Mullan recall set for March 12

The Mullan recall is on.

City clerk Tammy Scheel reported that the recall election of Mayor Mike Dunnigan and Councilman Dan White will be held Tuesday, March 12.

Mullan resident Jeff Bergstrom collected enough signatures for the recall. State statute requires signatures from 20 percent of the electors from the last general election, which was November 2012. The threshold was 77, and Bergstrom obtained 78 for White and 82 for Dunnigan.

The candidates and Bergstrom are required by state law to provide a statement for the reason for the recall or justification for retaining the candidate. Scheel has until Jan. 25 to submit the statements to the county clerk's office. As of Wednesday, she did not have the statements, but said she was working on it.

A confrontation between Bergstrom, Dunnigan and a female companion was posted on YouTube on Sept. 17 (http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-843011). In the clip, which CNN posted on its website, Dunnigan threatens to "beat the living (expletive) out of" Bergstrom, who was apparently on his own property. Dunnigan yelled the words from the driver's seat of a blue minivan. He was apparently upset about a sign posted on a utility pole across the street from Bergstrom's home. Bergstrom said the sign said, "Please drive slow."

In the video, Bergstrom and Dunnigan discuss what Dunnigan has done for the city over the 15 years he has served as mayor. Dunnigan said he helped get the funding to pave the street in front of Bergstrom's home, along with four others.

City attorney Keisha Oxendine - who also works for Shoshone County - resigned from her position amid the recall furor. She was subsequently replaced by Kellogg attorney John Rose. Oxendine only served for a couple months after replacing longtime city attorney Jay Sturgell, whom Dunnigan said worked there for approximately eight years. On Wednesday, Oxendine said she couldn't give the reason for her resignation due to attorney-client privilege.

Janice Shiner, deputy clerk for Shoshone County, said she only remembered one other attempted recall of an officer over the course of her 33 years working for the county.

If Dunnigan or White are removed from office, the city council must meet within six days of the election to announce the results and subsequently pick a replacement(s) from the community. The replacement(s) would serve until after a new general election, which would be held in November.