The effort to recall Montmorency County Commissioner Louis Hubert has taken a step forward. County Clerk Cheryl Neilsen confirmed that 242 signatures of registered voters were submitted and were enough to continue the campaign that calls for the ouster of the District 5 representative. The recall effort was started by Barry Danks in what he said was a breech in the Open Meetings Act committed by the commissioner.
Hubert can apply to review any of the signatures he believes may not be legitimate.
"Mr. Hubert now has until Dec. 7 to submit any challenges," Neilsen said. "Once that time elapses I will be sending out a letter to him and Mr. Danks. It looks as if there will be an election day of Feb. 23. Mr. Hubert has received notification and has the right to examine petitions and purchase copies if he chooses to."
Danks said he doesn't hold any animosity toward Hubert, but after an incident where a pair of police cars were purchased outside of a public forum, he believed a move needed to be made. He also thinks if Hubert cared about the county's financial hardships, he would step down immediately.
"He violated the open meetings act. That is the biggest reason we did this," Danks said. "We didn't use hearsay or rumors or gossip. We stuck by the facts. I really don't think he knows what he has done wrong, or maybe he thinks he has done nothing wrong. If he were truly a good guy, he would just resign. it would save each township about $2,000. If he would do that we wouldn't have to have a recall election."
Danks said Hubert hardly acted alone when the vehicle purchase took place. He said he wishes others would take a stand to have the other commissioners removed also.
"I really think somebody else should step up and do a recall for the others who were involved in this. I fully encourage it," Danks said. "They need to be held accountable. They spent the citizens money, so why shouldn't they have to answer to them. The people elected them and have the power to remove them also."
Numerous attempts were made to contact Hubert to get his a response but he did not respond to the messages left for him.
Steve Schulwitz can be reached via e-mail at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5689.