Burning recall questions go to court

COEUR d'ALENE - Kootenai County wants a judge to rule how many days recall petitioners have to collect signatures in their drive to oust four Coeur d'Alene incumbents.

A lawsuit filed Tuesday by Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh on behalf of Kootenai County Clerk Cliff Hayes asks that a 1st District judge step in and clarify the "conflicting and ambiguous" statutes governing the recall process so Hayes will know how many days his office will have to certify signatures once they get there.

"All it is, is to clarify. We're neutral in this thing," Hayes said. "Coeur d'Alene had an opinion, but it didn't matter."

The suit, called a declaratory judgment petition, names RecallCdA, Frank Orzell, the city of Coeur d'Alene and the incumbents targeted by the recall, Mike Kennedy, Deanna Goodlander, Woody McEvers and Mayor Sandi Bloem.

McHugh said it was filed preemptively to settle the timeline dispute that arose last week after the recall was launched April 5.

"We're hoping the answer will put the matter to rest," McHugh said. "At least in the short term."

But Coeur d'Alene's legal department called the suit "troubling" and questioned the neutrality and timing of it. City Attorney Mike Gridley said it was a political stunt by McHugh to gain his own political support from Recall organizers - many of whom are Republican - as McHugh, a Republican, heads into the May primary election.

"This whole thing smells," Gridley said Wednesday. "This is some kind of loyalty test (McHugh's) trying to pass for Kathy Sims and the right wing of the Republican Party."

Rep. Kathy Sims, R-Coeur d'Alene, is one of the recall organizers.

The issue at hand is whether the 15 business days the county clerk has to certify petition signatures should be included - or added to - the 75 days petitioners have to gather signatures.

Last week, the Secretary of State and Attorney General's offices sided with Coeur d'Alene's legal interpretation that the 15 business days should be included in the 75-day window. That would cut down the time frame for collecting signatures.

But before it issued that opinion, the Secretary of State's office had said the 15 business days should be added to the 75-day window - an opinion with which Hayes's office had agreed.

The Secretary of State's office reversed its stance after reviewing the statutes in light of Coeur d'Alene's opinion.

Hayes estimated Wednesday that it could take at least a week to certify the signatures. Each of the four petitions needs 4,311 valid signatures from registered Coeur d'Alene voters to prompt a recall election.

McHugh said the suit was filed for the sole intention of clarity, and denied any political motives. He said the people named in the suit were listed individually because they are all affected by the court's decision.

"There is uncertainty and the purpose of the lawsuit is to get an answer through a judge and give everyone involved an opportunity to weigh in if they choose to do so," he said. "It's in everyone's best interest to get an answer."

A ruling could affect an election date - if the recall drive gets that far.

If the 15 days are added to the 75, it would all but make an August election impossible. The next available election date would be Nov. 6, a presidential election with higher than usual voter turnout.

The suit has been assigned to 1st District Judge Benjamin Simpson. It also asks Simpson to define "promptly." According to statute, the petitions must first be turned in to the city clerk, who then turns them over "promptly" to the county clerk for signature verification. McHugh also filed for an expedited hearing. Nothing has been scheduled yet.

Orzell said he didn't contact the county about the suit prior to its filing, but agreed clarification is needed in light of the shifting deadline of late.

"Whatever the court says, that's the definitive date," he said. "And I hope all sides will acknowledge that and live by it."

Gridley said the city will likely contract attorney Mike Haman to defend the city officials.

He said the suit was unnecessary because no one has been harmed by the Secretary of State's opinion on the timeline. The issue could in fact be moot, he said, if the signature drive and certification is completed in 75 days, ending June 19. Also, the county should have just named the entire city or City Clerk Susan Weathers - who is in charge of choosing a recall election date - in the lawsuit, not the individual members. The more individuals listed, the higher the chance the legal process gets dragged out, he said.

"I think it's an abuse of the system to sue them and not sue the city clerk or just sue the city," he said. "It gives the appearance of a political hack job."

Gridley said the fact that McHugh discussed the lawsuit at a Republican meeting Tuesday night before notifying the city indicates it was a political ploy.

McHugh talked about the lawsuit as one of his accomplishments while in office during a stump speech at a candidates' forum hosted by a Republican group.

"I think that's telling," Gridley said. "It's all very suspicious."

McHugh said he had been in communication with the city's legal team prior to filing the suit, and not sending word once the suit was filed was a mistake. He said he brought it up at the meeting because the information had been circulating online at that point, but no "outside input or influence" was behind the decision to file.

"We had committed to (Gridley) we would send him a courtesy copy. It didn't get done," McHugh said. "I can certainly understand his frustration... That's something that was an oversight."

Coeur d'Alene's municipal elections have become infused with partisan politics, in large part because of the influence the Kootenai County Reagan Republicans political group has played recently. That group has maintained that all elections are partisan, including non-partisan city elections, but has said it's staying out of the recall effort. Recall supporters have also stood firm that the recall is about the incumbents not allowing a public advisory vote on the multi-million dollar McEuen Field redevelopment project.

Since the recall effort was launched, the counter movement Stop The Recall was formed and contrasting lines have been drawn in the community, stirring debate online and in newspaper print.