IS IT TIME TO RECALL COUNCIL MEMBERS BILL LEWIS AND DENISE PYLE?
The following is taken from the websites of the Michigan Attorney General and the Michigan Bureau of Elections as well as other sources of authority. The information is not legal advice.
A recall election is the means by which citizens may remove elected officials from office before the expiration of their terms. Climax Village Council members are subject to recall. The process is fairly straight forward.
In the case of Village Council members, recall petitions for each must be submitted to the Kalamazoo County Election Commission for clarity and factual determinations. No specific grounds for recall are required in Michigan.
To trigger a recall election, the petitions must contain valid signatures from at least 25% of the voters who participated in the most recent gubernatorial election in the officer’s electoral district. The most recent gubernatorial election in Michigan was on November 8, 2022. The County Clerk provides the minimum number of valid signatures needed on the petition upon request.
After gathering enough signatures to initiate a recall election, the petition sponsors must file the petition for review with the right filing official. For Village Council members, that filing official is the Kalamazoo County Clerk. The filing official has seven calendar days from the date the recall petition is filed to examine the petition and determine if the petition is in the proper form and the minimum number of valid signatures is contained on the petition sheets.
The recall election operates just as any other election. The officeholder sought to be recalled appears on the ballot with all the other candidates seeking to fill the office. The candidate who receives the most votes in the recall election becomes the officeholder and finishes the remainder of the officeholder’s term.
Because the term of office for Bill Lewis and Denise Pyle has more than two years remaining, a recall petition cannot be filed against them during the first year of their term. That year ends on or about November 19, 2025.
The residents of the Village should consider whether these individuals should be further entrusted with the interests of the Village and its residents.
There are three Trustees on the Council now, Nick Ludwig, Janet Sutherland, and Joline Chaney who could serve the Village and its residents honorably as President. There may be others in the Village who have the qualities to carry out the public trust but have so far remained on the sidelines. But there is no question that not everyone has the integrity, honesty, and fair-mindedness to be given a position on the Council. The Village residents would benefit by public debates or townhalls with the candidates.
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