Re: Recall Information for County Clerk

[Ralph Shnelvar <ralphs@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Joe:

On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 18:18:23 -0700, you wrote:

>
>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.

Could you share with us the reply, please.

I haven't seen it ... so if you already posted it, I apologize.

Ralph Shnelvar

>
>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
>>>>> .
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>> .
>>
>>
>