The recall is a joke

Here’s the deal. And it’s not just April Fool’s. But this current attempt at a recall of the county commissioners is a joke.
There was an election for two of the county commissioners less than two years ago. The third county commissioner is up for election in seven months.
I don’t like everything the commissioners have focused on. I don’t like every vote they’ve taken. I may or may not vote for Jim Starr in November and I may or may not vote for Paula and Hap in 2012. But they won the election. They didn’t hide much in their campaigns. I personally wish they’d be much more clear where they stand on big issues like Snodgrass expansion and a mine five miles from my house.
But I really have issues when people try to waste the time of county employees, frivolously try to spend good taxpayer funds and abuse sound democratic processes. Recalling the commissioners is a waste of everyone’s time and I hope no one signs the petitions.
If you have problems with the commissioners over their stance on the jail, their focus on sustainable and green projects, their muteness over issues that impact us all… vote for someone other than incumbent Jim Starr and send him and his two compatriots a loud message. You get a chance to do that pretty soon. The idea of a liberal Democrat getting recalled over begrudgingly moving to build a jail without raising taxes brings with it more than a bit of irony. If the jail idea is so egregious—and the idea hasn’t exactly been a secret for many years—vote him out.
But unless the commissioners have stolen our money, broken the law, lied to us or checked out of the process, don’t waste our collective time, money or brain cells. There is a perfectly good alternative to send a message just a few months away. It’s called a general election. To say they’ve violated the U.S. Constitution is simply foolish.
Despite Thursday being April Fool’s Day, this recall is a joke and the petitions should be thrown out with the spring trash.

—Mark Reaman

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