The third attempt to recall Allendale Public School Board Trustee Anna Hendricks has been rejected for a lack of clarity by the County Elections Committee. Efforts to recall Hendricks began on May 5, 2023 when the first petition was filed. (Please note, although they have similar names, this is not Andrea Hendrick who serves on the Grand Haven Board of Light and Power.)
Once a recall petition is filed it must be approved by the County Elections Committee. If approved a signature campaign follows and then a special election if enough signatures are gathered. At the clarity and factual hearing of the third petition to recall Anna Hendricks which took place on July 10, 2023, Judge Feyen, one of the three members of the committee, summarized the review process. According to Feyen, it is the job of the committee to determine if the petition is clear and contains statements of fact. If so, the committee will approve the petition. However, it is not necessary for the statements of fact to be truthful, only that they not be opinion. Ultimately, he concluded, it is the job of the public to determine if the statements of fact are indeed true and worthy of removing an official from office.
Furthermore, Judge Feyen read a portion of the head note (summary ruling) from a related 1996 case. “Boards of county election commissioners and circuit courts have the authority to review recall petitions for clarity. Such review is limited to a determination of whether the petitions present a sufficiently clear statement, and the standard for clarity is lenient. Truth is not a consideration in judging the clarity of a petition’s language. The accuracy of the statements in the petitions is a political question for the voters, not one for the courts to decide.” He then added, “so in other words, bureaucrats and elected officials should not be making the decision about recall. It’s the voters who have the right to make that decision about recall; and truth is not a consideration. So, you can allege something which can’t be proven to be true, and let the voters decide whether it is true.”
The committee rejected the first petition for lack of clarity and the second petition for failure to be factual. The third petition stated the following, and was rejected for lack of clarity.
“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.”
It should also be noted that a recall petition may be filed against an elected official despite the official not having violated a policy, broken the law, or acted immorally. Anna Hendricks did not commit a crime. She did not show a lack of morality, and it is likely that most members of the public would determine Anna Hendricks is acting with integrity and carrying out her duties as a school board member to the best of her ability. This is not a lawsuit. Rather, as Judge Feyen stated, this is a political question. Leftist political activists do not like the way Anna Hendricks has voted, so they are seeking to recall her. Although some people may consider this tactic a form of harassment, for members of the public, it is a Constitutional right to file a petition against an elected official, and there is no limit to the number of petitions that can be filed.
Since it is the public who will decide if Anna Hendricks will be recalled should a future petition be approved, it is the duty of the public to be informed. Recall is a political process, and in this case, it really boils down to truth and information. If voters are swayed by a petition full of misleading or libelous statements, a recall process will advance forward. As voters, it is our civic duty to do our research to ensure we are accurately informed.