Kelly is target of recall petition (Dem MN mayor who endorsed Bush)

[Wickerman]

http://startribune.com/stories/462/4937962.html
might require free registration...

Last update: August 19, 2004 at 11:11 PM
Kelly is target of recall petition
Jackie Crosby, Star Tribune
August 20, 2004 RECALL0820


A St. Paul citizens group on Thursday launched a petition drive to try to recall Mayor Randy Kelly.

Describing itself as a "group of concerned citizens," the members of "Recall Randy" say Kelly has abused his nonpartisan position as mayor to endorse President Bush. They also say Kelly has set aside the interests of the city's residents because few voted for President Bush in 2000. Bush only won one of St. Paul's 119 precincts in the 2000 presidential election.

"It is a message of outrage and a message of betrayal," said David Duddingston, one of the group's leaders. "This is not about President Bush. This is about Randy Kelly. We trusted him to protect our interests and he's using the office for his own personal, political gain."

snip...


Bring it on - I am tired of fake DFLers running St Paul then switching to their political advantage - First Normie Coleman now Kelly.

[Catfight]

1. RECALL the mayor of New York as well....all a bunch of Bush lynchman!

[SoFlaJet]

2. I want that congressman

from what Mississippi i think who switched over to the GOP a half hour before the election.

[John Q. Citizen]

3. They will get enough signitures

no problem. And help voter turn-out in Nov.

[dpbrown]

4. Visit RecallRandy.org right now and help recall Mayor Kelly

Welcome to http://www.recallrandy.org

RecallRandy.org

Dear Citizens of St. Paul,

Our petition has been finalized and now we are ready to begin collecting signatures. The number of signatures needed is 11,911. Since only registered voters who are residents of Saint Paul may sign, and we expect there to be some margin of error, our goal is to collect 16,000 signatures. Our statement:


We, the undersigned registered voters of Saint Paul, hereby petition for the removal of Randy C. Kelly, who holds the office of Mayor; the grounds for the recall are as follows:

We put our trust in Randy Kelly to act first and foremost for the best interests of the citizens of St. Paul when we elected him mayor of our city.

Randy Kelly has betrayed that trust by taking the power of the non-partisan office of mayor and using it, not to better Saint Paul, but to actively campaign for George W. Bush.

By endorsing Bush, Randy Kelly is supporting policies that damage Saint Paul by cutting funding to housing and public transportation, through un-funded mandates on our schools, and with cuts in programs for police and fire fighters.

We believe Randy Kelly has set aside the interests of the citizens and is now using the office of mayor to further his own personal, political ambitions.

Because he has violated the trust given to him by the people, it is up to the people to decide whether or not he may continue as mayor of Saint Paul.


 


What you can do to help:


Show your support by coming out to the Harriet Island Gateway (on Water Street) this Saturday, August 21, to sign the petition! The petition drive will run from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM.

Find a place to sign the petition: send an email to [e-mail] with your general location and we will have one of our volunteers in your neighborhood contact you.

If you think you could get signatures from supporters at your union, workplace, or in your neighborhood, please send us an email so that we can send you more information.

Please note that only registered voters who are residents of Saint Paul may sign the petition; if you are not yet registered, please follow the instructions at one of the following websites to register:



For Minnesota Registration: http://www.sos.state.mn.us/election/register.html
For all states: http://electionimpact.votenet.com/declareyourself/index.cfm or http://www.getouthervote.org/register.asp.

Please note: You must send in your voter registration card -- you cannot complete registration online.


In fact, the best way to take care of this is to hand deliver your registration card yourself and have the election clerk initial it while you wait. Though this may seem inconvenient, it is the most fool-proof way of getting this done.

We encourage everyone to vote, regardless of their political opinions.


Summary of the recall process:


The process for mayoral recall involves many steps. First we must collect signatures on a petition with the grounds for recall written in no more than 200 words. Then we will submit the petition to the City Clerk, who has 30 days to determine the sufficiency of the petition. This includes both the grounds for recall and the signatures, taking out duplicates, non-residents, and unregistered voters. The City Clerk will then either return it to us if deemed insufficient with a statement of defects, or pass it on to the City Council. If the recall petition is deemed sufficient, Mayor Kelly will be notified and it will be announced at the next meeting. Kelly will then have the option to resign within 5 days. If he does not, the City Council will have 10 days after sufficiency has been determined to order a special election.


The special election will take place within the next 60 days unless it is close to a scheduled election, in which case it will just be added to the ballot. If the majority favors a recall, the office of the mayor will be deemed vacant and the City Council shall elect a qualified voter of the city to fill the vacancy. Since this recall will be after July 1st of the Mayor’s third year, the person selected by City Council will remain in office for the duration of the term.


If you have already signed the petition and would like to withdraw your signature, you may do so by writing a statement and filing it with the City Clerk before the clerk advises the council as to the sufficiency of the petition. This is covered in Sec. 8.02.4. of the City Charter.


Here is the link to the City Charter about recall: http://www.ci.stpaul.mn.us/code/ch008.html


Other Links


City of Saint Paul: http://www.ci.stpaul.mn.us





Please send your comments, questions, concerns and other links of interest to [e-mail]
You can also contact us by "snail mail" at this address:
Recall Randy
PO Box 65500
Saint Paul, MN 55165-0500
And check back soon for more updates!


Last updated: Aug. 18, 2004

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. I'd sign it--

--if I lived in St. Paul. Is there a space for sympathetic Minneapolitans to sign?

[jean]

6. wish I could sign, as well. Can we contribute in other ways, I wonder?

[dpbrown]

7. You don't have to live in St. Paul to circulate petitions

So for people who are interested in helping, visit the website and download the petitions (be sure to have "legal" size paper in your printer) and then get on over to the City of Saint Paul and start circulatin' those petitions 'til the cows come home.

DPB

[ISUGRADIA]

8. The news tonight made it sound like it's a wasted effort

That even if the petitioners gather enough signature, the recall will not occur because Minnesota law allows recall only under very limited terms: illegal actions or malfeasance in office.