Petitions to Force Recall Elections Fall Short - | News for Yuma, Imperial Valley, El Centro, AZ & CA

   YUMA, AZ - The signature count on two petitions to recall city council members Paul Johnson and Jerry Stuart have fallen short.

   1,856 valid signatures were needed on each petition to move forward with a recall election.

   2,117 signatures were submitted on the petition to recall Johnson, but 333 signatures were rejected. 1,784 signatures were deemed valid.

   On the Stuart petition, 2,083 signatures were submitted, and 289 of those were rejected.

   1,794 signatures were ruled valid, leaving the petition just 62 signatures short of forcing a special recall election on Stuart.

   Public Affairs Coordinator for the City of Yuma, Dave Nash, explains why many of the signatures didn't make the cut.

  "The City Clerk's Office was informed by the county Recorder's Office who did the final signature verification on this. They gave final tallies of the signatures from the verification process and found a number of duplicates, people who weren't registered voters, people who signed the petition before they were registered voters, people who live outside the city limits and are therefore not subject to representing on the Yuma city Council and some felons even. A lot of different reasons why a number of people weren't eligible to sign that petition," explains Nash.

   The two petitions were spearheaded by Mitchell Dunn of "Recall Them All 2012."

  "I haven't heard Mr. Johnson or Stuart's reactions yet, but this is hardly a vindication of those two gentlemen," says Dunn.

    A separate signature petition is underway to force a recall election of council member Cody Beeson. That petition was filed by Robert Johnson in May. He says today's recall count is working to his favor. Mitchell Dunn agrees.

   "I think it will help it. I think it will, as Mr. Johnson point out, people will be sure to get their name in there and make sure their voice counts," says Dunn.

   Dunn has ten days to challenge the signature petition counts to oust council members Johnson and Stuart. He says he'll consult with his attorneys before making a final decision to appeal.