Total Recall

Begun the Recall Wars has.

Lines have been drawn and the two warring tribes in the Richland School Board recall effort are (checks notes) the pro and the con. 

The pro side is busy setting up times and locations for gathering signatures. They need to collect north of 5,000 signatures in 180 days (that clock started ticking in February). Recalls are tough, but former Sheriff Jerry Hatcher was summarily dunked on by the voters of Benton County not long ago -- so it is possible. The pro side has a website with some good basic information. 

Meanwhile, the con side is raising money for the infamous We Want Accountability PAC which has bought some lovely yard signs. (It's March. This is supposed to be our yard sign sabbatical, dammit!)

Both sides are engaging in quite the pissing match on Facebook. 

Let's do a quick hit summary here though. Two right-wing candidates for school board were elected over their left-wing opponents in the 2021 election. They won riding a wave of anti-COVID restrictions and anti-Critical Race Theory sentiment. Those two new members joined with another right-of-center member to vote to defy the governor's mandate and make masking optional in February 2022. The superintendent promptly closed the schools for two days as a result. The school board then voted to rescind their masks-optional policy. Governor Inslee then ended the mask requirement effective a couple of weeks later. That's about it.

Recalls were filed and court battles ensued. The loud voices from the right-wing in Benton County hail the embattled school board members as heroes who fought for the children. The other side claims this was a travesty and lined up multiple charges to have them removed from office. Never mind that the vote didn't actually accomplish anything other than having school (quite inconveniently for many, I'm sure) canceled for a couple of days. Students and faculty returned to school with masks a couple of days later. But hey, it's the thought that counts, right?

Now we're left with arguments over who is wasting taxpayer dollars. Is it the three amigos who have racked up legal bills and possibly will stick the school district with paying them? Or is it the recallers who are putting an expense recall on the ballot which will cost the school district? Both can be true just like it can be true that there are incredibly annoying people on both sides of this issue.

The other incessant debate is whether or not "the law" was broken.

Per the Pro group (emphasis added):

"On Tuesday, February 15, 2022, Richland School Board Directors Semi Bird, Audra Byrd, and Kari Williams participated in a special meeting, held a vote that was not included on the meeting agenda, and took the final action of making masks optional in Richland Schools, effective immediately. In doing so, they broke several Washington State laws and violated their oaths of office."

And on the flip side (emphasis added):

"-NO LAWS HAVE BEEN BROKEN by the three board members! The judges who have ruled on this recall case repeatedly state in their ruling that they are required to treat the petitioner’s allegations as truth and they are NOT judging if the three board members are guilty of anything. The petitioners claim that since the courts have allowed the recall process to proceed, the named board members have “broken the law.” This is very presumptuous as NO court has determined if any laws were broken! The court has only determined they will allow the recall to move forward. This is also very unprecedented since a recall based on politics and OPMA has never been allowed to move forward like this before. It is now setting a precedence [sic] to recall any elected official whenever their political views do not align with a special interest group. 😥"

I've always wanted to write "[sic]." So satisfying...

In the meantime, I can't help but wonder what the heck the con side is doing in hosting sign-waving events and even dinners all while changing their Facebook profile pictures to show their solidarity in resisting the recall. This is textbook Streisand effect in creating more awareness for an issue that certainly most of the public doesn't give a crap about and will likely result in more people signing the petition. 

Anyway, one thing for sure is that Mr. Bird's longshot gubernatorial bid is dead in the water. He can't play well on the westside while embattled in a clearly partisan and political fight where he has to describe the recall as a "vindictive move by progressives." Obviously, a successful recall will doom any future political career for someone who otherwise has an impressive resume and stage presence.