Anatomy of a Recall, Part 1

I have lived in a wonderful, small, rural township at the base of Michigan's Thumb for the past 22 years. Many things are exactly as they were when I moved in. We still have the Flea Market twice a week in the summer and the biggest little agricultural Fair around every August. For Holly Days, local farmers string Christmas lights (and we still call them Christmas lights) on their combines and parade them down Main Street. In so many ways, this is a 'It's A Wonderful Life' kind of town. I love that.

Many other things have changed dramatically over the years. One of the more unfortunate changes occurred at the election last November, when our Township Board was turned upside down. The five members of our Board have been in office exactly six months and a recall campaign against three of them is already in progress.

How bad can it get in just six months? Well...pretty bad. There are a number of issues prompting the locals, including myself, to get angry and involved. In my next installment, I'll detail the impetus for the recall movement and the steps necessary to get it started. As it progresses, I will update the series so you will be able to see the process from start to finish.

Hearing Date Scheduled

We have received notice from the County Clerk that the hearing on our recall petitions has been set.

The Macomb County Election Commission will meet to determine whether the reasons stated in your recall petitions of Armada Township Treasurer Shannon Christoff, Armada Township Trustee Margaret Ruthenberg, and Armada Township Trustee Wayne Lobeck are of sufficient clarity. The meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 8, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. in the Jury Room on the 5th floor of the Macomb County Circuit Court Building, 40 North Main, Mount Clemens, Michigan.

The Circuit Court Building has an attached parking garage for your convenience, but there is a fee. Street parking is metered and there are several surface lots within walking distance.

Please put this on your schedule and plan to be there. You will not be allowed to present comments, but a show of support and strength is always welcome.

If you have any questions, please use the e-mail address in the sidebar to contact us.

Petitions Filed Today!

We traveled to the Macomb County Courthouse this morning to submit our petition language to the Election Commission. Two sets of proposed wording were submitted for each individual.

Within 24 hours, the County will notify all parties (by mail) that a hearing has been scheduled before the Commission. Michigan law states that the hearing will occur not less than 10 days, but not more than 20 days, from the filing, so we're looking at a date between May 30th and June 9th.

I'll post the date as soon as the notice arrives.

Recall Update

The recall committee held its first meeting Monday night; thanks to everyone who turned out on very short notice! We discussed the proposed petition language and agreed on two sets of wording. The petitions have not been filed with the county because Michigan law prohibits the recall of an elected official in the first six or last six months of their term in office:

168.951 Officers subject to recall; time for filing recall petition; performance of duties until result of recall election certified.

Sec. 951.

Every elective officer in the state, except a judicial officer, is subject to recall by the voters of the electoral district in which the officer is elected as provided in this chapter. A petition shall not be filed against an officer until the officer has actually performed the duties of the office to which elected for a period of 6 months during the current term of that office. A petition shall not be filed against an officer during the last 6 months of the officer's term of office. An officer sought to be recalled shall continue to perform duties of the office until the result of the recall election is certified.

So, what's next? We are continuing to gather documents and information needed for the effort while we wait for the appropriate time to file the petitions. I'll update this site as often as possible and necessary to keep you informed. If you have any questions, please use the e-mail address armadarecall@att.net to contact us.

May 13, 2009 Armada Township Board Meeting Videos

I will apologize in advance for the quality of these videos; they were shot on a Blackberry and they're a bit 'rough'. The first clip is 1 hour long and is presented here in its entirety to prove there have been no convenient edits. After the mundane, routine portion of the meeting has been completed, the public participation of the agenda addresses the proposed new noise ordinance. That section is very interesting and worth a watch/listen. I recommend you grab a cup of coffee and watch it all, because some casual items in the beginning of the meeting take on much greater importance later in the evening. If you don't watch the entire clip, skip ahead to 6:30 for the noise ordinance discussion.

Armada Township Board Meeting, 5/13/09
including public comment on new noise ordinance

The next clip is much shorter and includes the vote against hiring two full-time firefighters. The three 'no' votes were Christoff, Lobeck and Ruthenberg. For your reference, Trustee Ruthenberg is in the left corner of the shot, with Trustee Lobeck seated next to her. Supervisor Paterek is in the center, then Treasurer Christoff and Clerk Swiacki on your right.

Coming Soon: Recalling Armada Township Officials

Watch this space for information, documentation and updates on the effort to recall three Armada Township, Michigan elected officials: Treasurer Shannon Christoff, Trustee Wayne Lobeck and Trustee Marge Ruthenberg.