Brandon Dewey recall, Stevensville, Montana (2020)

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Stevensville Mayoral recall
Officeholders
Brandon Dewey
Recall status
Recall defeated
Recall election date
November 3, 2020
See also
Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2020 Recalls in Montana Montana recall laws Mayoral recalls Recall reports

An effort in Stevensville, Montana, to recall Mayor Brandon Dewey was initiated in March 2020. Petitioners submitted enough valid signatures to put the recall on the ballot. The recall election took place on November 3, 2020, and Dewey retained his seat.

Dewey was targeted in a recall effort in May 2021. Click here to learn more about the 2021 recall effort against Dewey.

Recall vote

Brandon Dewey recall, 2020

Brandon Dewey won the Mayor of Stevensville recall election on November 3, 2020.

			Recall  Vote	%	Votes
			Yes	47.8	535
		✔	No	52.2	584
			Total Votes		1,119

---

It has been certified. Source

Recall supporters

The recall effort was organized by resident Leanna Rodabaugh in response to Dewey signing a $79,800 contract with First Call Computer Solutions on behalf of the town. Rodabaugh accused Dewey of violating his oath of office because contracts of that size would normally require approval from the town council. Rodabaugh said that the way the contract was signed bypassed the competitive bid and contract award process.

Recall opponents

In response to the recall effort, Dewey said, "If you strictly took state law and municipal ordinance, I think, yes, a case could be made that there was some impropriety. But that’s only true if you completely ignore the purchasing policy which the council adopted a number of years ago and has reviewed on a regular basis since delegating this authority to department heads and the mayor."

Dewey sent a letter to the office of the Ravalli County Clerk and Recorder after the signatures were verified. He wrote that the petition was "invalid and should be rejected on the basis of unsworn falsification and tampering with public records or information. These facts presented in the meeting by City Attorney Scott Owens conclude that there was no merit to the allegations brought forth, now presented in the recall petition, and that no illegal action had been taken by the mayor or administration. Ms. Rodabaugh was aware of these facts when submitting the petition and further omitted the authority given to the Mayor in the purchasing policy from the language in the petition she submitted. Therefore, she has knowingly submitted false allegations and information in the recall petition."

Dewey provided a written statement to be included on the recall election ballot:

“

The Mayor did not violate Montana Law, Stevensville Code, or his oath in authorizing the purchase of IT services needed for the Town. The Town's Attorney investigated and determined that all purchasing activities were done legally and compliant with laws. Montana law has a process for bidding when dealing with "other than professional, technical, engineering, or legal services." This process does not apply to IT services. According to MCA 7 5-4301 contracts for professional, technical, engineering, or legal services are excluded from certain provisions. The Council adopted a Purchasing Policy in 2014 to delegate authority to departments and the Mayor for purchases in varying dollar amounts. Though this policy, the Council puts trust in the Mayor to spend within the budget without direct oversight. The purchasing policy states that for other professional services, including non-construction services totaling between $1,501 - $25,000 per agreement, purchases contained in the current fiscal year budget ..., Departiment Supervisor's need only get confirmation by the Mayor prior to purchasing. With Council's approval in the 2019-2020 Budget, the services totaling less than $25,000 in FY2019-2020 was consented to by the Town Council. The Council had authorized several payments to the vendor after the Mayor authorized the purchase.

”

Town attorney review

In a town council meeting after the contract was signed, Stevensville City Attorney Scott Owens stated that Dewey did not violate the law because, while an agreement had been signed by the mayor for an amount of money that usually would require council approval, the money had been included in the budget that the council approved and was only being paid out incrementally. Owens said that Dewey's actions were close to illegality but did not "cross the line."

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in Montana

Recall organizers are given 90 days to collect valid signatures equaling 20% of registered voters in the city. Petitions were approved for circulation on April 7, 2020, giving petitioners until July 6, 2020, to submit 251 valid signatures in order to put the recall election on the ballot. Petitions were accepted by Ravalli County Clerk and Recorder Regina Plettenberg on May 22, 2020, and 254 signatures were found valid.

Lawsuit filed

Dewey filed a lawsuit in Ravalli County District Court the week of June 22, 2020, seeking to stop the recall election. The lawsuit argued that the recall shouldn't have been approved for circulation. Dewey's position was that the recall petitions misrepresented the situation surrounding the recall effort.

The recall election was originally scheduled to take place by mail-in ballots on August 4, 2020. District Judge Howard Recht ordered that the recall election be put on hold in order to hear arguments in court. Ravalli County Clerk and Recorder Regina Plettenberg said the election wouldn't be able to take place on August 4 due to the delay.

On August 13, 2020, Judge Howard Recht ruled that there were sufficient grounds for a recall effort against Dewey. Recht said that Dewey "acted outside the law and without legal authority" when he signed the contract with First Call Computer Solutions. Following the court ruling, the recall election was scheduled for November 3, 2020.

See also

• Brandon Dewey recall, Stevensville, Montana (2021)
• Recall campaigns in Montana
• Political recall efforts, 2020
• Mayoral recalls

External links

Suggest a link

• Government website of Stevensville, Montana