Judge dismisses Garfield mayor recall

Ruling the recall petition filed against Garfield Mayor Ray McCown was not legally sufficient because it repeatedly failed to cite standards, specific laws or facts in making charges, Superior Court Judge David Frazier last week dismissed the petition filed by five Garfield residents.

The judge’s ruling June 21 follows a June 10 hearing in court in which Mayor McCown appeared with Colfax attorney Guy Nelson. The petitioners were represented by Rebecca Strange, one of the five petitioners.

The judge noted the petitioners at the hearing “seemed to concede problems with the contents and draftsmanship of the charges but sought latitude from the court. It is well settled, however, that the law does not distinguish between one who elects to conduct his or her own legal affairs and one who seeks the assistance of counsel.”

One of the overall faults of the filing was failure of the five signees to file “under oath” as required by state law. The judge noted the petitioners signed with “warmest regards,” but that did not meet the oath requirement.

The dismissal ruling gave a point-by-point ruling on the 12 allegations in the recall petition. The longest ruling dealt with the charge that McCown had given away a section of city-owned pipe to Warren Neal. The judge noted the record shows Neal had received a 22.5-foot piece PCV pipe and also showed Neal had been instructed by the mayor to check with the city clerk on payment due. The record also showed that McCown subsequently indicated he was writing off a charge for the pipe, the ruling said.

The judge said the pipe’s value was later set at the $22.23 paid by Neal June 7 of this year, after the filing date of the recall petition. The judge said the charge failed to show McCown intended to commit an unlawful act and the charge involved “minor and unsubstantial conduct.”

Several charges in the petition dealt with McCown’s alleged actions related to Garfield’s problems with certification of its sewer treatment plant. Rulings against those charges cited lack of citation of specific standards or facts. On a charge that McCown had lied to a DOE official, the judge noted the official’s characterization of the charge as “not entirely true.”

On a charge McCown had created a hostile work environment for an employee, the judge said the charge failed to show McCown took discriminatory action involving race, gender or age.

The judge ruled a charge that McCown violated first amendment rights of female citizens failed to cite names, dates or details, and the charge that he violated the open meeting act failed to cite enough information to show the April 13 executive session was in violation of the state’s open meeting law.