A recall election is a procedure by which,in certain polities,voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of office has ended. Recalls,which are initiated when sufficient voters sign a petition,have a history dating back to the constitution in ancient Athenian democracy and feature in several current constitutions. In indirect or representative democracy,people's representatives are elected and these representatives serve for a specific period of time. However,where the facility to recall exists,if any representative comes to be perceived as not properly discharging their responsibilities,they can be called back with the written request of a specific number or proportion of voters. Even where they are legally available,recall elections are only commonly held in a small number of countries including the United States,Peru,Ecuador,and Japan. They are considered by groups such as ACE Electoral Knowledge Network the most rarely used form of direct democracy.
George Rector Nethercutt Jr. is an American lawyer,author,and politician. Nethercutt is the founder and chairman of The George Nethercutt Foundation. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2005,representing Washington's 5th congressional district.
Thomas Stephen Foley was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 49th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1989 to 1995. A member of the Democratic Party,Foley represented Washington's fifth district for thirty years (1965–1995). He was the first Speaker of the House since Galusha Grow in 1862 to be defeated in a re-election campaign.
Christine Gregoire is an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Washington from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party,she defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004,and again in 2008. She is the second female governor of Washington. Gregoire chaired the National Governors Association for the 2010–2011 term. She also served on the Governors' Council of the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington,D. C.
James Elton "Jim" West was an American politician from Spokane,Washington. While Mayor of Spokane in 2005,he was the target of allegations of the sexual abuse of boys twenty years earlier. These allegations became public after West became a target of a sting operation conducted by his hometown newspaper,The Spokesman-Review. Some journalists and academics criticized the paper for what they saw as a form of entrapment. West admitted engaging in homosexual behavior with adults,despite an earlier record of supporting "anti-gay" legislation. Though never charged,he was removed from office by recall in 2005. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) eventually closed its investigation and took no action for lack of evidence.
The deputy mayor is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many,but not all,local governments.
Vincent Bernard Orange,Sr. is a former American politician from Washington,D.C. and former president of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce. An attorney and a certified public accountant,Orange represented Ward 5 on the Council of the District of Columbia from 1999 to 2007,and was an at-large member from 2011 to 2016. He lost the June 2016 Democratic primary election to Robert White. Although his term was not due to end until January 2,2017,Orange resigned from the council effective August 15,2016,in the wake of conflict of interest charges over his new employment at the Chamber of Commerce.
Lisa J. Brown is an American politician and educator serving as the director of the Washington State Department of Commerce. A member of the Democratic Party,Brown has served in both houses of the Washington State Legislature,including eight years as the first Democratic female majority leader of the Washington State Senate. She has also served as the chancellor of Washington State University Spokane,a position she stepped down from in order to mount an unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. House.
Ann Purzner was the mayor of Overland,Missouri,having been elected by five votes in April 2006. She was the subject of some controversy and was eventually recalled from office.
Clarence O'Neal Bradford,known as C.O. "Clarence" Bradford,is a Houston City Council member,a former chief of police of Houston,Texas,and in 2008 an unsuccessful Democratic Party candidate for District Attorney of Harris County,Texas. On November 3,2009,Bradford was elected to the Houston City Council from At-large Position 4 and took office January 2,2010. In the 2011 election,Bradford won a second term as a Houston City Councilmember.
Mary B. Verner is an American politician who served as the 42nd Mayor of Spokane,Washington from 2007 to 2011.
Debra Leigh Stephens is an American jurist and an Associate Justice of the Washington Supreme Court. She was appointed to the court in December 2007 by Governor Christine Gregoire and took office on January 1,2008. She was elected by voters in 2008 and re-elected in 2014 and 2020. Prior to her appointment,Justice Stephens served as a judge for Division Three of the Washington Court of Appeals and as an adjunct professor at Gonzaga University School of Law. She is the first judge from Division Three of the Court of Appeals to serve on the Washington State Supreme Court,and the first woman from Eastern Washington to do so.
Otto Zehm was a man with a developmental disability from Spokane,Washington,who died on March 20,2006,during an altercation with police officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. Zehm committed no crime,and on May 30,2006,the Spokane County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide. In 2012,the first of several officers on the scene at Zehm's death was convicted of excessive use of force and lying to investigators,and was sentenced to 51 months imprisonment.
Leticia Vasquez is an American former mayor of Lynwood,California,United States. She is a registered Democrat.
Anne Clutterbuck is an attorney and former elected official living in Houston,Texas. She is a member of the board of managers of the Harris County Hospital District,the governing body that oversees the public health system in the Harris County,Texas region.
The government of Washington State is the governmental structure of the State of Washington as established by the Constitution of the State of Washington. The executive is composed of the Governor,several other statewide elected officials and the Governor's cabinet. The Washington State Legislature consists of the House of Representatives and State Senate. The judiciary is composed of the Washington Supreme Court and lower courts. There is also local government,consisting of counties,municipalities and special districts.
Paul H. Richards,II is an American politician who is a former mayor of Lynwood,California. He was sentenced to federal prison in 2006 on federal bribery and kickback charges.
Edward Michael Connelly was a federal prosecutor and justice of the Washington Supreme Court from 1946 to 1947. He was appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor Monrad Wallgren,and served less than one year. In 1946,he was defeated in the election,losing to King County Superior Court judge Matthew W. Hill. After leaving the court,Connelly returned to private practice in Spokane,Washington.
Richard P. Guy is an American attorney who was a justice of the Washington Supreme Court from 1989 to 2001,serving as chief justice from 1998 to 2001.
