Ken Kesselus recall, Bastrop, Texas (2016)
| Bastrop Mayor recall |
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| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2016 Recalls in Texas Texas recall laws Mayoral recalls Recall reports |
An effort in Bastrop, Texas, to recall Mayor Ken Kesselus from his position was launched in July 2016. A political action committee (PAC) sent petitions to the city's 4,965 registered voters.[1] The PAC did not submit enough signatures to force a recall.[2]
Recall supporters
Independent Texans PAC led the recall effort against Kesselus. The group's petition made the following case for removing Kesselus from office:
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In 2015, Mayor Ken Kesselus ignored then City Councilman Joe Beal’s flagrant impropriety to peddle Bastrop’s water for export, without any disclosure by Beal that he was then a paid consultant for End Op, L.P. and its investors. Six months after Beal was term limited from the Council, Kesselus appointed Beal to the Bastrop Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) board that handles millions of tax dollars for local development, including authority to finance water projects. Also in 2015, Kesselus brazenly attempted to appoint his own employer, Mark Rose, then General Manager of Bluebonnet Electric Coop, to the Bastrop Economic Development Board in clear violation of the City of Bastrop’s Ethics Ordinance. When this attempt was stopped, Kesselus tried to appoint Rose’s wife to a city commission, another violation. Kesselus insisted the Ethics Commission revisit their rulings against him a second time, and when they refused to change their stance, Kesselus fought to remove the Ethics Commission chair, a respected District Judge. In 2016, on numerous occasions, Kesselus has engaged in behavior unbecoming an elected official by publicly berating the City Manager, the city’s attorney and City Secretary as well as Bastrop citizens who exercise their rights to free speech and free access to their elected officials during Council meetings. On June 20, 2016, Kesselus held an improperly called “special meeting” (in Executive Session, behind closed doors) involving several violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act.[3][4] |
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| —Independent Texans PAC (2016) | ||
Recall opponents
Kesselus told the Austin American-Statesman that he never attempted to appoint Rose to the development board. He also denied ethics violations levied by Independent Texans PAC.[5]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Texas
Recall organizers needed to gather valid signatures from at least 1,241 registered voters in Bastrop, which equaled 25 percent of the city's registered voters. The city charter allows the city secretary 30 days after submission to validate and submit recall petitions to the city council.[1]
Recent news
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Austin American-Statesman, "Petition aims to recall Bastrop Mayor Ken Kesselus," July 7, 2016
- ↑ Austin Statesman, "Proposed amendments may delay full review of Bastrop charter, PAC says," November 1, 2016
- ↑ Independent Texans PAC, "Petition to Recall Ken Kesselus, City of Bastrop Mayor," accessed July 8, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Austin American-Statesman, "Mayor: recall attempt baseless, a distraction," July 8, 2016
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