Wisconsin
The two Democrats who have publically announced they want to run in a recall election against Republican Gov. Scott Walker have raised almost no money so far.
Walker, on the other hand, has raised more than $12 million since last year and has $2.6 million on hand.
Former Democratic Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk announced earlier this month that she will run against Walker.
The Marquette Law School poll of Wisconsin voters released Wednesday shows Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker holding a lead over all four of his potential Democratic opponents in the event of a recall election in Wisconsin.
Mr. Walker is currently awaiting the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board to complete its review of the signatures that were recently submitted by Walker recall activists.
The review of signatures submitted seeking a recall election of Gov. Scott Walker will take longer than the 60 days originally planned.
The director of the Government Accountability Board which is charged with handling the review said Thursday that it’s not clear how long it will take, but it will be more than 60 days.
A recall election to oust Republican Gov. Scott Walker from office could cost at least $9 million.
The state Government Accountability Board asked local clerks to estimate the costs of a possible recall election based on statewide elections in November 2010 and April 2011. All 72 county clerks reported back with a total estimate of $2.3 million. About 92 percent of municipal clerks responded with an estimate of $5.8 million. The GAB estimated its costs at $841,349.
The citizens of Wisconsin are an angsty bunch eh?
It’s now official. Sheboygan Mayor Bob Ryan will face a recall election after over 4,400 petition signatures were verified by the city clerk:
Sheboygan’s mayor is now fighting to keep his job after the city clerk verified there are enough signatures on petitions to force a recall election. In a document prepared for the Common Council, City Clerk Susan Richards says there were 4,481 valid signatures. Recall organizers needed 4,121. Richards said 242 were rejected because they had invalid addresses, such as living outside the city limits, or were duplicates. Mayor Bob Ryan has come under fire after two public incidents involving alcohol. But he says those days are behind him, and talked about that with Action 2 News.
The signature gathering in Wisconsin to recall Governor Walker began in earnest nearly two weeks ago, and already they’ve collected quite a few signatures.
The United Wisconsin coalition claims to have collected 300,000 signatures in just 12 days, which puts them over halfway to the roughly 540,000 needed to force a recall election. When collecting signatures it’s not unusual for some of them to be thrown out as incorrect or unidentifiable. However, even with the bad signatures taken out the coalition to force a recall is off to a pretty effective start.
What do you think? Will those seeking to recall the governor of Wisconsin be successful in their efforts?
The campaign to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker gets most of the media’s attention around the state and country. However, there is another recall effort currently underway in the city of Sheboygan, Wisconsin:
Jubilant opponents of Republican Gov. Scott Walker launched their effort Tuesday to try to recall him from office, starting a 60-day blitz to gather more than half a million signatures to force an election next year. The drive to collect an average of 9,000 signatures a day, fueled by anger over Walker’s successful push to take away nearly all public worker collective bargaining rights, began with pajama parties and other events after midnight. Daytime activities included rallies, neighborhood canvasses and booths set up around the state Capitol.
In what is sure to be a hard-fought and intense process, the recall campaign against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker began yesterday across the state:
Jubilant opponents of Republican Gov. Scott Walker launched their effort Tuesday to try to recall him from office, starting a 60-day blitz to gather more than half a million signatures to force an election next year.
Embattled Sheboygan Mayor Bob Ryan has one more thing to worry about. Tuesday, volunteers submitted thousands of signatures needed to launch a recall election. Its now up to the Government Accountability Board to verify 4,100 signatures. While the mayor wouldn’t comment to NBC26, we do know he has requested copies of the signatures.
State senators who face recall elections in the coming months will have to run in their existing districts rather than newly drawn ones that favor Republicans, the state’s top elections official said Wednesday. The opinion by Kevin Kennedy, director of the Government Accountability Board, will help Democrats as they try to take over the Senate by launching recall petition drives as early as next month. It also raises the prospect of a fierce legal battle over the issue, as Republicans could ask a court to require the elections in the new districts.
A second effort to remove troubled Sheboygan Mayor Bob Ryan is now underway as one alderman suggests putting the issue to a vote. Alderman Kevin Mati Chek has notified the State he intends to circulate recall petitions against Mayor Ryan.
Ryan, an admitted alcoholic, is under fire for a couple of incidents involving alcohol. The most recent occurred last month, when Elkhart Lake police say he instigated a disturbance at a bar there.
In all, Wisconsin voters recalled nine state senators, three Democrats and six Republicans, forcing them to stand for new elections. So far, one incumbent D has been re-elected and four of six Rs have kept their seats, with two GOP senators defeated. The last two districts vote today, with two incumbent Democrats on the ballot against Republican challengers.
“Unprecedented” is a word that seems to get unprecedented use these days. But today’s six recall elections in Wisconsin, which could flip partisan control of the state senate, truly are part of an exceptional recall effort.
As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:
Since 1908, there have been 20 recorded state legislative recall elections held in the United States, according to one recall expert. Wisconsin is in the process of holding nine such elections in the space of a month.