I never have been a fan of recalls.

In my way of thinking, voters had a chance at one point to make the right decision on selecting a candidate. If the person they chose isn’t living up to their expectations, then shame on them. Voters shouldn’t be allowed a do-over just because things aren’t working out the way they want.

Now, mind you, there are exceptions I would consider for recall. An elected official who is misusing the power of his or her office is one of those exceptions. Dereliction of duty in office would be another. Conviction of a crime would also qualify for recall in my world.

But casting a yes vote for a state House speaker of a different political party hardly qualifies in my world as a good reason for recall.

And, yet, that is where we are today, with a recall effort mounted against state Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan. The recall centers around the fact that Cavitt cast an affirmative vote for the election of state Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, for state House speaker.

Cavitt, at the time, said Democrats held the majority in the House and were going to have “one of their own” elected anyway, and his affirmative vote was mainly ceremonial. Cavitt has been reported as saying he cast the vote to ensure Northeast Michigan would be well-represented on important committees of the Legislature.

I don’t have a problem with that. To me, it seems like smart maneuvering and keeps the region’s interests relevant in any legislation drafted in Lansing.

But not everyone agrees.

Gary Wnuk, a former GOP Alcona County commissioner and member of the Fairview Area Schools Board of Education, filed a recall petition against Cavitt a few weeks ago.

That was the easy part, however, and the part of the process that garners the most press. From this point forward, recall efforts become much harder.

Next up in the process will be that the Board of State Canvassers will meet in August to review the petition and its wording for any factual errors.

If the petition passes that process, it is valid for 180 days, during which the petitioner would need to obtain the number of signatures equal to or greater than 25% of the votes in the official’s district before the petitions could be filed. And then, if that occurs, and enough good signatures are gathered, local clerks would schedule a recall election.

Trust me, it is by no means an easy process. And, in case you are wondering, no state elected official has been successfully recalled in Michigan since 2011.

The Alpena News’ editorial voice last Saturday already is on record against the recall efforts.

I believe the newspaper’s position is the correct one.

Malfeasance in office is one thing.

But voting for a person of a different political party for a position he is going to win, anyway, just seems an unwarranted distraction to more important things going on in the Legislature.

Rep. Cavitt did absolutely nothing wrong, in my opinion.

I hope the residents of Northeast Michigan agree.

Bill Speer recently retired as the publisher and editor of The News. He can be reached at bspeer@thealpenanews.com.