Petition to recall Commissioner Hartung filed by members of Washoe Republican Party

A petition has been submitted to recall Vaughn Hartung.

Hartung, a Republican, is chair of the Washoe County Board of Commissioners and represents District 4, which includes Sparks, Spanish Springs and Wadsworth.

No reason has been given formally yet for the petition, which will require the collection of 14,345 signatures to be successful. An email signed "Robert Beadles" that went out to some area Republicans was forwarded to the RGJ; it says, in part, "I don't need to tell you what (Hartung) as commissioner has done to us all over his time in office. ... (He) cannot be left in office until 2025!" No elaboration is given.

Beadles signed a similar petition filed two days before Hartung's to recall Angie Taylor from the Washoe County School Board. Beadles describes himself as "an avid believer in cryptocurrency (and) blockchain technology," as well as "a Christian, father, husband, successful serial entrepreneur (and) seasoned business builder." He did not respond to a request for comment. 

"I was surprised to learn that three voters, with the help of their Las Vegas lawyers, have signed a notice of intent to circulate a petition to recall my election," Hartung said in a statement. "The petition doesn’t identify any reason attempting to overturn the will of tens of thousands of voters, nor does any exist."

He added, "For over nine years I have worked tirelessly to improve this community and represent all the people of District 4 and Washoe County with passion and integrity. I am grateful the voters of County Commission District 4 elected me by the widest margin of any commissioner in the last two elections, and look forward to the privilege of continuing to represent you."

The cost to the county will be $28,690 – $2 a signature – to hire temp employees to do signature verification. If the petition drive is successful, it will then cost “a lot more,” said assistant registrar of voters Heather Carmen. That’s because a special election will need to be called, outside of the other two elections this year – a primary on June 14 and the general election Nov. 8.

The recall petition was put forth and signed by two officials of the Washoe Republicans: Cindy Martinez, vice chair; and Sandra Linares, treasurer. It was also signed by George Spatz of Sparks. 

Former Washoe County manager Katy Simon Holland said, "Chairman Hartung is an ethical, dedicated public servant who has never done anything to my knowledge that would warrant a recall."

She doesn't think the petition is helpful for the region.

"Recall efforts have a chilling effect on the image of our community," Simon Holland said. "Right now we are trying to recruit a world-class (school) superintendent, and when potential candidates read about efforts like this to recall duly elected representatives, it can work against our efforts to attract them here."

Commissioner Jeanne Herman has been in the spotlight for a proposal on next week’s board agenda for a massive overhaul of voting in the county. She said “I was surprised” to hear about the recall petition and that it wasn’t linked to her resolution.

“I don’t have an opinion on it,” she said. “I don’t know the reason for it.”

National Guard oversight, 'stealth paper ballots' proposed for Washoe voting overhaul

Q&A with Commissioner Jeanne Herman about Washoe County election overhaul proposal

Carmen said that no reason needs to be given for a recall petition.

Commissioner Alexis Hill said she thought it was part of a national effort to unseat people duly elected by the voters. “I think it’s a scary situation,” said Hill, a Democrat. “I’m definitely against it.”

Commissioners Jung and Lucey did not respond to requests for comment.

The clock started ticking last week when the petition was filed to gather signatures. At 45 days, any acquired must be submitted to the county. At 90 days, the remaining will need to be turned in.

“They’ll see how difficult to collect the signatures,” Hill said. “So we’ll see how it goes.”

Mark Robison covers local government for the Reno Gazette-Journal, as well as writes Fact Checker and Ask the RGJ articles. His position is supported by donations and grants. Because of this, all of the journalism he publishes will be made available for free without concern for commercial return. If you'd like to see more articles like this, please consider sharing this article or donating at RGJ.com/donate.

Follow him @GreaterReno, Facebook.com/GreaterReno,and Instagram.com/GreaterRenoRGJ.