Recall Facts, Part III

"No recall petition shall be filed against any elective officer within six (6) months after he takes office." (Section 157, Portsmouth City Charter)

Accordingly, recall petitions against the mayor can be filed any time after July 6, 2010 (the first business day after the six-month limit).

"There shall appear on each petition paper the names and addresses of five electors, who, as a committee of the petitioners, shall be regarded as responsible for the circulation and filing of the petition." (Section 27)

Each petition paper must be properly certified by the circulator of the petition, who must be a registered voter, but not necessarily a citizen of Portsmouth. The circulator does not have to be one of the five committee members. The petitions must be gotten from the City Clerk's office.

"A recall petition...to be sufficient must bear signatures of qualified electors of the City equal in number to at least 25% of the electors who voted in the last preceding regular municipal election." (Section 151)

In Nov. 2009, 4590 people voted in the City election. Therefore, the petitions to recall the mayor must have at least 1148 valid signatures. (25% of 4590). [A llocal website mistakenly reported that only 10% are needed but this is incorrect.] There are approximately 11,500 registered voters in Portsmouth.

Also according to Section 151, petitioners have only 30 days to produce the required signatures. The City Clerk has 20 days after receiving the petitions to certify that there are enough valid signatures.

If the City Clerk certifies that there are at least 1148 valid signatures, the recall of the mayor would be placed on the November ballot. At that time Portsmouth voters will have a chance to vote "for" or "against" the removal of the Mayor.

If the November recall is successful, Mayor Murray would leave office immediately after the recall election is certified by the Scioto County Board of Elections, and she could not run for any city office for two years. If the recall is successful, the President of City Council (currently David Malone) would immediately become Mayor.

If the recall is unsuccessful, Murray will complete her four-year term. No additional recall attempt could be initiated until at least six months after the failed recall vote.

The entire City Charter can be viewed here.

WHO WILL STEP UP TO THE PLATE?

There are rumors that at least one recall committee is being formed. It is said that on July 6 or soon after, recall petitions to the remove Mayor Murray will be available. It is said that this committee will made up of well-known people in our community who have seen the ongoing travesty of the Murray administration and know that it must be stopped. It is said that these people know that the only hope for Portsmouth's future is the removal of Jane Murray.

Are these rumors true? We will soon see.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

-Edmund Burke (1729-1797)
_________________________________

Click below for Parts I and II:

Recall Facts, Part I

Recall Facts, Part II

Coming Soon...

Jane Murray: The CASE for RECALL