Today is Election Day in Crawford as voters decide whether or not to recall Mayor Connie Shell.
The ballot language couldn’t be any clearer – “Shall Connie Shell be removed from the office of Mayor of the city of Crawford, Nebraska.”
The voting instructions couldn’t be any easier, either – ”Electors wishing to vote in favor of the recall darken the oval to the left of the word Yes. Electors wishing to vote against the recall darken the oval to the left of the word No.
As with all elections in Dawes County, it’s mail-only vote and County Clerk Cheryl Feist says anyone that hasn’t already sent in their ballot must drop it off in person at the drop box outside the courthouse by 5:00 for it to be counted.
That’s 2 hours earlier than for most elections, allowing the counting to start that much earlier. Feist says her election board will start tabulating ballots almost immediately after 5:00, so she hopes to have the results by 6:00 or 6:30.
Coincidentally, the Crawford City Council meets in regular session at 6:30 in the Community Building, so the members might know the results by the time they start the meeting.
Recall supporters say that Shell, midway through her first term as mayor, needs to be recalled because doesn’t have the community in her best interest.
They also say she is self-serving, accused lucrative businesses in town as not being valuable, and has threatened members of the Chamber of Commerce with personal lawsuits.
Shell denies all the accusations and says petition signers have told her that circulators lied to them about what they were signing.