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Re: Recall Information for County Clerk


Sorry for any confusion caused by the CC's, I figured CVV members would be keenly interested and that's why I included the list.

We may actually be in more agreement than it seems. For one, this is just a request for the info required to start the process, not yet collecting signatures. That is, Linda has the opportunity to "do the right thing" still without citizens having to resort to actually recalling her.

Also, I don't intend to start trying to collect any signatures before Thanksgiving, but I didn't want to let the timing lapse such that nothing happens with the County's committee and all of a sudden it's time for the March election and no one has been held accountable for this debacle and God forbid it happens again.

So, if there were to be a recall before March, I estimated the whole process would need to start now.

As I have told the several reporters who have called now, I sure hope we don't have to have a recall, but if no one will be held accountable, then this is the final recourse we've got, and even if I'm the only one, I'm going to stand up and say that the elephant in the room is naked (to mix metaphors).

Nothing that's happened over the last year or the last few weeks convinces me that we can or should rely on the Commissioners or Elections Office to serve their constituents by providing Trustworthy Elections, let alone expect relief from the courts.

But, I think the fact that no one from the Clerk's or Commissioners' office has yet replied to my request for the recall info is a good sign, especially considering I got a nearly instantaneous response regarding my application to serve on the committee.

Joe

Joe Pezzillo, Citizen Activist
Boulder, Colorado USA
jpezzillo@xxxxxxxxx




On Nov 12, 2004, at 5:38 PM, Mary Eberle wrote:

Joe,

As you copied CVV on your request to the County Commissioners and Linda Salas, it did seem possible to infer that CVV was in agreement with your stance. I suspect that is what the County Commissioners, Ms. Salas, and the Daily Camera would have inferred, though I may be incorrect on this matter.

I am aware of the past problems including those of our election in November 2003, the attempted testing that was foiled by the sheriff (bet he now wishes he had let it proceed), and the fact that many citizens (including myself) spoke before the County Commissioners to protest the purchase of the Hart system.

As to a timing that I would prefer, as I said, let's wait on any recall considerations until after the provisional and absentee ballots are counted. Maybe we should even give the Elections Staff a breather until the end of the month; I'm sure they are exhausted. By then, there may be some preliminary results from the County Commissioners' review committee that we as a group and/or you as an individual will find useful to consider. If a recall is deemed to be the correct approach, it would be better to have it before the Boulder City Council election in early March.

Mary Eberle

Joe Pezzillo wrote:

Mary-
Thanks for your e-mail. I appreciate that not everyone thinks a recall is warranted at this time, and I am pursuing this as an individual, not on behalf of CVV (I hope that's already clear).
Also, I am simply requesting the information at this time, not yet actually collecting any signatures. As I told one of the reporters who has called, I'd rather see Linda do the right thing to begin with (like, a year ago), but if she's not going to, then it will be up to the citizens to secure Trustworthy Elections for Boulder County, as they have repeatedly proven their ineptitude at doing so.
The "first time" should have been before the Primary, and now it appears that what problems they encountered then were never resolved before heading into the General. Also, remember that when a citizen tried to test this system under real world conditions, that citizen was escorted from the Clerk's office by the Sheriff who then continued to investigate the citizen instead of spending any time looking for problems at the Elections Office.
Also, I do not agree with the County position that no one should be held accountable, especially given the obvious nature of management's repeated failures (don't forget the uncertified equipment and total recount in November 2003, too).
All that said, I'm curious about at what point would you agree with a recall, after they screw up the next election? Do you not see a pattern here already?
Joe
Joe Pezzillo, Citizen Activist
Boulder, Colorado USA
jpezzillo@xxxxxxxxx
On Nov 12, 2004, at 4:43 PM, Mary Eberle wrote:
Joe,

I do not agree with this request. Let Ms. Salas and her staff finish the vote counting and give us the results in peace.

I do not think it is reasonable to have expected the system to work smoothly the first time. There are too many variables. It is too bad that we didn't get all the wake-up calls after the primary, but we didn't, and nothing can be done about that now. Still, all the ballots are being counted (so far as we can tell), although at a monetary cost as well as a human-exhaustion cost.

As I have stated, I think our first priority must be to change the Colorado law concerning recount methods so that we can verify election results. We need our county commissioners to make this their priority as well, not a witch hunt. They need to form a coalition with other county commissioners, and they will be less inclined to do so if we bog down Boulder County politics with a recall.

Mary Eberle
Election Judge, Boulder County

Joe Pezzillo wrote:

November 12th, 2004
Attn: Boulder County Board of Commissioners, Boulder County Clerk
From: Joe Pezzillo, Boulder city resident
Due to her unwillingness to accept responsibility for the failure of the Boulder County Elections Office by voluntarily resigning or removing those staff members who have demonstrated incompetence, please provide me with information on how to begin the process of holding a recall election to remove the Boulder County Clerk.
Regretfully,
Joe Pezzillo
PO Box J
Boulder, Colorado USA 80306
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