Group moves closer to recall of current governing body members
City approved notice of intention; approval of petition is next
A group of citizens seeking the recall of the current council learned today that the city has approved their notice of intention, which is the first step in the recall process.
The group, led by community activist Duanne Small, filed the notice of intention at city hall last week. They hope to file five recall petitions with the city — one to recall each council member in the upcoming November election.
As to each council member subject to recall, voters vote on whether to remove them and also select a replacement candidate. Any council member recalled is removed immediately and their replacement sworn-in to serve out the council term.
The five-member council is up for re-election in May, 2013. The four year term expires July 1, 2013.
City clerk Steve Kay had three days to review the notice and determine if it met statutory requirements. As Kay has found the notice to be sufficient, proponents of the recall can now deliver proposed petitions to city hall for Kay’s approval, which Small said he did today.
If the petitions are approved, the proponents will have 160 days to collect signatures of 25 percent of the city’s registered voters at the last general election — 1,865 people, according to Kay.
“It’s time for change,” Small said of the group’s rationale for petitioning for recall. “The city is not moving in the direction that the people feel it should be moving … It seems as though the five council people have no concern about the west side of town. It’s all about the east side of town.”
Recall proponents will canvass the city for signatures, Small said. If they can collect enough, there will be a ballot question at next November’s election, he said.
Small also 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 whether the city should change its form of government. The current form of government is a five-member, bipartisan council. Small’s proposed form would have divided the city into six wards with a representative from each.
The city attorney found that petition to be invalid. Small and his group filed suit to overturn the ruling. That lawsuit was dismissed earlier this month.
Voters are also being asked whether the city should establish a charter study commission on this November’s ballot. The commission would recommend changes to Asbury Park’s form of government. City council established this ballot question through an ordinance in early May.
Voters will also be asked to elect five members to the charter study commission. The commission would recommend no change to the city’s form of government, or they would recommend a new form that would be submitted for voter approval.
Update: According to city clerk Steve Kay, Duanne Small did not drop off the proposed petitions for approval at city hall today. Small has said he did, in fact, deliver the petitions to city hall, and gave them to deputy city clerk Kiki Tomek.
