Rochelle Galindo recall, Colorado House of Representatives (2019)

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  • 2016 mid-year analysis

Colorado House of Representatives recall
Officeholders
Rochelle Galindo
Recall status
Resigned
See also
Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2019 Recalls in Colorado Colorado recall laws State legislative recalls Recall reports

Two efforts to recall Rochelle Galindo, a member of the Democratic Party, from her elected position representing District 50 in the Colorado House of Representatives were launched in March 2019. The first recall petition was approved for circulation on April 4, 2019. Mary Achziger and Karen Kornins submitted the recall petition. Supporters had until the June 3, 2019, deadline to collect 5,696 signatures to force a recall election.
The recall was canceled after Rep. Galindo resigned from the state House on May 12, 2019, amid allegations of sexual misconduct by a former staff member.

A second recall effort against Galindo also targeted state Sen. Jeff Bridges (D) and state Rep. Meg Froelich (D). They were targeted for recall over their support of six bills. This recall effort was launched by Joe Neville, brother of Senate minority leader Patrick Neville (R).

Galindo was targeted for recall because of her support of an oil and gas regulation bill and a gun bill. Both bills were signed by Gov. Jared Polis (D) in April 2019. The gun bill would temporarily remove guns from people who are deemed a threat to themselves or others. The oil and gas bill gives local governments more control over regulating the industry and also mandates that the state emphasize safety over promoting oil and gas production. Other reasons for the recalls are over Galindo’s support of legislation related to the national popular vote and sex education.

To read more on the recall efforts against the Colorado governor and other state legislative members in 2019, click here.

Both recall efforts had the support of U.S. Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO). Galindo was elected to District 50 in the state House in 2018. She defeated Michael Thuener (R) in the general election with 54.4 percent of the vote. Prior to the 2018 election, Colorado Treasurer Dave Young (D) held the seat from 2011 to 2019.

Recall supporters

First recall effort (approved for circulation)

A recall petition targeting Galindo was approved for circulation by the secretary of state on April 4. That recall petition was submitted by Mary Achziger and Karen Kornins. According to the Recall Rochelle website, Galindo was targeted for recall for the following reasons:

“	Rochelle Galindo, State Representative House District 50 continually fails to adequately support and represent the entire population within House District 50. Representative Galindo fails to understand legislation negatively impacting her community and constituents. Representative Galindo’s fails to understand oil and gas legislation and that a majority of her constituents recently rejected significant oil and gas restrictions. Representative Galindo’s fails to understand and recognize that energy companies pay over $490 million in Weld County taxes some of which is used to provide services to her constituents. Representative Galindo prides herself in being a proponent of education but fails to understand that just in Weld County, oil and gas property taxes put approximately $200 million into K-12 education. For these reasons, we are seeking a recall against Rochelle Galindo, State Representative House District 50.	”
—Recall Rochelle (2019)

Second recall effort

A second recall against Galindo was led by Joe Neville. He is the head of the Values First Colorado political action committee and the brother of Senate minority leader Patrick Neville (R). The Recall Colorado website listed the following legislation:

“	SB19-042, National Popular Vote: An unconstitutional attempt to undermine the Electoral College and steal Coloradan's votes. HB19-1177, "Red Flag" Gun Confiscation: A gun-grab that violates Constitutional rights with no provisions to help the mentally ill. HB19-1032, State Sexuality Indoctrination: A state indoctrination plan to undermine parental rights to educate their children about sexuality. SB19-181, Extreme Oil and Gas Regulation: Oil and gas regulations that go even further than Proposition 112, the ballot measure widely rejected by Colorado voters in 2018. HB19-1042, Sanctuary for Criminals: Dems voted down an amendment that would block felons from receiving state funds. Pending Introduction, Sanctuary for Criminals 2: Announced by Colorado Dems, this pending legislation will restrict police and public entities from assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).	”
—Recall Colorado (2019)

List of supporters

• Colorado GOP chair and U.S. Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO)

Recall opponents

After the recall petition was approved for circulation, Rep. Galindo made the following statement:

“

The voters of House District 50 are not going to be intimidated by millionaires and special interests cutting six-figure checks to political operatives engaging in the divisive Washington-style politics Coloradans consistently reject. People are free to disagree with the decisions I make at the state capitol, and they’re free to vote for someone else in 2020. I will fight every day for our community and our shared best interests, and even for the people who disagree with me.

