News

Recall to start

By Scott Wagar

01/17/2012

A recall petition for Mayor Doug Marsden and Alderman Brad Gangl has been started by a group of residents in Bottineau who feel the two local politicians are not performing their jobs in the positions they hold at the council’s table.

“They have to be removed, they are being too disruptive for the city,” said Tim Sanderson, who is one of the five members of a group which are attempting to have Marsden and Gangl recalled. “They are ruining the morale of the current council and this community and it has to stop. So many people are upset with them and their actions and we needed to something about it. We cannot afford to have them in their positions anymore, they need to be recalled.”

Sanderson said that when a recall election is approved by the North Dakota Secretary of State Office, it is not an election to vote in new individuals, but to remove political leaders who are not conducting their responsibilities in the manner their constituents feel they should.

“When you are dissatisfied with an elected officer, and they are not up for an election for a long period of time, you can recall them. What it takes is 25 percent of the number of people who voted in the last election to get a recall ballot out,” Sanderson said. “People are asking ‘who will be running against them,’ that’s putting the cart before the horse because you have to recall the people you want out first, then there will be another election at a later date to elect people to the recalled seats.”

Sanderson stated the recall comes at a perfect time, because if Marsden and Gangl are recalled, the two positions can be added to the June 2012 city election ballot.

“All the city has to do is add these two guy’s seats to the election ballot in June,” he said. “However, we have to get these two guys recalled first.”

According to the state document, “Recalling an Elected Official of the State or a Political Subdivision,” in order to recall Marsden and Gangl, the recall group, or sponsoring committee, must have five petitioners who are qualified voters. Once the sponsoring committee is established, a petition must be filled out stating the reason(s) for the recall.

When the recall petition is completed, the sponsoring committee must send it to the Secretary of State, which must approve the petition for circulation.
If approved, the recall petition can be circulated to collect signatures. After the signatures are collected, the petition must be filed with the proper city authority.

In Bottineau’s case, this will be the city auditor, who will have 30 days to determine the percentage of those who signed the petition, and to make sure the signatures are valid.

If the officer (city auditor) finds the petition valid and sufficient, the officer can call a special recall election and the official(s) to be recalled will have their names placed on the ballot unless the official(s) resigns within 10 days.

The recall election must be held no sooner than 90 days, nor later than 100 days following the date the filing officer’s certified the petition valid and sufficient.
For Gangl, a Ward 2 representative, the sponsoring committee must have 13  signatures from the residents of Ward 2 to validate his name on the recall ballot.
Marsden, who was voted in at-large in the last election, must have 104 signatures by any resident of Bottineau to authenticate his petition for recall.

Some of the details in the recall petition include the manner in which Marsden and Gangl handled the city-county police contract in 2011, a $2,000 audit report which wasn’t brought to the full council for approval and placed on the tax payers of Bottineau to pay, the improper treatment of city employees, and Gangl’s misappropriation in the handling of the city and EDC’s computers.

“Marsden and Gangl’s mistreatment of the city’s officials and community members have gone on for too long,” Sanderson said. “It’s time we recall these guys and find people who want to do the job the way it should be done.”