Canvassers reject 7 of 8 recall petitions filed against Michigan House lawmakers

Lansing — The Michigan Board of State Canvassers on Tuesday put an end to recall petitions against seven of eight House lawmakers — their deadlock vote on rejection of the recalls failing to give them the majority support needed to move forward.

The canvassers by and large agreed the petitions shouldn't move forward but differed on their reasoning for why they shouldn't.

Over the nearly two-hour meeting, canvassers raised concerns that the petitions didn't meet standards for clarity because they lacked sufficient descriptions of the bills cited as reasons for recalls; voiced reservations about the legibility and differences of handwriting on the petitions; and questioned whether the petitions should include a disclaimer indicating the organizations behind the ballot initiative.

"I think that some detail is necessary and at least some reference" to the content of the legislation that prompted the recall, said Mary Ellen Gurewitz, chair of the four-member state election board. "The (bill) number does not give somebody who is apt to sign a petition sufficient information to make an informed decision.”

Ultimately, canvassers approved one recall petition filed against state Rep. Cam Cavitt of Cheboygan because the petition gave more detail on the reason for his recall: A procedural vote he took at the beginning of the year to elect Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, as House speaker.

The individual who filed the recall against Cavitt, Gary Wnuk, has a 180-day window to collect 11,900 valid signatures over 60 consecutive days. If Wnuk can collect the signatures and they're verified by the Bureau of Elections, Cavitt then will face a recall election against a Democrat nominee or any other party that might put forward a nominee.

The recall petitions that were rejected through deadlock Tuesday included those filed against Democratic state Reps. Jennifer Conlin of Ann Arbor, Noah Arbit of West Bloomfield, Betsy Coffia of Traverse City, Sharon MacDonell of Troy, Jaime Churches of Wyandotte and Reggie Miller of Van Buren Township and House Republican state Donni Steele of Orion.

Each of those recall petitions listed as the reasoning for the recall a single bill number, without an explanation of what the bill contained. The bill numbers largely pertained to legislation creating red flag gun laws, requiring the safe storage of guns and creating a legal structure to address hate crimes.

But without those short descriptions listed on the actual recall, it would be difficult for the average citizen asked to sign the petition to determine the the reasoning, canvassers argued.

"These are frivolous in the end," said Mark Brewer, an attorney for the House Democrats targeted for recall. "These bills were very popular with the constituents; they're very popular statewide. These representatives did the right thing and, frankly, this is no more than just harassment of them for doing their jobs."

Brewer argued canvassers also could reject the petitions based on the fact that they lacked a disclaimer showing which group was organizing the recall and because the handwriting used to describe the reason for the petition was different than the actual signatures of the sponsors.

"Signers have a right to know by statute and in general, under principles of transparency, who the real sponsors of these petitions are," Brewer said. "Signers of recall petitions in this state should not be misled by a ghostwritten petition with a fake sponsor.”

Brewer alleged the ghostwriter was Frank Tarnowski of Wyandotte, who was listed as the contact with the Bureau of Elections. Tarnowski, when contacted Tuesday, acknowledged that he did list himself as contact on the Churches recall but wasn't in charge of the recall efforts and "didn't organize it or anything." He declined to comment further.

Gerald Clixby, the lone recall sponsor to show up at Tuesday's meeting, acknowledged that he spoke to a few groups ahead of time and that someone else had written the language that he then signed. But he maintained he agreed with the recall language and his signature should be attestation enough the petition wasn't ghostwritten or ineligible for approval.

Clixby had filed the recall language against Arbit based on the lawmaker's vote in support of House Bill 4474, a bill create a new hate crimes law. He argued the language was kept to the bill number so as to keep it as concise as possible.

Clixby said he had real concerns about the bill that spurred the recall and maintained the recall effort was a grassroots campaign that shouldn't need a disclaimer.

"I’m just a taxpayer," Clixby said. "I’m just a citizen. I’m concerned. I have kids in this state.”

Assistant Attorney General Heather Meingast told canvassers concerns about disclaimers largely fell under the purview of the Secretary of State and would be handled at the back end of the recall process under the Campaign Finance Act.

Canvasser Tony Daunt, a Republican, said he was still concerned about the lack of a disclaimer on the recall petitions, but voted against rejection because he felt the seven petitions' use of the House bill number met the benchmarks for sufficient clarity. Canvasser Jeannette Bradshaw, a Democrat, cited the lack of legible handwriting on some of the petitions as the reason her opposition.

Bradshaw voted against rejecting the petitions because of her conflicting reasons for rejection. Daunt voted against rejection because he felt the brief listing of the House bill were sufficiently clear and factual. Gurewitz, a Democrat, and Canvasser Richard Houskamp, a Republican, voted for rejection based on clarity failings.

eleblanc@detroitnews.com