Town council recall, Dewey-Humboldt, Arizona (2021)
From Ballotpedia
| Dewey-Humboldt Town Council recall |
|---|
|
| Officeholders |
| Lynn Collins Amy Lance Karen Brooks |
| Recall status |
| Recall defeated |
| Recall election date |
| August 3, 2021 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2021 Recalls in Arizona Arizona recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Town Councillors Lynn Collins, Amy Lance, and Karen Brooks in Dewey-Humboldt, Arizona was defeated on August 3, 2021.[1]
Recall supporters objected to the council members' vote to fire the town administrator and to remove a property maintenance clause from the 2018 building codes draft. Collins replied that the maintenance clause was redundant, and that state law required the council to keep personnel discussions confidential.[2] Each council member's response to the recall effort can be found below.
Recall vote
Collins' seat
General election
Lance's seat
General election
Brooks' seat
General election
Recall supporters
The recall petitions used identical language for each town council member. The recall petition for Lynn Collins appears below as an example.[2]
| “ |
Lynn Collins has demonstrated she is not upholding her fiduciary responsibility and making unsound business decisions as a Council Member which has propelled the Town of Dewey-Humboldt (Town) into an unstable government with insufficient staff to ensure basic checks and balances are in place and increased exposure to potential fraud to our $6 mil operating funds. Ms. Collins appears to be working with three other Town Council Persons (Amy Lance, Karen Brooks and Glen Blomgren) to create a majority voting block to ensure their personal agendas are adopted. This is evidenced by: Voting to fire the Town Manager without cause or explanation at the February 2, 2021 Town meeting against the Town Attorney's advice, costing the Town $13,000 and putting the Town in legal jeopardy. Second, voting to exclude the property maintenance clause from the 2018 Building Codes draft; this action did not take into consideration the needs of the community and has a potential to create health hazards and devalue properties. Third, a toxic work environment is evident including possible civil rights violations. For the good of the community we need a cohesive, stable and transparent government-not one that is governed by personal agendas.[3] |
” |
Recall opponents
Lynn Collins
Collins' response to the recall effort appears below:[2]
| “ |
I am Lynn Collins and have lived in Arizona for 50 years. I was elected to the Dewey-Humboldt Town Council by 611 voters in 2018. People I talked to then said it would take a miracle to prevent Dewey-Humboldt from having Prescott Valley style development. I believe in miracles. It was a miracle when the Goodwin fire was stopped just short of our town. On January 1, 2021 social media posts announced another miracle-that a farmer had bought the Monogram Development Company's land at 69 and 169. This means 500 houses and a sewage treatment plant planned there will not happen. As to grounds for recall: "Termination of Thomas" - on January 19, 2021, a properly announced private executive hearing was held to discuss the performance of interim manager James Thomas. State law required it to be confidential; it is illegal to disclose what was discussed. "Personal agenda" allegations refer to a vote to remove redundant property maintenance code from building codes. Our six remaining nuisance codes are adequate. "Voting Block" - Recall organizers, and possible candidates, Schroder and Dragan live next door to Councilmember Thomas. I am asking for your continued support by voting to keep Dewey-Humboldt rural.[3] |
” |
Amy Lance
Lance's response to the recall effort appears below:[2]
| “ |
The future of Dewey-Humboldt and the future of our citizens is bright and exciting. A future that is worth celebrating and protecting. As your representative on the Town Council, I vow to protect this future. I will protect our rights and freedom to grow our own food and raise animals. I will protect private property rights in our community. I will always support the youth of our town through 4H and other youth organizations. Working together we can build our downtown to support local business' and increase our revenue base. This revenue can be used to benefit the citizens. I am dedicated to representing "Our Country Town" and all those who abide here. I ask for your vote as I pledge to continue to work for the benefit of all.[3] |
” |
Karen Brooks
Brooks' response to the recall effort appears below:[2]
| “ |
I am from a pioneering family that arrived in the Verde Valley in 1867 and am honored to be a 70-year resident of Dewey-Humboldt. It has been a privilege and joy representing the citizens of Dewey-Humboldt for 3 years and I look forward to continuing to work for you. I will continue to represent and do the best for all the citizens of Dewey-Humboldt; I will maintain property rights and ease HOA type rules; I believe a second ingress and egress for Blue Hills is critical for public safety; I will focus on the roads. We can improve our existing roads and develop a process to bring new roads into our town system; I will preserve open space and promote water conservation by supporting larger parcel sizes; I will focus on revitalizing the business areas including Main St; I will encourage consistent growth and development that will sustain our area thru economic ups and downs; I will endorse public safety, activities, and programs for our youth. I continue to stand ready to finish the job you have elected me to do. We have accomplished a lot - there is much more ready to be done.[3] |
” |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Arizona
Organizers were required to collect signatures equal to 25% of the number of votes cast in the previous election for the office. After organizers met the signature threshold, the recall election was scheduled for August 3, 2021.[2]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Yavapai County Government, "Election Summary Report August 3, 2021 County of Yavapai," August 3, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Dewey-Humboldt, "Official Ballot Special Recall Election Town of Dewey-Humboldt, August 3, 2021," accessed August 4, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
