Chandler City Leaders Oppose Recall
From an article in this week's San Tan Sun (24 MB .pdf here), key city employees unions urge Chandler citizens to reject the Recall of Sepulveda-Orlando:
Oppose recallAnd as I've urged before on this blog:
As the representatives of Chandler’s public employees, almost 1000 hard working men and women, we were disappointed when we heard about the attempted recall of some of our City Council members. Whether or not we agree with Chandler's council members on particular issues, this is not the time for a recall.
Chandler is growing rapidly and we have to deal with the challenges that come with that. Removing two experienced council members now would make it extremely difficult to face the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
This is a time for Chandler to come together and look forward to the future. We need to meet the challenges we face and take advantage of the opportunities that our great city has. A recall would drag us into even more political bickering.
We are asking the residents of Chandler to stand up for the future and stand against the recall.
Chuck Buxton, President, Chandler Chapter, Service Employees International Union;
Paul Babeu, President, Chandler Law Enforcement Association;
Scott Wall, President, Chandler Chapter, United Phoenix Firefighters
posted by Geo at 12:59 PM
4 Comments:
Hi Geo,
Personally, I 100% support any citizen or group of citizens who wish to exercise their rights and stand up and voice either their pleasure or displeasure with elected officials. If they feel strongly enough against an official(s), then it is within their right to attempt a recall. Either way the process turns out, the citizens will have spoken and I, for one, am in support of this process. In addition, in the case of Chandler, if the recall fails - then the council and the citizens of Chandler will all know that the folks in office are truly the ones the citizens of Chandler want leading the city. If it is successful, then (hopefully) we will see the same result.
Regardless of who is leading the recall effort, it is the citizens who will need to determine whether to join the effort or not. So, is the recall effort itself divisive politics - maybe. But, in my opinion, almost everything in politics is divisive (immigration issues, tax hikes, bond propositions, etc) - that is why we vote.
Geo - would you be opposed to me linking to this discussion from my blog?
SCC,
Thank you for your comment!
A recall surely shows that citizens are involved in their governance. But so does an enraged mob with pitchforks! I'm not sure we'd wish that on our City Hall, though. :)
If recalls were inherently good indicators of civic mindedness, then it would argue for a recall election every year. Or at least any time an elected official made an unpopular decision or some folks didn't like the results of an election.
But I'm rather conservative when it comes to our elections. I like orderly elections, with good accountability, a paper trail, high voter turnout and no shenanigans by party operatives to suppress votes. I think we have to engender confidence in our electoral process and be more diligent in safeguarding it from people who would manipulate it, both legally and illegally, in ways that harm us all.
I have seen how impeachments and recalls can be used by factions to divide and destablize an electorate for partisan gains. I think a mature citizenry needs to exercize the discipline to reject this kind of impulse, however. Those measures should be used, I believe, when either gross incompetence or unethical or criminal behavior has been engaged in - none of which is the case in the Orlando-Sepulveda situation.
Indeed, it's not a matter of whether it's legal to stage a recall, but whether it's wise and constructive for the community. This reminds me of the Apostle Paul, who said, "everything is permitted, but not everything is constructive".
My own approach to this is that Councilman Sepulveda and Councilman Orlando have been very good public servants for Chandler. Many of the votes on the City Council have been unanimous, and, in those which haven't been, the diversity of views has made our Council stonger.
And while they have been involved in the Pentz issue that has made some people upset, they are widely appreciated by the city employees who are some of the most directly impacted by the whole Pentz thing.
If the separation of the City Manager were such a horrendous thing as to warrant a recall, I would expect these city employees to be at the front of the line to cast their votes to give these men the boot. But they're not. Quite the contrary, they're supporting Orlando and Sepulveda! I really think that should tell us something.
Namely, that given their long years of good service to our community, their experience in their jobs and the fact that key community leaders are supporting these men, a recall is an extreme remedy that isn't justified by the situation in this case. To engage in a recall, therefore, would be unnecessarily divisive and destablilizing for our city.
Hence, am urging Chandler voters to reject the recall initiative.
Please feel free to link to this or any post on my blog.
Yours,
Geo
Thank goodness we have come a long way from mobs with pitchforks.
Your quote of the Apostle Paul is very notable - however, he also stood up for what he believed in inspite of the advice from others (remember, he went to prison for his beliefs). In the case of the recall movement, I suspect this is exactly what the organizers are doing as well - standing up for something they belive in.
As a group, citizens can be a bit fickle. One day we can love our elected officials and the next day despise them. You have to look no further than approval ratings to see this trend. In some cases, you are only as good (or popular) as your last decision. If it is unpopular, then your approval ratings tank. In the case of Chandler, some folks didn't like the decision surrounding the outing of Mr. Pentz and the 'shananigans' encompassing this decision. Hence the recall. Whether this is an emotional reaction or logicial - it is what is nonetheless - our citizens taking an active role in our city government. So, if nothing else, this recall has helped stir debate - like the chat we are having ;-).
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