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Motion Dismissed

 

 

This morning US District Court Judge Arthur J Tarnow dismissed the motion to force the recall on the November ballot.

 

In Judge Tarnow's order denying the motion for a preliminary injunction he stated...

 

 

Plaintiffs have not shown that the procedures used were inconsistent with Michigan recall law, nor have they shown that the review method used by the local clerks with respect to their specific recall petitions was discriminatory, arbitrary, or deliberately designed to harm Plaintiffs.

 

...Plaintiffs allege that Defendants inappropriately removed too many signatures, thus wrongfully rejecting the recall petitions in violation of their First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Plaintiffs specifically contest various practices by the City and County Clerks: 1) the use of invalidation codes, such as “NHS” (meaning “Not His/Her Signature” )among others. 2) The disqualification of signatures based on the use of ditto marks in certain sections of the petitions. 3)The invalidation of signatures because of various other irregularities. Defendants maintain that the Clerks followed the proper laws in reviewing the recall petitions. The Court agrees.

 

 

This recall effort was bogus from the beginning, with a rotten paid signature collection process that was filled with likely forgeries and driven forward with what was possibly fraud. Over 3,000 signatures were disqualified because the signer did not live in the city or was not registered to vote at any address within the city. 1,600 signatures were disqualified as duplicate signatures. And another 1,500 were disqualified for inconsistencies with addresses or names. Today's decision in federal court affirms the good work of the City and County Clerks' offices and puts this costly distraction behind us.

 

 

The lawsuit by the recall organizers against the clerks was a waste valuable city and county resources. The Walling administration has worked hard to put the old ways of doing politics in Flint behind us and to focus on new solutions to Flint's challenges. But a small but vocal group of disgruntled people want to keep fighting the battles of of the past and slowing the pace of progress in Flint with recall effort after recall effort. The people of Flint do not support them or their methods. We are tired of the old divisions that have held our city back in the past. Today we are working together and we are changing Flint.