FeedsRecall language rejected for vagueness
Area residents seeking to recall five Westland officials hit a roadblock Tuesday when election officials decided the petition language submitted did not meet clarity requirements.
Members of a grassroots citizen’s group known as Save Our Neighborhood (SON) met with members of the Wayne County Election Commission on Tuesday. They are attempting to recall Westland Mayor Bill Wild, Westland City Council President James Godbout and Westland City Council members Michael Kehrer, Bill Johnson, and Dewey Reeves. Recall language was filed with Wayne County July 29.
Members of SON did not receive the answer for which they had been hoping as the three-person county board denied the recall language against each of the five officials. By law, the role of the commission is “to determine whether each reason for the recall stated in the petition is of sufficient clarity to enable the officer whose recall is sought and the electors to identify the course of conduct which is the basis for the recall.”
“They said it was ‘vague’,” said SON member Rosemarie Rembisz. Despite the setback, she said that the group doesn’t intend to give up on their effort. She said that the group even had a revised set of language prepared just in case their effort was denied.
“We’ve already refiled,” said Rembisz on Tuesday evening. “It’s a trial and error process. We tried to make it more concise and we made it too concise.”
A new clarity hearing is expected by Sept. 2 at the latest, she said.
The recall effort developed after the council majority voted to approve a Planned Unit Development (PUD) designation and preliminary site plan approval for a proposed development on Joy Road that includes 54 condominiums, 20 duplex condominiums, and a three-story independent living facility. The land was previously zoned for single-family residential homes. Several homeowners in the area had voiced concerns about the project, including the density and impact on safety.
Westland Mayor Bill Wild said Tuesday that he hoped the Election Commission decision and the recent “successful” meeting between the developer of the site and area residents would give the citizens pause.
“My hope would be that the folks that lead this take a step back and take time to meet with the developer to resolve their concerns,” said Wild.
If recall language is approved, supporters must collect the equivalent of 25 percent of the number of the number of voters who voted in the last gubernatorial race, in this case 6,818, within a 90-day window in order for the recall question to go before voters.
