Language of petition to recall Cotter approved, needs 6,504 signatures to make ballot
Efforts to recall State Rep. Kevin Cotter have solidified as two petitions were approved by the Isabella County Election Commission July 25.
The language of the petitions was approved to recall the Mount Pleasant Republican after four failed attempts.
Shepherd resident Joan Rasegan filed the two approved petitions and two that were previously rejected. Another woman filed the two other previously rejected petitions, said Isabella County Clerk Joyce Swan.
Cotter has 10 days to appeal the petition, Rasegan said, and then the group can start collecting signatures. The approved petitions cite Cotter’s votes in favor of enhanced emergency manager laws for school districts and cities, which in some cases allow managers to relieve government officials of their positions and dissolve union agreements.
“What got me started was PA 4, commonly known as the emergency financial manager law,” Rasegan said. “To me that is taxation without representation. If the governor appoints an emergency manager, automatically the elected officials have no authority except for what the (emergency manager) gives them authority to.”
Rasegan needs 6,504 signatures for the petitions to be put on the ballot for a vote. The number is 25 percent of registered voters who voted in November that reside in Cotter’s district, which includes Mount Pleasant and 10 townships, Swan said.
Cotter said he is reviewing the petition but has not made a decision on whether or not he will appeal it.
"It will take work to get the signatures, and it's definitely a possibility (she will be successful)," Cotter said. "I'm not dwelling on the movement, they're a vocal minority trying to undo the results of last year's election."
He said the petition is a result of one vote and not moral or ethical wrongdoing, and said Benton Harbor's emergency manager has been successful.
"They certainly have that right (to petition myself and other Republican legislators), and I respect that right, but it does create a bit of a distraction," he said.
Emergency managers are in place for Detroit Public Schools and the cities of Benton Harbor, Ecorse and Pontiac.
“All those places needed help," Rasegan said. "They did not need a dictator."
Swan said the commission has met three times for this effort.
“We meet to determine if the wording is clear (to the public and the Representative),” Swan said.
Rasegan said she is aiming for 8,000 signatures total, as some may be disqualified because they live out of the district or are not registered voters.
She is also involved in efforts to recall Gov. Rick Snyder and State Sen. Judy Emmons, R-Sheridan, according to an article in The Morning Sun.
She said most people have been supportive of her effort.
“There are a few ‘f-bombs’ and obscene gestures and people saying mean things, but at least 90 percent of them are thanking us for doing this and they want to sign,” Rasegan said.