”

Campaign finance

Recall supporters

In April 2019, Weld County rancher Steve Wells donated $100,000 to the effort to recall Rep. Galindo.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in Colorado

Supporters of the recall needed to collect 5,696 signatures by the June 3, 2019, deadline to force a recall election.

Election history

2018

See also: Colorado House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Colorado House of Representatives District 50

Rochelle Galindo defeated Michael Thuener in the general election for Colorado House of Representatives District 50 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rochelle Galindo (D)	53.4	12,159
	Submit photo	Michael Thuener (R)	46.6	10,624

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 22,783 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 50

Rochelle Galindo defeated Jim Riesberg in the Democratic primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 50 on June 26, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rochelle Galindo	58.4	2,456
		Jim Riesberg	41.6	1,749

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 4,205
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 50

Michael Thuener advanced from the Republican primary for Colorado House of Representatives District 50 on June 26, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Michael Thuener	100.0	3,293

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 3,293
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Colorado House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Colorado House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 28, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 4, 2016.

Incumbent Dave Young defeated John Honeycutt and Roy Dakroub in the Colorado House of Representatives District 50 general election.

Colorado House of Representatives, District 50 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dave Young Incumbent	55.48%	14,803
	Republican	John Honeycutt	39.27%	10,479
	Libertarian	Roy Dakroub	5.25%	1,401
Total Votes				26,683
Source: Colorado Secretary of State

Incumbent Dave Young ran unopposed in the Colorado House of Representatives District 50 Democratic primary.

Colorado House of Representatives, District 50 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Dave Young Incumbent (unopposed)

John Honeycutt ran unopposed in the Colorado House of Representatives District 50 Republican primary.

Colorado House of Representatives, District 50 Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Republican	John Honeycutt  (unopposed)

Colorado state legislative and state executive recalls in 2019

The table below highlighted each recall effort in Colorado targeting state executive and state legislative members in 2019.

2019 Colorado state legislative and state executive recalls
Name	Office	Party	Status	Signature deadline	Reached the ballot	Recalled
Jared Polis	Governor	Democratic	Official; ended	September 6, 2019		-
Pete Lee	Senate District 11	Democratic	Official; ended	September 10, 2019		-
Brittany Pettersen	Senate District 22	Democratic	Official; ended	September 16, 2019		-
Leroy Garcia	Senate District 3	Democratic	Official; ended	October 18, 2019		-
Rochelle Galindo	House District 50	Democratic	Official; ended	June 3, 2019		-
Tom Sullivan	House District 37	Democratic	Official; ended	July 12, 2019		-
Bri Buentello	House District 47	Democratic	Unofficial; ended	-		-
Jeff Bridges	Senate District 26	Democratic	Unofficial; ended	-		-
Meg Froelich	House District 3	Democratic	Unofficial; ended	-		-

Historical state legislative recalls

Ballotpedia tracked 124 recall efforts against 120 state lawmakers from 1913 to 2018. During that time, 39 recalls made the ballot and 22 state legislators were successfully recalled.

Michigan led the way with 35 state legislative recall efforts from 1913 to 2018. Of those 35 recall efforts, three were successful. Wisconsin followed with 30 state legislative recall efforts. Six of those recalls were successful.

See also

• Recall campaigns in Colorado
• Political recall efforts, 2019
• State legislative recalls

External links

• Recall Rochelle - First recall website
• Recall Colorado website - Second recall website
• Stand with Rochelle - Recall opponent website
• Rochelle Galindo's office website