Supporters labor over holiday on recall
“Dude, I sell chicken,” said a smoky food worker in Riverfront Park when asked Monday where the booth was for those gathering petition signatures to oust Spokane Mayor Jim West. “I don’t know anything about it. I haven’t voted in five years.”
While not everyone attending the final day of Pig Out in the Park was keen on the issue, supporters have been lining up over the weekend to sign their names on petitions seeking a public vote on recalling West.
On Saturday, West supporters held their own rally on Division Street at the petition-drive headquarters. Organizers could not be reached for comment Monday.
On Monday – the 12th day of signature-gathering – recall organizers were telling their volunteers to bring in their petitions so an informal tally could be made to see if they’ve reached their goal of 17,000 signatures.
Recall supporters need 12,567 valid signatures of registered city voters to get the proposal on the ballot. Petition drives usually try to get plenty of extra signatures because some signers either aren’t registered to vote or don’t live in the area covered by the proposal.
They want to be sure they have sufficient numbers before turning the petitions in, said Rita Amunrud, a volunteer helping the recall drive started by Shannon Sullivan.
Amunrud said Monday that volunteers in the park have heard comments from hundreds of people who said they wish they could sign but they live out of the area – some as far away as Canada.
So volunteers started an “I wish I could sign” petition and collected almost 1,000 signatures on it over the long weekend. Among people who signed that unofficial petition were visitors from San Diego, Pullman and Idaho.
Volunteers also started gathering signatures of people who want to assure that the city of Spokane keeps Joe Albi Stadium. The City Council recently voted 6-1 to kill West’s proposal to sell the property.
“Everyone on the fence (about the mayoral recall petition) has been pushed over by the Joe Albi deal,” Amunrud said.
Under state law, recall supporters have 180 days to collect signatures. But they can’t wait nearly that long if they hope to put the issue on the Nov. 8 ballot.
Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton has previously told The Spokesman-Review that it’s unlikely the signatures can be verified before Sept. 23, the deadline for putting issues on that ballot. The law requires a five-day waiting period while everyone involved in the recall receives official notification before verification can start, and elections staff will be tied up with the Sept. 20 primary for part of the month.
If signatures are verified after Sept. 23, a special city election – at city cost – would be held between 45 and 60 days after the verification is complete. Dalton has said that would cost about $140,000.