Flambeau School District recall, Wisconsin (2019)

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Flambeau School District recall
Officeholders
Sam Stewart Danielle Zimmer
Recall status
Recall approved
Recall election date
February 19, 2019
See also
Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2019 Recalls in Wisconsin Wisconsin recall laws School board recalls Recall reports

A recall election seeking to remove two of the seven members of the Flambeau School District Board of Education in Wisconsin was approved on February 19, 2019. Board President Sam Stewart and board clerk Danielle Zimmer were voted out of their positions. Challengers Sara Baker and Ruth Opachan won election to the seats.

The process to recall Stewart and Zimmer started in December 2018. The two members were targeted for recall due to disrespectful comments, according to the Ladysmith News.

Stewart and Zimmer were also targeted for recall in 2018 along with board Vice President Patrick Anderson. The 2018 petitions against the three board members said they were being recalled due to disrespectful behavior, negative representation, and poor decision making. The effort failed to make the ballot due to improper documentation.

Recall vote

Recall vote for Sam Stewart

General election

General election for Flambeau School District Board of Education

Sara Baker defeated incumbent Sam Stewart in the general election for Flambeau School District Board of Education on February 19, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sara Baker (Nonpartisan)	61.3	451
		Sam Stewart (Nonpartisan)	38.7	285

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 736
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Recall vote for Danielle Zimmer

General election

General election for Flambeau School District Board of Education

Ruth Opachan defeated incumbent Danielle Zimmer in the general election for Flambeau School District Board of Education on February 19, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ruth Opachan (Nonpartisan)	60.1	444
		Danielle Zimmer (Nonpartisan)	39.9	295

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 739
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Recall supporters

The recall petitions were filed by Sara Baker and Ruth Opachan. They said they targeted Stewart and Zimmer for recall due to disrespectful comments, finger pointing, and lack of transparency. Baker said she believed “a new composition of board members would bring together people who can work together, provide a positive support and accountability system for the administrative team which would allow the district to again focus on what is most important, which is the students, their education and turning them into well rounded adults.”

Recall opponents

Stewart and Zimmer filed challenges to the recall petitions on December 17, 2018. The board members said the reasons for recall listed on the petitions were personal opinions unrelated to their responsibilities as officeholders. They also said the reasons for recall did not provide a basis for recall and included personal attacks on their characters.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in Wisconsin

The recall effort began in December 2018 when petitioners submitted recall language with the school district. Stewart and Zimmer filed challenges to the recall petitions on December 17, 2018, and recall supporters filed rebuttals to those challenges on December 19, 2018. On January 7, 2019, the petitions were deemed sufficient to warrant a recall, and the election was scheduled for February 19, 2019.

2019 recall efforts

See also: School board recalls

Ballotpedia tracked 20 school board recall efforts against 47 board members in 2019. Three recall elections were held in 2019. The school board recall success rate was 6.4%.

The chart below details the status of 2019 recall efforts by individual school board member.

See also

• Flambeau School District, Wisconsin
• Flambeau School District recall, Wisconsin (2018)
• Recall campaigns in Wisconsin
• Political recall efforts, 2019
• School board recalls

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• School District of Flambeau