Mayor and town council recall, Avon, Colorado (2020-2021)
| Avon Mayor and Town Council recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Tamra Underwood Amy Phillips |
| Recall status |
Did not go to a vote |
| Recall election date |
| November 2, 2021 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2021 Recalls in Colorado Colorado recall laws Mayoral recalls City council recalls Recall reports |
Avon, Colorado, held an election to recall Mayor Sarah Smith Hymes and Councilmember Tamra Underwood on November 2, 2021. Voters chose to retain both officials.[1]
The recall campaign was initiated against Hymes, Underwood, and Councilmember Amy Phillips in August 2020. The recall effort against Phillips was found invalid because she was up for re-election on November 3, 2020.[2]
On June 23, 2021, District Court Judge Russell Granger ruled that enough signatures had been submitted against Smith Hymes and Underwood to put the recall elections on the ballot.[3] The following day, members of the Avon Town Council voted 3-2 to appeal Granger's decision.[4][5] On July 13, 2021, the town council voted 3-2 to withdraw the appeal after holding a public discussion on the matter.[6]
Recall organizers and town officials disputed the number of signatures required for the recall effort. Town Clerk Brenda Torres' calculations had undervotes counting towards the signature requirement. An undervote occurs when the number of choices selected by a voter in an election is less than the maximum number allowed for that election. An undervote also occurs when no vote is cast. Including undervotes put the signature requirement at 496 signatures, while leaving out the undervotes dropped that number down to 330 signatures.[3]
Recall vote
Sarah Smith Hymes recall
Recall question
Sarah Smith Hymes recall, 2021
Sarah Smith Hymes won the Mayor of Avon recall election on November 2, 2021.
Recall Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
Yes |
26.2
|
286 | |||
| ✔ | No |
73.8
|
806 | ||
Total Votes |
1,092 | ||||
|
|
Replacement question
Beatriz Bustamante filed to run for mayor, but later withdrew, saying that she would "prefer to be elected in a traditional election." No candidates other than Smith Hymes appeared on the ballot.[7][1]
Tamra Underwood recall
Tamra Underwood recall, 2021
Tamra Underwood won the Avon Town Council recall election on November 2, 2021.
Recall Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
Yes |
26.1
|
286 | |||
| ✔ | No |
73.9
|
809 | ||
Total Votes |
1,095 | ||||
|
|
Replacement question
No candidates other than Underwood appeared on the ballot.[8][1]
Recall supporters
The recall effort was initiated in response to the Avon Town Council deciding to leave in place a 2% real estate transfer tax, which collected $2.5M annually. In a press release sent to Vail Daily, the recall committee organizing the effort said that the tax "puts Avon property sellers at a huge disadvantage when compared to our neighboring communities."[9]
Recall opponents
In response to the recall effort, Smith Hymes said, "Two of the people involved in this recall ran for election last time. They could have run candidates in the 2020 election, but they didn’t think they could succeed, so they’re choosing this backdoor way. They are wasting an enormous amount of town resources in pursuit of this."[10]
Underwood said about the recall effort, "I essentially find it nothing but an intimidation and bullying tool to discourage people from running for council in Avon, in particular female people running for council in Avon."[10]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Colorado
The number of valid signatures required to force a special recall election is 25 percent of the votes cast in the last election for the official being recalled.
Petitions were approved for circulation in the recall efforts against Smith Hymes, Phillips, and Underwood in August 2020. Recall organizers had until October 12, 2020, to submit 496 valid signatures for each official to put the recall elections on the ballot. The recall effort against Phillips was later found invalid because she was up for election on November 3, 2020.[2]
Petitioners submitted about 600 signatures for each official on October 12, 2020.[10] On October 19, 2020, Avon Town Clerk Brenda Torres announced that not enough valid signatures had been submitted. Torres found 425 signatures valid in the recall effort against Underwood. There were 445 signatures validated against Smith Hymes.[2] Recall organizers were given a 15-day period to challenge Torres' decision.[10] A second round of signatures submitted on November 9, 2020, was found insufficient by the town clerk.[11]
On December 1, 2020, town officials filed a complaint against the Avon Recall Committee seeking an interpretation from the district court. Recall organizers submitted a counter-complaint on January 11, 2021.[3]
On June 23, 2021, District Court Judge Russell Granger ruled that enough signatures had been submitted in November 2020 to put the recall election on the ballot. The following day, members of the Avon Town Council voted 3-2 to appeal Granger's decision.[4][5] On July 13, 2021, the town council voted 3-2 to withdraw the appeal after holding a public discussion on the matter.[6]
See also
- Recall campaigns in Colorado
- Political recall efforts, 2020
- Political recall efforts, 2021
- Mayoral recalls
- City council recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Vail Daily, "Avon voters reject recalls of Sarah Smith Hymes and Tamra Underwood," November 2, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Vail Daily, "Recall effort falls short in Avon after clerk declares group failed to obtain enough valid signatures," October 22, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Vail Daily, "Judge rules Avon must hold recall election," June 24, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Vail Daily, "In 3-2 vote, Avon Town Council favors appeal of judge’s order to hold recall election," June 25, 2021
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Avon, Colorado, "Avon Recall Election," June 25, 2021
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Vail Daily, "This vote comes three weeks after the Town Council originally voted to appeal the decision handed down by District Court Judge Russell H. Granger," July 13, 2021
- ↑ Vail Daily, "Candidate withdraws application from Avon recall vote," September 2, 2021
- ↑ Vail Daily, "Only one candidate will run to replace Avon mayor in recall vote," August 31, 2021
- ↑ Vail Daily, "Avon Town Councilmembers defend real estate transfer tax amid recall effort," September 8, 2020
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Vail Daily, "Group leading recall effort in Avon submits signatures," October 13, 2020
- ↑ Vail Daily, "Avon seeks court opinion on recall effort," December 1, 2020
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