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Organizers of the recall against Douglas County Commissioner Marilyn Kittelman handed in their petitions this morning to County Clerk Barbara Nielsen.
A box containing the petition sheets was placed on the counter inside the second-floor office at the Douglas County Courthouse. The box contained 6,180 signatures, said Bill Crenshaw, one of the recall organizers.
“That’s over 400 more than what we needed,” said Donald Keogh, the head of the recall effort. “We did it in a very short period of time and we had flocks of people come to us.”
Organizers need 5,714 valid signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot. The number represents 15 percent of the votes cast in the governor’s race in Douglas County four years ago.
Keogh started the petition drive after becoming upset with Kittelman’s management style, which he said includes belittling people and intimidating employees. He said the county faces a huge payout over the firing of former Museum Director Stacey McLaughlin, who sued the county. He also said she has pursued an agenda that coincides with her own personal agenda, rather than looking out for the good of the county as a whole.
Keogh said he collected more than 800 signatures during the 12 afternoons he spent at the duck pond next to Fred Meyer on Garden Valley Boulevard.
A box containing the petition sheets was placed on the counter inside the second-floor office at the Douglas County Courthouse. The box contained 6,180 signatures, said Bill Crenshaw, one of the recall organizers.
“That’s over 400 more than what we needed,” said Donald Keogh, the head of the recall effort. “We did it in a very short period of time and we had flocks of people come to us.”
Organizers need 5,714 valid signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot. The number represents 15 percent of the votes cast in the governor’s race in Douglas County four years ago.
Keogh started the petition drive after becoming upset with Kittelman’s management style, which he said includes belittling people and intimidating employees. He said the county faces a huge payout over the firing of former Museum Director Stacey McLaughlin, who sued the county. He also said she has pursued an agenda that coincides with her own personal agenda, rather than looking out for the good of the county as a whole.
Keogh said he collected more than 800 signatures during the 12 afternoons he spent at the duck pond next to Fred Meyer on Garden Valley Boulevard.
“I solicited no one. Anyone who came to me did so on their own free will. They came running to me,” he said.
Crenshaw said they will continue to collect signatures even as Nielsen and her elections department workers verify signatures on the petition sheets that were turned in. He said they expect that at least 10 percent of the signatures collected will be rejected.
Some who signed the petitions may not be registered to vote in Douglas County.
Others may have signed more than one sheet, which would invalidate the extra signatures. Crenshaw said he suspects that some people may have fraudulently made up a name and signed the petitions.
He said signature collectors noticed that some people who signed the sheets listed a post office box as their address. For a signature to be counted, a street address must be listed. Organizers tried to call or write letters to those who had listed a postal box address so the proper address could be added. Several of those letters came back unopened, saying there was no such person at that address.
It took organizers six weeks to collect the required signatures. Keogh originally said his goal was to have the signatures turned in before the end of July, even though he has until Sept. 12 to meet the collection deadline.
Nielsen has 10 days to verify whether the signatures submitted are legitimate. If there are enough signatures to force the recall, Kittelman would have five days from the certification of the signatures to either resign or submit a written statement on why she should remain in office.
Once that five-day period expired, the county would have to hold the recall vote within 35 days. That would place it in September. It could be October or November before that happens, though, if organizers need to collect additional signatures.
Kittelman has not publicly commented on the recall drive.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
Crenshaw said they will continue to collect signatures even as Nielsen and her elections department workers verify signatures on the petition sheets that were turned in. He said they expect that at least 10 percent of the signatures collected will be rejected.
Some who signed the petitions may not be registered to vote in Douglas County.
Others may have signed more than one sheet, which would invalidate the extra signatures. Crenshaw said he suspects that some people may have fraudulently made up a name and signed the petitions.
He said signature collectors noticed that some people who signed the sheets listed a post office box as their address. For a signature to be counted, a street address must be listed. Organizers tried to call or write letters to those who had listed a postal box address so the proper address could be added. Several of those letters came back unopened, saying there was no such person at that address.
It took organizers six weeks to collect the required signatures. Keogh originally said his goal was to have the signatures turned in before the end of July, even though he has until Sept. 12 to meet the collection deadline.
Nielsen has 10 days to verify whether the signatures submitted are legitimate. If there are enough signatures to force the recall, Kittelman would have five days from the certification of the signatures to either resign or submit a written statement on why she should remain in office.
Once that five-day period expired, the county would have to hold the recall vote within 35 days. That would place it in September. It could be October or November before that happens, though, if organizers need to collect additional signatures.
Kittelman has not publicly commented on the recall drive.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.
