Posted September 11, 200915 yr Some disgruntled citizens want to get rid of Mayor Don Culliver of Mansfield. For some background info, click here. I initially didn't post anything about this because I didn't think that it would go anywhere. However, there is a possibility that it might actually happen. Mayoral recall drive short 168 signatures By LINDA MARTZ • News Journal • September 11, 2009 MANSFIELD -- It's official: 168 more valid signatures must be collected before a petition to recall Mansfield Mayor Don Culliver can be placed on a ballot. Petition organizer Barbara Walter said she's confident she and others working on the recall campaign will gather that number this weekend. Read more at mansfieldnewsjournal.com
September 15, 200915 yr Change wanted in charter recall provision By LINDA MARTZ • News Journal • September 15, 2009 MANSFIELD -- Marcia Webb, president of the Mansfield branch of the NAACP, told council Monday night recall provisions in the city's charter language -- now being invoked in an attempt to recall Mayor Don Culliver -- "are defective." Webb asked council to consider revising the language of the charter since it doesn't require any specific lawful rationale as a condition for removing an elected officials. "The current process is flawed because for any reason or no reason at all, any citizens of Mansfield can file a petition for the recall of a duly elected official," Webb said. Read more at mansfieldnewsjournal.com.
September 16, 200915 yr Mayoral recall is on, maybe for Nov. 3 By LINDA MARTZ • News Journal • September 16, 2009 MANSFIELD -- There will be a mayoral recall vote in Mansfield. The only question is when. It could be Nov. 3 if council acts swiftly, Richland County Elections Director Paulette Hankins said. Barbara Walter, who led a drive to collect at least 1,813 signatures in an effort to oust Mayor Don Culliver, forwarded 502 additional signatures to Clerk of Council Mary Heminger on Tuesday. Culliver, a Democrat, is in his first term as mayor. Walter is a Republican, but says party affiliation had nothing to do with the recall campaign. Read more at mansfieldnewsjournal.com
September 19, 200915 yr Unions mum on effort to recall Mayor Culliver By LINDA MARTZ • News Journal • September 19, 2009 MANSFIELD -- Despite a frustrating year that brought major layoffs for municipal employees, city labor unions are unlikely to meddle in the mayoral recall, their leaders say. "I don't see getting involved in it, no way shape or form, because I work here," said Dale Blamer, vice president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The union, representing workers in several city departments, won't negotiate a contract again for two years. However, Mayor Don Culliver could still be in office at that time, and it would be uncomfortable for the union to sit across the negotiating table if its membership had decided not to back him, Blamer said. Read more at mansfieldnewsjournal.com
September 23, 200915 yr Council puts mayor recall vote on ballot By LINDA MARTZ • News Journal • September 23, 2009 MANSFIELD -- City Council voted 6-2, with two Democrats dissenting, to put a mayoral recall issue on the Nov. 3 ballot. Voters living in Mansfield will decide in six weeks whether Mayor Don Culliver should remain in office. Culliver said prior to the vote he has done nothing to warrant being cast out of office. "What we've tried to do all along is be fair, fiscally responsible and do the right thing by citizens. I could understand if there was some malfeasance, nonfeasance or any other kind of 'feasance,' " he said. Read more at mansfieldnewsjournal.com
September 29, 200915 yr Culliver protests recall, gets hearing By LINDA MARTZ • News Journal • September 29, 2009 MANSFIELD -- Mayor Don Culliver has filed a protest against the recall issue on the Nov. 3 ballot -- prompting the Richland County Board of Elections to schedule a Thursday hearing. County Elections Director Paulette Hankins said the four-member board likely will hear from both sides during the 10 a.m. meeting in the upper-level classroom at Longview Center, 1495 W. Longview Ave. Both sides will be given time to argue about whether the petitions Barbara Walter turned in this month were legally sufficient to force a recall vote. "It's up to the board to decide," Hankins said. Either side could appeal the board's decision in Richland County Common Pleas Court, she said. Read more at mansfieldnewsjournal.com
October 1, 200915 yr Woman behind Mansfield recall drive reacts to mayor's challenge By LINDA MARTZ • News Journal • October 1, 2009 MANSFIELD -- The woman who led the drive to recall Mayor Don Culliver said she'll be in attendance today when the mayor protests the inclusion of the issue on the Nov. 3 ballot. But unlike Culliver, Barbara Walter, 153 Elmridge Road, said she probably won't be represented by an attorney. "We are a grassroots organization. We don't have any big funding behind us," she said. "And I'm not sure a big city attorney ought to be coming into Richland County, questioning how the board of elections does their job." Culliver hired Donald J. McTigue, an attorney from Columbus, to represent him. Read more at mansfieldnewsjournal.com
October 2, 200915 yr Mansfield mayoral recall off Nov. 3 ballot Board of Elections reject recall petitions By LINDA MARTZ • News Journal • October 2, 2009 MANSFIELD -- Mansfield residents won't vote on a recall of Mayor Don Culliver -- at least not on Nov. 3. Culliver's supporters broke out in applause Thursday morning after the Richland County Board of Elections unanimously rejected recall petitions circulated in Mansfield through mid-September. Barbara Walter, who led the recall drive, hasn't decided if she will appeal to Richland County Common Pleas Court or start a new drive. Read more at mansfieldnewsjournal.com
October 3, 200915 yr Walter won't pursue mayoral recall By LINDA MARTZ • News Journal • October 3, 2009 MANSFIELD -- Barbara Walter says she won't keep trying to oust Mansfield Mayor Don Culliver from office. She has opted not to appeal the local board of elections' decision to remove the recall issue from the Nov. 3 ballot, she said Friday. Walter also said she won't start a second recall petition. Read more at mansfieldnewsjournal.com
