Saturday, December 28, 2013

Recall the Alamo?

Alamo Township has been the site of a power struggle for several years now.

5 of 6 recall petitions against Alamo Township supervisor, trustee approved by election commission

Longtime Supervisor Bob Vlietstra was unopposed in 2004.  He narrowly survived in the Republican primary in 2008.  He easily survived a recall attempt in 2009.  He finally lost the 2012 Republican primary to Lou Conti.  Most of his allies, except the treasurer, also lost to Conti's "We Care" slate.

The recall attempt had something to do with a new gravel pit that the township didn't really have much choice in accepting.  Beyond that, there didn't seem to be any major issues at stake.

Now the county election commission has approved petitions to recall Conti and longtime Trustee Dawn Potter-Williams.  The allegations are that Conti made lewd gestures toward one of his critics following a board meeting.  He denies this; it seems to be a case of he-said/she-said.  After critics were rowdy at a subsequent board meeting, he abruptly adjourned the meeting with the support of Potter-Williams.

As far as I can tell, there don't seem to be any more substantive issues at stake.  If opponents get the signatures, which seems likely, there will be a recall election in May, unless they resign.  Conti seems eager to fight, but I wouldn't be too surprised if Potter-Williams resigned and let Conti put one of his allies on the board.

All those involved are nominally Republican, but only Potter-Williams has been involved in the local GOP.

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