Pursuing recall, Eagle group claims mayor, council have ‘total disregard for residents’
A group called Eagle Citizens for Open Government has petitioned to recall all four Eagle City Council members and Mayor Jason Pierce, according to records filed with the Ada County Elections Office.
“Mayor Jason Pierce has failed to listen to constituents, has a total disregard for residents, demonstrated conduct unbecoming of constituent knowledge or approval, has initiated projects detrimental to the public benefit and personal property rights,” the petition states.
The recall petitions were filed and certified Tuesday, said Chelsea Carattini, Ada County Elections Office spokesperson, in an email.
Jane Rohling, one of the organizers for Eagle Citizens for Open Government, told the Idaho Statesman by phone Tuesday night that the group’s members were concerned with a number of decisions the mayor and council members made that they think ignored citizen input and seemed self-serving.
She mentioned the sale of a planned community center and office building for Eagle. It was sold by Pierce and the council soon after they were elected in 2019, to a couple who donated to Pierce’s mayoral campaign, the Statesman reported.
Rohling also said she believes the mayor and council want to annex Avimor into Eagle city limits. She said she believes they are ignoring the cost of the annexation for taxpayers.
“It’s just like total one thing after another of unprofessional, corrupt, unethical dealings, as well as ignoring citizen input,” Rohling said.
Eagle Citizens for Open Government supporters also disagreed with the city’s decision to resolve a lawsuit that resulted in the sale of Eagle Water Company to Suez Water, Rohling said.
Eagle Citizens for Open Government has 75 days to circulate recall petitions and gather signatures for a recall election. To try to recall each elected official, the group needs to obtain 4,315 signatures from registered voters, the Ada County Elections Office said in a letter to the group.
If the group doesn’t get the signatures, its petition would be null and void, the office said. The deadline for signatures is Dec. 25.
Rohling said that even if the group doesn’t get the signatures, “at least we will have raised a lot of issues that need to be raised and we’ll put the council members and mayor on notice that people are concerned, people are not happy and people are watching what they’re doing,” she said.
In its petition, the group said Pierce and council members Charlie Baun, Brad Pike, Helen Russell and Melissa Gindlesperger “abused executive session privilege,” violated “due process,” and are “in violation of an Idaho Supreme Court ruling and has placed the community of Eagle on a path of financial insolvency.”
Ellen Matila, spokesperson for the city of Eagle, did not respond to an emailed request for comment from Pierce and the council members, who had a regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night.
This story was first reported by BoiseDev.
This story was originally published October 11, 2022 at 5:33 PM.
