Do You Recall Their Vote on Rental Inspections?

[XLFD]

Were you one of those over 100 Sherman Oaks tenants that signed the petition to your city councilors to vote "no" on the rental inspection ordinance?  Were you one of the several dozen landlords, tenants, and other Ludington folks who came before the council and expressed your displeasure at just about every facet of this poorly written, poorly conceived and unsustainable ordinance (not including wolf-in-sheep-clothing city officials dedicated to wishing for state grants and developer money at the expense of everyone's basic rights)?  Does it make you mad and desirous to do something to correct what has been a disturbing trend in Ludington governance?

Or are you feeling blue over what you can do now that they've passed this tax?  Do you believe their fibs that it's a user fee and not a tax?  Then look at what the city will do if your neighborhood landlords don't pay to register for this:  fine and confine. Nothing voluntary about this 'service', it's mandated. 

Still think there's an actual unrepealed Ludington Property Maintenance Code (LPMC)?  I will shortly refute Attorney Richard Wilson's belief/opinion that there is.  He shared that opinion at the last meeting where he claimed that Ludington was governed between the years 2000 and 2004 by two LPMCs, which is patently ridiculous when two laws are in conflict with each other.  He then claims the older LPMC was repealed when the 2000 LPMC was specifically repealed by a 2004 ordinance.

With all that and much more going against the rental inspection ordinance, it was a true breach of duty for your city councilor to vote to put this ordinance into effect a true attack on you and your fellow citizens rights.  As a citizen, it is your duty to call them on it:  Councilors Castonia, Tykoski, Krauch, Winczewski and Rathsack.

To that end, I offer some support.  I am pleased that Councilor Holman and Councilor Johnson (not a usual tandem in voting "no") had reservations, even though they have been wishy-washy throughout and gave no reason for their vote.  Pleased indeed, since those would be the only two seats I would qualify for (Third Ward and At-large), so that I can stay out of the fray at least for now. 

In case you don't know which ward you are from, or who your ward representative is, the best, and probably outdated, ward map of Ludington available to the public is this one from the city website's LPD section showing school safety zones:

From this you can gauge which officer went against your principles of sensible, limited government.  You then can determine if you, or others you know who would be great representatives of your interests, should get the ball rolling to do a recall election.  Landlords would seem the obvious people to be highly motivated seeing that they will be directly affected by this ordinance, but many tenants I know are highly energized to protect the sanctity of their homes and their pocketbooks, since many of the extra expenses will trickle down on them. 

Never been part of a recall election?  Neither have I, so it'll be fun and exciting whatever happens.  Let's look at the basics of a recall and answer two questions:  1) how many signatures do I need on my petition (and what's the rest of the process)?  and  2) is there anybody willing to run against the incumbent who is sympathetic to your hopes and fears and not just another city-stooge-replacement? 

To answer the first query, we look to Michigan Election Law MCL 168.955 :

A little research through the web gives us the number of people voting for governor in 2014 for the six wards in Ludington:

Given these numbers, 25% of the voting population would give us the minimum amount of John Hancocks:

Ward 1:  Richard Rathsack, 526 votes cast, 132 signatures needed

Ward 2:  Kathy Winczewski, 425 votes cast, 107 signatures needed

Ward 4:  Michael Krauch, 333 votes cast, 84 signatures needed

Ward 5:  Nick Tykoski, 438 votes cast, 110 signatures needed

Ward 6:  Gary Castonia, 372 votes cast, 93 signatures needed

Whoever were the insurgents in Ward 5 would already have a petition of over 100 tenants aligning against the ordinance, there would be a great start already.  And Fourth Ward would finally get a chance to vote for or against Mike Krauch, the council and our city hall saw to it that he didn't get on the ballot in 2014, contrary to our city's laws-- big surprise about that.

Enjoy this extra reading on the process of recall linked to below, while you consider whether you should pool your resources or not.  I will gladly help any ward's agitators in listing other votes and actions by your ward's councilor over the last few years which you can include on your petition language. 

Recall- Act 116 of 1954  Quick recall links:

 Eligibility of Signers- MCL 168.954

 Qualifications and Certification of Circulators- MCL 168.957

 Petition Sheets- MCL 168.958

 Filing Recall Petitions- MCL 168.961

 Recall Election- MCL 168.963

 Filing Canadidacy for Nonpartisan Recall Office- MCL 168.972

And lest we forget, that if more than one recall election happens in May 2016, only two new people of the five positions are needed to repeal the ordinance, if Johnson and Holman retain their position and one councilor makes a motion and another seconds them to do so once they're in. 

[AQUAMAN]

What appears to be tricky, at least imho, is the recall petition sheet and it's heading. The heading meaning the wording that must be specific and legal for any signatures thereon to be valid. I see no form, nor template available, for such a petition that meets with legal procedure. This is a very important part of the process. So, if the COL nor the State of Michigan have no such form, then one must be constructed. That should something that the COL City Clerk Luskin has in that regard to help guide a citizen so that the petition conforms and meets all legalities. Without that, it would be up to the individual and/or their attorney to formulate one that meets the criteria of the law. After that, it's simply a matter of the originator of the petition to be a registered voter of that district or ward. Then that person may obtain like signatures of fellow constituents, as long as they are currently registered voters of that ward, and make their address, phone, and printed and signed name on the petition clear and available for the clerk's check on those requirements.