How can you remove an elected city official???
other than by recall election??? Can they be impeached or is the recall election the only method? My town may need to recall the mayor and all of the city council members b/c they are trying to force new zoning ordinances down our throats...and the entire town is against them. They are not listening to the will of the poeple. I'm hoping that they come to their senses, but we want to be prepared with a course of action should they move forward with their adgenda. Any input will be appreciated.[:)]
They are trying to replace our 9 page zoning ordinace with 78 pages of new zoning ordinance...all in an effort to turn us into some yuppie resort town. Circumstances dictate that this town can never grow to a point that it would need half of the proposed ordinance.
They are trying to replace our 9 page zoning ordinace with 78 pages of new zoning ordinance...all in an effort to turn us into some yuppie resort town. Circumstances dictate that this town can never grow to a point that it would need half of the proposed ordinance.
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Well, since I don't advocate armed insurrection (at least, as a first move...[8D])...it'd probably depend on your town's (possibly states?) bylaws.
Make 'em aware that they are going to be un-elected if they continue on this course of action...
And, if your council runs meetings by Robert's Rules of Order, there's all sorts of schrecklichkeit that you can commit, all within the rules--things to tie up a meeting for HOURS. Study your parlypro...do it enough, make 'em understand that everytime that they have a meeting, they won't be getting home before 5AM the next day, and they might start to see reason...0 -
Hah-ha good luck. LaSalle COunty had the same problem. County Board and the President wanted ZOning. The residence did not want it.
The residence created a Landowners Association to fight the county. Had a non binding resolution on the ballot where the residence voted twice 75% and 80% against the zoning ordinances. The county board railroaded it through a couple of years later. We've ran about half the bums out of office including the county board presidents. We've voted for a resolution where the board president needs to be elected by the county at large rather than the majority party (democrats) on the county board.
Basically, the residence have to get ugly with the board when they are not properly representing the residence. Place resolutions on the ballot and reduce their size, control and lack of leadership. It's not pretty. When 75% of the residence vote that they do not want zoning, it intimidates them for a while.0 -
You will have to check the city statutes, but a recall petition to force an election is likely the only way to remove them. 0 -
Hire an assassin and then meet all of their demands so they stay quiet. 0 -
Those kinds of procedures are primarily regulated at the state and local level, and you are going to have to check the laws of your state and locality to see if such a thing is possible. I'm sure some states have changed but, at least just a few years ago, not all states had provisions for that procedure.
I would check to see about both recall and the process of forcing a referendum vote on the issue. Some items can be forced to go to a referendum if enough signatures are gathered on a petition. If the support against the move is as large as you indicate, the required percent of signatures should be easy to get - if referendum is allowed in this instance.[:)]0 -
The LaSalle County Landowners Association does not respect political parties and it does offer a more powerful voice than individuals. There are a few on the county board that, while not members of the ass., they do identify with the values of landowners. The association does not give them board members any problems.
I fail to see how zoning helps anything. Kendall County has zoning and yet a "swingers sex club" opens up in rural Newark. When Ottawa's strip bar's sign shows a topless woman with pasties, not one politicians has the balls to enforce the zoning and say the sign is inappropriate. Shot, this county cannot even enforce it's ordinances against house trailers yet we now have zoning.
In any case, I do think the way to play hardball with a board that does not represent the residence is through binding ballot referendums that limit and reduce the board's power. Reduce the size, pay, ability to tax, and authority. Zoning costs money. Higher taxes.
One other possibility is to limit the amount of funds to pay for Zoning enforcement and limit the new costs for permitting.
I'll get off the soapbox, just a hot button topic.
http://www.inottawa.com/ottnews/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=290295
http://mywebtimes.com/ottnews/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=265398
http://www.growingsensibly.org/news/releaseDetail.asp?objectID=1939
http://www.demographia.com/db-lasalle010518.htm
http://www.demographia.com/db-lasallevictory.htm0 -
Tar and feather.
Burn there houses down.0 -
quote:Originally posted by dlrjj
Those kinds of procedures are primarily regulated at the state and local level, and you are going to have to check the laws of your state and locality to see if such a thing is possible. I'm sure some states have changed but, at least just a few years ago, not all states had provisions for that procedure.
