Recall makes a fresh start

Signatures now due by July 2

The three-member committee calling for the recall of the Gunnison Board of County Commissioners is making a fresh effort with the submission of new petition language and an updated list of committee members that could save them from a challenge down the road.
Robert T. Allen, George Willis and Robert Delahay gave County Clerk and Recorder Stella Dominguez their updated ballot, with a complete list of committee members and revised statement of grounds for recall, on Thursday, April 29. After a review, the County approved the petition Monday.

Dominguez says the petitioners have restarted the clock with the new petition, giving them until July 2 to collect more than 2,100 signatures to force a special election for commissioners Hap Channell and Paula Swenson and more than 1,500 signatures for commissioner Jim Starr.
And the new petition – that cites the failure of the commissioners to support the U.S. Constitution, the Colorado Constitution and failure to satisfy the people of Gunnison County as grounds for recall – barely makes the deadline for a legitimate challenge against Starr. Statutorily, he can’t face a special election within six months of a regular election and his seat is up for election this November.