Recall efforts suddenly popular in Clark County

Scott Reeder

Wednesday, Sept. 23, 1998 | 10:44 a.m.

Recall elections are not particularly unusual in rural Nevada, but in Clark County they have moved from the rare occurrence to being common with this year's three unsuccessful efforts.

"This certainly has been an unusual few months," Kathryn Ferguson, Clark County registrar of elections said. "In the five years I've been in this office, I can only think of one other recall effort. That was the successful recall of the Mesquite mayor."

There have been two unsuccessful attempts this year to gather enough signatures to hold a recall election against County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates. There was also an unsuccessful petition drive to recall North Las Vegas City Council Member Paula Brown.

The 1993 recall of Mesquite Mayor Bill Lee is the only successful recall there has been in the county since 1980, according to county records.

Dan Foley, a Las Vegas lawyer who has studied the issue, questions whether recall elections are constitutional.

"If 25 percent of the number of voters, who voted in the last election sign a petition, they can have a recall election. That's not right. A minority of people can invalidate an election and call for a new one and those people signing the petition didn't even have to vote in the last election."

But Craig Walton, program coordinator for ethics and policy study at UNLV, says recall elections provide a valuable remedy for voters.

"When you are elected to public office, this is something of a release valve that is there for the voters," he said.

Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller said while it is difficult to recall an elected official, oftentimes even an unsuccessful attempt sends a message of discontent from the voters.

"Recalls are much more common in the rural counties than in Clark or Washoe. ... There are a variety of reasons for this. It is easier to collect the necessary number of signatures in rural areas, and people really know what is going on there. Politics is very much on a personal level."

There have been 13 recall efforts in Nevada this year, two of which have been successful, said Pamela Crowell, deputy secretary of state for elections. A general improvement district trustee in Washoe County and the Lincoln County district attorney were both removed from office, she said.

Neighboring states such as Arizona, Oregon, Idaho and California have provisions allowing recall elections. Utah, on the other hand, does not have recall elections.

"I think the last recall election we had on a state level was in 1995 -- it was a state assembly seat," said Shirley Washington, a spokesperson for the California Secretary of State's Office.

In Arizona, state recall elections are uncommon, said Elaine LeTarte of the Arizona Secretary of State's Office. "It is pretty onerous trying to get 25 percent of the number of voters to sign a petition -- so you don't see many efforts."

Western states are much more likely to have recall provisions, said Ben Ysursa, chief deputy of the Idaho Secretary of State's Office. "If you say 'recall' back East, they don't know what you are talking about. ... This all came out of populist movement at the turn-of-the century. It was a way of giving power back to the people."

Ron Michaelson, executive director of the Illinois State Board of Elections, said his state does not have a recall provision.

"Generally, you don't find recall provisions in highly partisan states like Illinois. It is much more common to find them in progressive states that do not have two very strong political parties.

"I think most political scientists would say that an unbridled use of the recall is not a good thing. After all, voters always have the option of not electing that person again. Elected officials are there to make the tough decisions."