Dave Piepkorn recall, Fargo, North Dakota (2017)
| Fargo City Commissioner recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2017 Recalls in North Dakota North Dakota recall laws City official recalls Recall reports |
An effort in Fargo, North Dakota, to recall City Commissioner Dave Piepkorn from his position was launched in March 2017. Recall organizers stopped the effort prior to the May 12 deadline due to a shortage of signatures.[1][2][3]
Recall supporters
The recall petition against Piepkorn cited his complaints about the lack of local control over refugee resettlement. The petition said, "Commissioner David Piepkorn's ongoing attack of the refugee population in Fargo is wrong-headed, short-sighted, divisive and dangerous."[1]
Recall opponents
The FM Refugee Advisory Council issued the following statement opposing the recall on April 27, 2017:
| " |
In light of the potential recall election of City Commissioner Dave Piepkorn, FM Refugee Advisory Council (FMRAC) recommends the recall committee end its recall efforts effective immediately. The decision to reach this conclusion has been made after meeting with ethnic leaders and other ethnic community members affiliated with FMRAC. FMRAC had remained neutral behind this recall petition since its inception back in March. The Council was not approached by the recall committee to seek input on their decision; however, they did speak with a few ethnic community members who expressed support for this recall effort. Now, since the process is underway, the Council has received several concerns raised due to this recall petition. Some of the volunteer ethnic members who have gone door-to-door collecting signatures, have been threatened and treated with profanity. This has resulted in the Council to take a stand against this recall effort, solely, to protect individuals, and due to violence it may incite which might result in creating unsafe communities for refugees and their families. Refugees, who have fled persecution, war and terrorism before obtaining an opportunity to be resettled in our communities, would like to live and raise families in a safe, peaceful environment, and with dignity like any human being. Any effort to create further divide is opposite of what the Council represents, and the recall impedes the council’s objective to connect and integrate communities, while creating a welcoming environment for people from all backgrounds. While FMRAC disagrees with misleading facts presented by Commissioner Piepkorn on refugees and how refugees impose financial burden to the city; the Council wholeheartedly, supports an unbiased study that looks into both pros and cons of refugee resettlement in our communities. The study should not only review the short-term impacts, but also should look into the long term benefits of refugee resettlement, and therefore, should include individuals and their descendants who arrived to Fargo as refugees since World War II. FMRAC encourages any study that shines spotlight on refugees’ home ownership, entrepreneurship and other economic contribution data, which at present, is very much underestimated.[4][5] |
” |
| —FM Refugee Advisory Council (2017) | ||
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in North Dakota
Jaeger approved a petition for circulation in March 2017. Recall supporters needed to submit at least 3,504 signatures from city voters to require a recall election. The deadline to submit recall petitions was May 12, 2017.[2]
On April 11, 2017, Fargo City Attorney Erik Johnson sent a letter to North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem requesting a decision on the validity of the recall effort. Johnson's letter concluded that state law prevents an official from facing recall within a year of their next regularly scheduled election. North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger approved a petition for circulation because he determined that a recall could take place as long as signatures are approved more than one year prior to the next election. Johnson countered that the one-year rule applies to the recall election instead of the date of signature verification.[6] Stenehjem ruled that the recall could proceed on May 5, 2017.[7]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Dave Piepkorn Fargo recall. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 West Fargo Pioneer, "Group trying to recall Fargo Commissioner Piepkorn over his refugee stance submits petition for state review," March 11, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 KVRR, "Petition Circulating to Recall Fargo Commissioner Piepkorn," March 29, 2017
- ↑ KFGO, "Backers drop drive to recall Fargo city commissioner," May 12, 2017
- ↑ Valley News Live, "Fargo refugee group calls for end to Piepkorn recall," April 28, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Dickinson Press, "Fargo city attorney, disputing Jaeger's interpretation on recall effort, seeks AG opinion," April 13, 2017
- ↑ The Dickinson Press, "Attorney general says recall effort of Fargo city commissioner can proceed," May 5, 2017
 |
State of North Dakota Bismarck (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2024 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Regierung |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
