09/07/11: Making recalls easier

This op-ed appeared in The Virginian-Pilot on the date shown.

WHEN VOTERS recalled James Holley III as mayor of Portsmouth in July 2010, it was the result of an arduous process undertaken by a group of citizens. The city charter required petitions containing signatures of registered voters equal to 30 percent of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. It took petition organizers nine months to gather 8,800 signatures — about 1,100 more than necessary.

Like Portsmouth, Norfolk’s charter also contains a provision on recall, albeit one that is less onerous. Three hundred signatures of ward residents are required to start the recall process for a council member elected in a ward or superward, and 1,000 petition signatures are required to initiate the recall process for the mayor.

An attempt by the Norfolk City Council last year to remove this section of the charter and replace it with the state law was thwarted when city residents became aware of it.

Most localities do not have recall provisions in their charters. Instead, they rely on the Code of Virginia, in particular Section 24.2-233. The process for removing an elected official starts with petitions containing signatures equal to 10 percent of the total number of votes cast “at the last election for the office that the officer holds.”

This is the position Virginia Beach finds itself in with School Board member Sandra Smith-Jones.

Smith-Jones has taken a position with a company in Saudi Arabia. While she has hinted that she will resign her seat, her only official action has been to rescind her previously issued resignation.

As an elected official, she can be removed from office only by voters in Virginia Beach.

Smith-Jones was last elected in November 2008, an election that featured the presidential contest at the top of the ticket. More than 125,000 votes were cast in the election for the Kempsville School Board seat for which Smith-Jones ran unopposed. At 10 percent, a recall petition has to contain more than 12,500 signatures of registered voters to be presented to the circuit court, which holds the ultimate authority for removal.

The aforementioned code is quite clear as to the criteria for removal: “For neglect of duty, misuse of office or incompetence in the performance of duties” or for certain convictions.

The first time Virginia Beach held a municipal election in November was 2008. In 2004, when the elections were held in May, the total votes cast in the race for the Kempsville seat was 32,623.

Had the current situation with Smith-Jones occurred before the move to November elections, petitions containing only 3,263 signatures would have been required.

This nearly fourfold increase in the number of signatures required has the effect of raising the bar significantly for the citizens to exercise their rights to remove an elected official. The move to November elections is the result of the state no longer paying for May elections. Portsmouth is the latest Hampton Roads locality to move its municipal elections to November.

A little perspective: Candidates for statewide office, such as governor, have to collect 10,000 signatures from all over the state for their names to be placed on the ballot. Voters in Virginia Beach, should they decide to pursue removal, have to collect more than that just in their city.

When the General Assembly virtually forced cash-strapped localities to move their elections to November, I doubt lawmakers considered the effect on the citizens in the localities, particularly those whose elections coincide with presidential elections, when voter turnout is at its highest.

The provisions of Virginia Code 24.2-233 need to be modified and the percentage reduced to a more realistic level, such as 5 percent.

Voters deserve a reasonable way to remove elected officials from office. The state code as it is currently written doesn’t provide that opportunity.

Residents of Virginia Beach’s Kempsville district deserve representation on the School Board. And they shouldn’t have to wait until November 2012 — the next election — to get it.