Anna Hendricks Overcomes Fourth Recall Attempt and the Left Tries a Fifth Time
Anna Hendricks, Vice President of the Allendale Public School board, has overcome four separate recall attempts, and now she is facing a fifth attempt to recall her. (not to be confused with Andrea Hendrick member of the Grand Haven Board of Light and Power and mayoral candidate)
Recall efforts began on May 5, 2023, and have continued through the present. On August 31, 2023, the fourth petition to recall Hendricks was withdrawn by petitioner Jeanine Gasper and on September 1, 2023, Gasper filed again. Anna Hendricks has not committed a crime or shown a lack of morality. It appears she has been targeted simply for being a conservative. She was elected to the board in 2020 and has acted with integrity carrying out her duties as a school board member. Hoping there are enough ill-informed members of the public who not do their own research, the left is using law fare and abuse of the political process in an attempt to recall her.
The first step to recall an elected school board member in the State of Michigan involves filing paperwork with the county describing the reason for recall. This initial filing is followed by a clarity and factual hearing with the three-member Elections Commission which includes Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck, Ottawa County Probate Court Judge Mark Feyen, and Ottawa County Treasurer Amanda Price. According to Judge Feyen, it is the job of the Elections Commission to determine if the claims against the accused are clear and are statements of fact as opposed to opinion. For example, I could state that Johnny ate scrambled eggs for breakfast. This would be a statement of fact as opposed to an opinion such as Johnny is a good eater. It is not the job of the elections board to determine if the statements of fact are indeed true, rather, that is the job of the citizens signing the petition and voting in the recall election. For example, Johnny may have actually eaten oatmeal for breakfast. If the petition is approved at the clarity and factual hearing, a signature campaign follows. If signatures from eligible voters exceeding 25% of the number of people who voted in the last election are collected, a special election follows.
So far, the efforts to recall Anna Hendricks have not made it past the clarity and factual hearings phase, and Recall Attempt Number Four was withdrawn before it even made it to the hearing. Former Allendale School Board members Jeanine Gasper and Aaron Haight are behind the recall attempts with Gasper filing paperwork and Haight collecting FOIA documents in support of the petitions.
Recall Attempt Number 1 - Rejected for lack of clarity
Filed May 5, 2023
“On 1/9/2023 Anna Hendricks lied during a school board meeting stating that she had the same amount of time, 24 hours, as all other board members to review a motion to change legal counsel. As early as 11/21/22 and through at least 1/7/2023, Anna Hendricks engaged in private conversations with two new and one current APS board member regarding the change in legal counsel. This directly violates the Michigan Open Meetings Act which requires the Board meet in public when four or more members are present and/or if discussing matters that could lead to a decision.”
Recall Attempt Number 2 – Rejected for failure to be statements of fact
Clarity and factual hearing June 20, 2023
“Anna Hendricks has displayed a pattern of acting outside of the best interests for Allendale Public Schools (APS) and its stakeholders. She has shown this by participating in a group text thread with 3 other APS board members where on December 26, 2022 she shared the following proposed actions: replacing the district's legal counsel with Kallman Legal Group and terminating the district's relationship with the Michigan Association of School Boards. These actions were proposed publicly at a January 9, 2023 APS Board of Education (BOE) meeting where Ms. Hendricks voted against giving 3 remaining APS BOE members more than one day to review the proposed actions. Further, she has failed to acknowledge the electronic quorum the group text tread established.”
Recall Attempt Number 3 - Rejected for lack of clarity
Clarity and factual hearing July 10, 2023
“On December 8, 2022, Anna Hendricks shared language in a group text chat with other Allendale Public School (APS) Board of Education (BOE) members regarding a motion to dismiss Thrun Law Firm and hire Kallman Legal Group. On January 7, 2023, Ms. Hendricks was provided a contract from Kallman. Three remaining APS BOE members were notified of this motion and the contract on January 8, 2023. Ms. Hendricks voted against giving the three remaining APS BOE members more than one day to review the motion and the contract provided by Kallman.”
Recall Attempt Number 4 - Withdrawn by petitioner
Since Gasper kept failing to establish a statement of fact under the reasoning used in petitions 1-3, she switched gears and came up with a completely new reason for recall starting with Attempt Number 4.
Received August 16, 2023
Hearing scheduled for September 1, 9:30 am
Withdrawn August 31, 2023
“During an Allendale Public School (APS) Board meeting on January 8, 2023, APS board of education member Anna Hendricks voted to withdraw membership from the Michigan Association of School Boards and replace it with the National School Board Leadership Council. During the meeting Ms. Hendricks stated, “I thought that this would be a great change for our community and our district.” Ms. Hendricks also voted no on a motion to table this decision until the next regular board meeting.”
Anna Hendricks sent a statement to the Elections Commission noting two significant mistakes on the petition submitted by Jeanine Gasper. The date of the board meeting was incorrect and the petitioner failed to fill out the header information on the petition form. This is likely the reason Gasper withdrew her request.
Recall Attempt Number 5 – Clarity and Factual Hearing Scheduled for September 12, 2023
Received September 1, 2023
Hearing scheduled for September 12, 4:00 pm
“During an Allendale Public School (APS) Board meeting on January 9, 2023, APS board of education member Anna Hendricks voted to withdraw membership from the Michigan Association of School Boards and replace it with the National School Board Leadership Council. During the meeting Ms. Hendricks stated, “I thought that this would be a great change for our community and our district.” Ms. Hendricks also voted no on a motion to table this decision until the next regular board meeting.”
The hearing is scheduled for September 12, 2023, in the jury room at 414 Washington Street in Grand Haven. It seems Gasper corrected her two mistakes from filing number four and is trying once again to recall Anna Hendricks. Recall is a political process available to the voters should they need to remove an elected official that is not acting in the best interests of the people. In this case, it is being used as a weapon against a political enemy in hopes that the public is not paying attention. Truth and information are key components that guide the public in making decisions. If the public is swayed by misleading information or libelous statements, the recall process will advance forward. As voters, it is our civic duty to do our research to ensure we are accurately informed.