I would check to see about both recall and the process of forcing a referendum vote on the issue. Some items can be forced to go to a referendum if enough signatures are gathered on a petition. If the support against the move is as large as you indicate, the required percent of signatures should be easy to get - if referendum is allowed in this instance.[:)]
Idaho does allow for the recall of city officials (Idaho Code Title 34, Chapter 17). What's the deal with this referendum??? Can a special election be held to vote on a referendum...or is the pettion sufficient? I'm sure we could get the required signatures if this is a possiblity. Any ideas on how to find this within the bulk of the State Code? Thank you!![8D]0 -
Our county allows 2 referendums per election. It was a horse race to the office to be the first to get their referendum on the ballot in the last election. Politics.
Ask the county clerk or the city clerk if there is such. I think these are the people that collect the petitions for candidates.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Captplaid
Our county allows 2 referendums per election. It was a horse race to the office to be the first to get their referendum on the ballot in the last election. Politics.
...so you have to wait until an election to have one...You cannot force a special election to vote on one? The recall may be the way to go here.0 -
Pull a Putin and purchase some Polonium.[:o)]
Say THAT 5 times fast[:)]0 -
Recall, referendum, and initiative are all apparently legal provisions in the Idaho constitution and I have posted a couple of links below that have a direct reference to a couple of different portions of the Idaho constitution where these provisions are both defined and explained as to usage. I do not know whether this "right" extends to the local level, but you've got a fighting chance that it is, since it is legal at the state level.
In simple terms, referendum means that the people of an area (city, county, state, etc.) have the right to vote directly on the passage of certain types of bills or laws. It is sometimes used by politicians when they don't want to take the heat for certain votes, and just turn it over to the public for their decision.
We had that here in Indiana several years ago when the final vote came up for a lottery. It was safer politically to just put it to an up or down vote of the public. It can also be demanded by petition of the constituency.
http://www2.state.id.us/ag/ops_guide_cert/1990/G012690.pdf
http://www.iandrinstitute.org/New IRI Website Info/I&R Research and History/I&R at the Statewide Level/Constitution and Statutes/Idaho.pdf
They are all derived from the Wisconsin reform plan of 3/4 of a century ago.
I hope this helps you a bit.[:)]0 -
quote:Originally posted by dlrjj
Recall, referendum, and initiative are all apparently legal provisions in the Idaho constitution and I have posted a couple of links below that have a direct reference to a couple of different portions of the Idaho constitution where these provisions are both defined and explained as to usage. I do not know whether this "right" extends to the local level, but you've got a fighting chance that it is, since it is legal at the state level.
In simple terms, referendum means that the people of an area (city, county, state, etc.) have the right to vote directly on the passage of certain types of bills or laws. It is sometimes used by politicians when they don't want to take the heat for certain votes, and just turn it over to the public for their decision.
We had that here in Indiana several years ago when the final vote came up for a lottery. It was safer politically to just put it to an up or down vote of the public. It can also be demanded by petition of the constituency.
http://www2.state.id.us/ag/ops_guide_cert/1990/G012690.pdf
http://www.iandrinstitute.org/New IRI Website Info/I&R Research and History/I&R at the Statewide Level/Constitution and Statutes/Idaho.pdf
They are all derived from the Wisconsin reform plan of 3/4 of a century ago.
I hope this helps you a bit.[:)]
[8D]Thank you!!0 -
A recall petition by a majority of the citizens will usually work. An impeachment would depend on the grounds used for the recall or the impeachment. To impeach, certain laws must be broken. After all Lying and having Sex in the Oval office isnt grounds for impeachment. I think anything short of Murder is not reason for impeachment, pretty much anything goes for the political bunch..[:(] 0 -
class action lawsuit to tie it all up until they can be elected out of office... 4 boxes , yada, soap - ballot - jury - ammo, use in that order, yada yada
Looks like you are down to either ballot (if available) or jury to stall all process until it is time for ballot...0 -
Normally you need a petition with a certain percentage of registered voters. Then if the petition is certified, the recall would be put on a special ballot and would have to be voted on. Don 0 -
If it helps, thank Robert "Battling Bob" LaFollette of Wisconsin. He is as responsible as anyone for the political reforms that brought these provisions to many states and at least took a small portion of politics out of the backroom.
One of the reasons we seem so powerless today, it that few take the time to learn just how much real power there is available, if one will just learn to use it. It's great to see you taking the time to make an effort to get something done. Congratulations.[:)]0
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