West Ada trustees ask judge to block recall

Two West Ada School District trustees asked Fourth District Judge Deborah Bail Wednesday to block a recall vote that could push them out of office.

Carol Sayles and Russell Joki said recall proponents didn't gather a sufficient number of signatures to qualify the recall for the May 17 ballot. They said the law requires the number of signatures be based on the last district election, not the election by which the trustees took office. The last election was a supplemental levy in November that pulled far more voters to the polls than the individual trustee elections.

Under that scenario, the number of signatures required could be more than 2,000 per trustee zone instead of the few hundred collected by recall supporters.

Ada County Clerk Chris Rich established the number of signatures required as a number equal to 50 percent of the registered voters who cast ballots in the last trustee's election.

When he was questioned about it, he conferred with the Idaho Secretary of State, who is in charge of Idaho elections, who said that was a sufficient number, said Lorna K. Jorgensen, an Ada County deputy prosecuting attorney.

Bail did not give a specific time when she will rule on the injunction.

A third trustee, board chairwoman Tina Dean, also faces recall. A fourth trustee, Julie Madsen, resigned last month after learning she could also have to standfor recall.

This story was originally published March 9, 2016 at 4:57 PM with the headline "West Ada trustees ask judge to block recall."