Recall notice filed with city clerk
Removal of all five city council members sought, according to report
Six Asbury Park residents have filed a notice of intention with the city clerk to recall all five incumbent city council members [shown above], according to a report in the Coaster weekly newspaper.
The recall proponents must collect 25 percent of the city’s registered voters on a petition, as well as fulfill other statutory requirements, to put the recall on the ballot. Each council member’s recall would require a separate petition.
Duanne Small, Byron Hall, Rodney Foster, Harold Suggs, Nikkia Lyles and Cherrice Lyles filed the notice, the Coaster reported in its May 31 issue. The group hopes to get the recall on the November ballot, the paper stated.
The city council is elected to a four year term. All five seats are up at once, with the next election in May, 2013. The term of office for the current council expires July 1, 2013. The mayor is a member of the city council and presides at the council meetings.
City clerk Steve Kay has three days to review the notice and determine if it meets statutory requirements, the Coaster reported. If it does, the council will be notified, the proponents must deliver recall petitions to Kay for his approval and then they would have 160 days to collect signatures, the paper stated.
Recall proponent Duanne Small organized an effort earlier this year in which 25 percent of the city’s registered voters signed a petition to place a question on the ballot asking voters to change the city’s form of government. The city attorney ruled that petition was invalid on other grounds, and Small and his group filed suit to overturn the ruling. That lawsuit was dismissed earlier this month. Small’s group had sought to split Asbury Park into six wards with one council member representing each, along with an additional three at-large council members and a directly-elected mayor who would have executive power to run the day-to-day operations of the city.
If Small’s group successfully gets the recall on the November ballot, that will not be the only question for voters regarding the city council.
Voters will also be asked whether to establish a charter study commission to recommend changes to Asbury Park’s form of government. At the same time, voters would also elect five members of the commission. If established, the charter study commission may recommend no change to the city’s form of government, or recommend a new form that would be submitted for voter approval.
The November ballot question on establishing a charter study commission was authorized by an ordinance enacted by the council in early May. The current council members are James Bruno, John Loffredo, Susan Henderson, Kevin Sanders and Ed Johnson, who also serves as Mayor.
