent your attorney might be they will surely be challenged by the City of Pickerington?’s battery of attorneys. Mr. Mapes didn?’t come up with his FATAL ERROR theory, on his own. I have been told his best move was the waiting for a month and a half before sending them on to the Board of Elections. The sponsors of any petition must be ready to file a mandamus action with the court on the eleventh days after they have filed the signed petitions. To find the attorney I would recommend contacting either the Secretary of States office or the Board of Elections. You will need about $1,400 to file the original mandamus if the City refuses to send your petitions on to the BOE.

The special election would be paid for by the City alone if there no other issues are on the ballot.

The insufficient term is not very well defined by the State Law. I would hope it meant the total number of valid signatures. However give the attorneys their time and they will find something. Here again you must be willing to take the issue to the Ohio Supreme Court and out of the hands of the City of Pickerington. Have your attorney lined up and have the money ready to pay them.

Case law: You will need to have someone with access to Lexis nexis to pull out that information. Here again you need to talk with an attorney. They will provide that information if needed.