The formal process to recall Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Mayor Sandi Bloem, Council President Mike Kennedy, Councilman Deanna Goodlander, and Councilman Woody McEvers has begun with the submission of prospective petitions of recall to the Coeur d’Alene City Clerk.
A local recall election in Idaho is just that: an election. It is a political process in which the registered electors in a jurisdiction petition for the right to hold a special election to recall one or more officials.
In Idaho any elected official except judicial officers can be recalled for any reason at all. Some states such as Washington require specific allegations of wrongdoing, however Idaho does not. The framers of Idaho’s Constitution in Article 1, Section 2, said:
All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for their equal protection and benefit, and they have the right to alter, reform or abolish the same whenever they may deem it necessary; and no special privileges or immunities shall ever be granted that may not be altered, revoked, or repealed by the legislature.
The specific authority for the people to recall elected officials was explicitly stated in the Idaho Constitution, Article 6, Section 6:
Every public officer in the state of Idaho, excepting the judicial officers, is subject to recall by the legal voters of the state or of the electoral district from which he is elected. The legislature shall pass the necessary laws to carry this provision into effect.
As the applicable sections of Idaho Code passed by the Legislature show, a recall election is different from impeachment. A recall election is initiated by the people through the petition process. The impeachment process is typically initiated by a legislative body with the filing of formal allegations of misconduct. Then a separate component of the legislative body conducts a trial of impeachment.
So, while the prospect of a recall election in Coeur d’Alene will have some people hyperventilating and alleging that it is anarchy and that those who sign the petition of recall are somehow traitors, the fact is “the people” (as in “All political power is inherent in the people”) who sign the recall petitions and then vote in the recall election are simply exercising their rights by following the procedures established by the framers of the Idaho Constitution and the Legislature of the State of Idaho.
If the will of the people is to have a recall election, it will be an election and not an inquisition.
What did Dan English mean when he called the recall effort, “Witch Hunt 2.0”?
Comment by up river — April 4, 2012 @ 10:55 am
With English, it’s difficult to tell what he means. However, my guess is that he remembers “Witch Hunt 1.0” was probably the line uttered in open court during the election contest lawsuit by Kootenai County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Cafferty. Cafferty referred to those who supported the election contest lawsuit as being on a “witch hunt.” Cafferty later mumbled an apology in open court. Of course, the lawsuit found the witches which weren’t witches at all but failures of duty (violations of state elections laws) by then county clerk English.
Not being satisfied with having his lazy incompetent butt kicked out of office, English is rumored to be going to try stand up comedy next. Perhaps he considers the Recall CdA effort to be “Witch Hunt 2.0.”
Comment by Bill — April 4, 2012 @ 11:31 am
Since “Witch Hunt 1.0” found failures of duty on English’s part when he was the county clerk, and the recall is directed at failure(s) of duty by Bloem, Kennedy, McEvers, and Goodlander, is English predicting that the recall effort will be successful too?
Comment by up river — April 4, 2012 @ 12:08 pm