A recall effort has been launched against Crawford Mayor Tom Phillips accusing him of not residing in Crawford.
Dawes County Clerk Cheryl Feist says she will issue the petitions to chief circulator Lori Palomares next Tuesday, January 2nd, and Palomares will have until February 2nd to gather 75 signatures to force Phillips to resign or face a recall election.
Phillips received 214 votes in last year’s election and state law sets 35% of that total – rounded to 75 – as the number of signatures from registered Crawford residents needed for a recall.
Palomares filed the petition with Feist on December 4th and Phillips had until the day after Christmas to submit a response that would be part of the petition being circulated..
Phillips did not respond, so the petition will include only Palomares’ reasons for seeking to recall the mayor.
      Those are that Phillips doesn’t reside in the city and that he faces a conflict of interest because his wife does the books for the city-owned Legend Buttes Golf Course.
After Palomares turns in her petitions, Feist will have 15 days to verify they contain 75 valid signatures. If there are enough signatures, she will notify Phillips – who would then have to decide between resigning or standing for a recall election.
If he doesn’t resign, the Crawford City Council must schedule a recall election no sooner than 21 days after Phillips was notified. The city will be responsible for setting the ballot language and paying for all election costs.
     If there is a recall election, it would be the second in 3 years against the mayor of Crawford. Connie Shell defeated a recall attempt in January 2021 with 57% of the vote, 190-141,