Clark County Councilor Tom Mielke’s recall petition against his fellow councilors is on to the next phase, as Clark County received a proposed ballot item from the Attorney General’s office Friday.
Mielke, a Republican, filed three petitions last month to recall Council Chair Marc Boldt, no party preference, and Councilors Julie Olson and Jeanne Stewart, both Republicans. He alleged that the three violated the Open Public Meetings Act, illegally granted The Columbian a contract as the county’s official newspaper of record, prevented Mielke from accessing the county’s attorneys and allowed County Manager Mark McCauley to dissolve the Department of Environmental Services even though it had been budgeted for this year.
Normally, the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office would write the ballot language, which in each case outlines the charges and asks if the individual councilor should be recalled.
However, because Mielke’s petitions include allegations against the prosecutor’s office, Auditor Greg Kimsey submitted the petitions to the Attorney General’s office instead. There is no additional cost with submitting the petition to the Attorney General’s office, Kimsey said.
Within 15 days, a judge must hear the recall petition and consider whether it’s valid, and whether there’s enough evidence to find that Boldt, Olson or Stewart committed misfeasance, malfeasance or a violation of the elected official’s oath of office.
Misfeasance means performing a duty in an improper manner. Malfeasance is the commission of an unlawful act. Violating the oath of office means an elected official neglected or knowingly failed to perform their duties. Any of the three or a combination could prompt a judge to find the petition valid.
The recall petition would normally be heard in Clark County Superior Court, but County Clerk Scott Weber said the Superior Court judges will file to recuse themselves on Monday, citing a potential conflict of interest. The case will be heard by a judge outside of Clark County.
If a judge finds the petition is valid, the councilors could appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court. If the case is upheld, the next stage is the petition process. Petitioners would have to collect a number of signatures equal to 25 percent of the total number of votes cast in the last election for that office, according to state election laws.
That means petitioners would need to collect 20,639 signatures for a recall of Boldt, 6,097 for a recall of Olson, and 29,901 for a recall of Stewart. Olson was elected by district; the other two were elected countywide.
A validated petition would trigger a special recall election later this year.
