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Candidates for recall and a possible charter study commission now have until the first week in September to hand in their petitions.

Previously, today, Aug. 31, was the deadline, established by city clerk Steve Kay. Now, recall candidates will have until Sept. 4 while charter study commission candidates will have until Sept. 7.

The extended deadlines were established by the county clerk.

COUNCIL RECALL

Duanne Small has spearheaded a movement to recall the city’s mayor and council, but was only able to collect enough signatures to recall three of the governing body’s five members.

His petitions were rejected, though, on Monday, Aug. 20. City clerk Steve Kay said the reason for the rejection was a lack of sufficient time to count the signatures.

But the city is still accepting petitions for people who want to run to replace Mayor Ed Johnson, Deputy Mayor John G. Loffredo and Councilwoman Sue Henderson.

The city is accepting petitions in the event that the recall proponents take the city to court over the rejection and end up winning, Kay said.

The three council members who are being recalled have picked up petitions and are gathering signatures, Kay said. Also, city residents John Moor and Calvin Anderson have taken petitions from the clerk’s office. The recall proponents also have taken several petitions.

CHARTER STUDY COMMISSION

The charter study commission, if approved by voters in November, will scrutinize the city’s current form of government to determine if changes need to be made, as well as potentially reschedule the date of elections. If the five commissioners determine change is necessary, they will make recommendations to the electorate, who will vote on the change at the 2013 election.

Three charter study candidates — Pam Lamberton, Rita Marano and Michelle Maguire — have already handed in their petitions. Kay approved all three, he said.

The two remaining candidates, Duanne Small and Robert Obler, now have until Sept. 4 to hand theirs in.

Voters will also be able to write candidates in.

The commission can propose such changes as establishing a directly-elected mayor, creating a ward system to elect council members and other options allowed under the law. Currently, all five council members are elected at once, every four years in May.

The commission can also recommend changing the municipal election from May to November, as well as switch from the current non-partisan system where candidate run without party affiliation to one where they’re designated as Democrats or Republicans.

[This post has been corrected regarding the deadlines for charter study candidates and recall candidates to file petitions. The initial posting had incorrect dates.]

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