Recall Susan Meikle-Stoops

The Recall Susan Meikle-Stoops Campaign is officially underway. Citizens for 13J Excellence filed the paperwork and received approval from the county clerk to begin circulating petitions yesterday.

Here's how the process works:

The group has 90 days (until May 23) to collect the signatures of 1,001 registered voters in the school district. Signing the petition does not remove her from office; the signatures are required to request a recall election.

Once the signatures have been verified by the county clerk, Meikle-Stoops has five days in which to resign. If she does not, a recall election must be held within thirty-five days. At that time, she may provide a statement of justification explaining why she should retain her seat on the school board. Both her statement of justification and the recall statement will be printed on the ballots that will be mailed to all registered voters in the district. Whether she remains on the board will be decided by a simple majority of votes cast.

Citizens for 13J Excellence pays all costs related to gathering signatures; the school district pays for the cost of the recall election. In today's edition of the Itemizer-Observer, Meikle-Stoops estimated that cost at $3,000-$5,000 and fretted about the budgetary consequences. I feel compelled to point out that it is less than the hidden raise she negotiated for the superintendent and that her resignation would spare the district the expense of an election.

The exact time-line depends on how quickly signatures are gathered. While the group has 90 days to collect them, that stage ends as soon as the required number has been certified. The next stage (the election) would be completed within 40 days following certification but could conceivably occur within a couple of weeks. The election could be this spring but no later than the end of June. If Meikle-Stoops is removed from office, her successor would be appointed by the board to serve until the next regularly scheduled board elections in May of 2013.

The kick-off events for the recall campaign will begin on Monday, February 28. There will be tables in various locations for those who wish to sign a petition. Once those locations are announced, I will post the information here.

There is a new blog, that functions as a more traditional website, at:
http://www.citizensfor13jexcellence.blogspot.com/

There is also a Facebook page at:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1526082066&ref=name#!/pages/Citizens-for-13J-Excellence/192641224092836

If you wish to make a donation:
Citizens for 13J Excellence
P.O. Box 534
Monmouth, Oregon
97361

Donations will go towards the cost of petitions, brochures, signs, buttons, newspaper advertising, and mailings. Citizens for 13J Excellence is registered with the State and must report all contributions through the ORESTAR system. The names of those contributing $100 or less are not disclosed to the public. According to the State Elections Division, there is no upper limit to contributions. This will not be a hugely expensive undertaking but it will require some financial resources in order to be successful. Contributions in any amount are welcome.

Watch for signature gatherers on Monday - the campaign begins . . . NOW!