Colorado House of Representatives, District 59, General Election, 2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|
|
Democratic |  Mike McLachlan |
51.1% | 21,632 | |
| Republican | J. Paul Brown Incumbent | 48.9% | 20,715 | ||
|
|
|||||
| Total Votes | 42,347 | ||||
Posted on 03/13/2013 5:05:24 PM PDT by Red Steel
DENVER – Gun-rights advocates filed a recall petition against state Rep. Mike McLachlan, D-Durango, on Tuesday.
A group called Colorado Accountability has been threatening the recall for two weeks. Organizers now have about two months to collect 10,586 valid signatures from voters in McLachlan’s House District 59.
“This is their right to petition to recall me. I look forward to a full discussion of the issues,” McLachlan said.
He didn’t want to comment further until he saw the official petition.
The secretary of state’s office will work with Colorado Accountability to make sure the petition is formatted properly. After that, petitioners will have a 60-day deadline to get all their signatures. That puts their deadline around May 7, coinciding with the last week of the legislative session.
Colorado Accountability spokesman Anthony Garcia said the group also is working on a recall of Senate President John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, and it will file a recall in the next week and a half, after it finishes organizing a local committee. Other legislators could be recall targets, too, but Garcia said the group wants to “keep a lid on them” for now.
McLachlan’s votes on four gun bills spurred the recall.
The petition reads: “Representative McLachlan has betrayed the trust of his constituents, his oath to uphold the 2nd Amendment and the rights of gun owners by voting YES on gun control measures in both the Judiciary Committee and the House of Representatives.”
A recall election against a state legislator is an exceedingly rare event, not just in Colorado, but nationally.
There have been only 36 state legislative recall elections since 1908, when the first recall law went on the books, said Joshua Spivak, senior fellow at the Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform at Wagner College. Spivak also runs The Recall Elections Blog, which keeps track of recall news nationwide.
“Getting on the ballot is the biggest hurdle, and that is always a problem,” Spivak said.
Indeed, McLachlan’s opponents face tough odds to get on the ballot. The number of signatures they need is 25 percent of the total vote in House District 59 in the last election. Put in other terms, they have 60 days to get valid signatures from more than half of the people who voted against McLachlan in November.
Despite their rarity, recall elections against state legislators are getting more common. The year 2011 was especially active, with 11 elections in Wisconsin after a labor battle, plus one in Michigan and one against Arizona’s state Senate president, Spivak said.
But 2013 has been quiet so far, with movements against only McLachlan and an Alaska representative who switched parties. No recall campaign has qualified for the ballot nationwide this year, according to Spivak’s blog.
Colorado House of Representatives, District 59, General Election, 2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|
|
Democratic | Mike McLachlan |
51.1% | 21,632 | |
| Republican | J. Paul Brown Incumbent | 48.9% | 20,715 | ||
|
|
|||||
| Total Votes | 42,347 | ||||
Misleading. Signatures can come from people who even voted for McLachlan but are now angry because he mislead them.
I’ve never heard of him, but best of luck removing his ass. The one you should really be recalling is that pedophile-enabler, Farandino.
Chuck all the traitors out. Ballot box.....this time.
Insulting veterans and threatening county Sheriffs should ease the burden of collecting sufficient signatures.
Durango and Colorado Springs ought to be able to get the signatures. Lots of gun owners in both places.
Organizers now have about two months to collect 10,586 valid signatures from voters in McLachlan’s House District 59.
That won't be difficult. Durango is not leftist extremist country.
Last chance...
FYI, the CO state House has just passed the Senate amended magazine ban legislation. It’s going to Gov Hickenlooper desk.
When Looper signs it Magpul is gone.
I’ve been a part of these grass-roots resistance efforts and can tell you that once the effort gets mounted, it is more than likely to succeed.
Indeed. Strictly speaking, that last sentence you quoted is factually incorrect. Yeah we know what he means, but still.
"Other legislators could be recall targets, too, but Garcia said the group wants to “keep a lid on them” for now. "
There are 2 Dem state reps in El Paso, County, CO Spgs that overlap and/or are in Senate John Morse's district. They are Pete Lee and Tony Exum; possible prime candidates for recall.
RECALL? Should just charge him with Treason and set a Precedent
TT
That won’t be difficult. Durango is not leftist extremist country.
There are way too many of them here, though. We’ll get enough signatures to recall McLachlan’s sorry azz.
The more the merrier. I will kick in what I can to fund these recalls and I hope RMGO will do what it can to help the efforts.
Thanks Red Steel.
“I look forward to a full discussion of the issues,” McLachlan said.
Let me know how I can help as well in this recall effort. I don't live CO, but will help anyway I can!!!!!!!!
Americans cannot just sit by and hold our collective breaths in hopes these socialist don't succeed in passing “gun control” Americans need to get active in preventing this legislation from passing and making any socialist who has proposed and supported “gun control” in any form pay with a recall of this public official and throw his or her a$$ out of office immediately!!!!
Keep up the great work you are all doing!!
Sir, that time has passed! You are out of here and don't let the door hit you in the a$$ on the way out!
I forwarded this page onto my sister and brother-in-law in Colorado Springs. Now he has some guns and makes his own ammo. (Hi Becky & David, see you next month!)
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