By Mary Drier (Contact / Staff Bio)
November 4, 2009 - 10:23 a.m. EST

WISNER TOWNSHIP — Three out of four proposed recall petitions in regard to the issue of bringing fresh water to Wisner Township were approved during a “clarity hearing” held Tuesday by the Tuscola County Election Commission.

There are recall petitions for those on the Wisner Township Board who voted for the proposed water project, and recall petitions against those who didn’t vote in favor of it.

A recall petition was turned in for Supervisor James S. MacFarlane and for Treasurer Annette Reick because they voted to move the proposed project to the next step.

Those petitions accuse each of them of “committing fraud,” alleges they misrepresented their position on the water project by telling those who were in favor of the project they were for it, and telling those who were against the project they were against it; and for committing the township to a $10,000 environmental impact study even though the project might not be allowed.

The election commission, which consists of Tuscola County Probate - Family Court Judge W. Wallace Kent., Jr., county Clerk Margie White - Cormier, and county Treasurer Pat Donovan - Gray, agreed the language was understandable on the proposed recall of MacFarlane.

“It is not our job to decide on the right or the wrong (of these accusations), or that they failed in some way, or to determine if these charges are accurate or unfounded,” explained Kent. “Our job is to only decide if the language is understandable (as to) what the accusations are.

“That will be up to the voters (if it gets that far).”

While the recall language on the petition against Reick was similar, the election commission felt there were a couple of gray areas.

Reick is the township’s treasurer but the petition refers to her in several places as a trustee, and is “ambiguous” in another reference.

So the commission denied the petition against Reick because it was “unclear.”

Because it was decided the wording on the recall against Reick was unclear, that stops the process against her unless another petition with revised wording is submitted to start the process over again against her.

In addition, there are also recall petitions against Trustees Carol E. Jacoby and Vickie Jo Vader because they didn’t vote to support the project.

The petitions against them allege they are each jeopardizing receiving a $1.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The election commission decided the petition language against them is understandable, so they were each approved to move forward.

The next step in the process is that the petitions have to be signed by a certain number of registered voters who voted in the last gubernatorial election.

“To continue, each petition needs to have signatures of at least 82 registered voters of the township,” said White - Cormier.

Now that the language has been approved on three out of four of the petitions, the next step is to gather the required number of signatures within a 180-day time period.

“Actually, the time period is gather the petitions is 90 days from the time of the first signature to the last signature, but that could take place anytime during the 180-day time period,” said White - Cormier. “But it has to be done in 90 days from start to finish.”

Once the signatures are collected, and if there are enough of them, those targeted for recall can challenge the validity of the signatures.

If the process continues on to a vote, those targeted for recall have an opportunity to have “their say” with written reply and/or rebuttal of up to 100 words that will be printed on the ballot along with the recall petition statement, according to White - Cormier.

The only one on the township board not targeted for recall is the Clerk, Arlene Duke, even though she voted in favor of the project.

The recall brouhaha is over a proposed $3.8 million water project which Rural Development is offering a 40-45 percent grant with a 40-year, low-interest loan for the rest of the cost. There is a projected end cost of about $8,000 per parcel to bring water from Hampton Township to the Wisner area.

Mary Drier is a staff writer for the Tuscola County Advertiser. She can be reached at drier@tcadvertiser.com.