City of Alamosa delivers recall petitions to the Secretary of State
ALAMOSA – On Thursday, employees with the City of Alamosa delivered petitions to the office of the Secretary of State in Denver bearing 5,924 signatures collected in the San Luis Valley supporting the recall of District Attorney Alonzo Payne.
Over the past four weeks, petitions were circulated throughout the six counties by 69 individuals, 54 of whom were volunteers and 13 of whom were city employees who were compensated their regular hourly wages with funds from $10,000 specifically allocated via ordinance by the Alamosa City Council for the recall campaign.
Volunteers and staff either set up tables in central locations for signing or, in some cases, went door to door.
Each person was individually given clear directives on the process, including what could and could not be done in the process using directions taken directly off the website for the Colorado Secretary of State, as well as a printed copy of a training guide pulled from that same governmental site. They were also issued badges printed by the city that clearly identified them as “circulators”.
According to the Secretary of State, 3,996 signatures from eligible registered voters were required. However, wanting to ensure that there were enough signatures and allowing for those that may be excluded for eligibility reasons, the city set the goal of obtaining 6,000 signatures within the first four weeks of the 60 day period legally allowed.
The collective efforts of all involved resulted in both goals coming very, very close to being met.
The Secretary of State has 28 days to review the petitions, which will involve individually checking each signature to verify eligibility. The district attorney will also be provided a window of opportunity to challenge signatures during that time.
Once that review is completed, a recall election will be held in roughly 45 to 90 days.
According to Heather Brooks, city manager, all costs accrued by the city in association with the campaign were carefully tracked with regular reports provided to city council during regularly scheduled meetings.