Recall Update

Proponents of the effort to recall Councilman Lance MacLean had another productive week of gathering signatures. A volunteer summarized the activity, “We have moments when we think everyone in town except Lance has signed the petition. Residents have another week to sign, and we have tables in front of nearly every major grocery store on a daily basis from mid-morning until it gets dark. We’ve stepped up our effort and made it easy for people to find us.”

The deadline for recall proponents to turn in signatures is Tues., Aug. 25. If the Registrar of Voters finds that approximately 9,300 registered voters have signed the petition, the recall will qualify for the ballot.

Recall volunteers report that MacLean’s few supporters have shifted their focus. Months ago, MacLean’s fans said the recall unfairly targeted him when “everyone did it.” When volunteers agreed that Councilmembers Frank Ury and Trish Kelley were also guilty of self-enrichment and wasteful spending, MacLean’s defenders began objecting to the cost of a special election. Almost no one at storefronts complains about the cost except the MacLean camp. When the council spends more than $1 million a week and claims to have $28 million in “discretionary” reserves, the city can obviously afford a special election.

If the city truly has $28 million to spare, then bring on the election. And if the city doesn’t have $28 million in discretionary reserves as MacLean says is his recall rebuttal, then voters have another reason to recall him. If MacLean’s fans are concerned about the cost of an election, then they should persuade him to resign.