Recall group hustles to file petitions
Recall group hustles to file petitions
By SCOTT SWANSON Journal Staff Writer
Members of the group — calling itself the Committee for Cooperative, Open and Respectful Government — filed 91 signatures with the Marquette County Clerk’s Office Friday afternoon. The signatures will undergo reviews from Marquette County and Powell Township clerks to determine if they are valid.
If at least 78 of the 91 signatures are found to be valid, the recall will be placed on the November general election ballot.
“Everyone we talked to had their own incident or their own situation with this man,” said committee member Sandy Vargo. “Enough is enough.”
Both Vargo and Bevins noted it was positive that the signatures were collected in time for the November ballot — thus eliminating the need for a special election in February and the added cost to taxpayers that would come along with it.
“Let the cards fall as they may,” Bevins said.
According to County Clerk Connie Branam, she will next determine if the signature forms were properly filled out, before sending the forms to the Powell Township clerk, who will determine if the signatures belong to registered voters.
After that, Bevins will have eight days to challenge any signature before a final review by Branam. The entire process will take 35 days.
If the signatures are found to be valid, Branam will call a recall election to be held not less than 95 days from the next election date — which would be the November general election.
To meet that 95-day deadline, the committee had to collect all the signatures on Friday, because the recall language was not approved until a clarity hearing held earlier in the day.
“If they waited to file on Monday, the election would have went to February,” Branam said.
The recall language states: “Mr. Bevins is rude, disrespectful, and verbally abusive to both Board members and constituents at Board meetings and during office hours. Mr. Bevins does not cooperate with the Powell Township Board in making appointments to the Powell Township Planning Commission. Mr. Bevins will not disclose all communication contacts he has with Kennecott Mineral officials.”
“The fact of the matter is local government is supposed to be what’s best for the community, not a dictatorship,” Vargo said. “That’s what it feels like sometimes.”
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