All it took was 13 days for Black Diamond’s Neighbor to Neighbor group to gather a new collection of 496 signatures over the Thanksgiving holiday, and have them turned in to King County Elections by Wednesday, November 29, to have them canvased and verified by the December 15th Ballot deadline.
King County Elections pulled 406 signatures that were compared against their files with 390 determined to be valid registered voters in King County’s City of Black Diamond. All that was needed to proceed with the Pepper Recall ballot issue was 366 valid signatures. Canvasing of the signatures took place on Wednesday, December 6, with notice being sent the same day that the recall issue would be on the Tuesday, February 13, 2018 ballot.
The ballot synopsis for the Pepper Recall election will be as follows:
Shall Councilmember Patricia Pepper be recalled from office for misfeasance, malfeasance, and violation of the oath of office, based on the following charges:
- Pepper, as part of a council majority, violated the Washington State Open Public Meetings Act, chapter 42.30 RCW, by convening and conducting closed meetings without public notice and by entering into private agreements to prepare and approve legislation.
- Pepper, as part of a council majority, refused to attend council meetings and failed to approve minutes.
- Pepper, as part of a council majority, failed to enact a 2017 budget in violation of state law and instead enacted a temporary budget containing illegal provision, impairing the city’s ability to provide essential services.
