Plymouth-Canton Community Schools recall, Michigan (2023-2024)
| Plymouth-Canton Community Schools recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Patrick Kehoe Shawn Wilson |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2024 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall three of the seven members of the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools Board of Education in Michigan did not go to a vote in 2024. Lauren Christenson, Patrick Kehoe, and Shawn Wilson were named in the recall petitions. Recall supporters did not collect enough signatures within the 60-day collection period.[1]
The recall petitions were filed on August 22, 2023. The Wayne County Election Commission approved the recalls for circulation during a clarity hearing on September 6, 2023.[2][3] Earlier recall petitions against the three members were rejected for a lack of clarity in a hearing on August 17, 2023.[4]
The recall effort started after the board voted 6-1 to retire the school district's Chiefs mascot and logo.[2]
All three board members were elected to six-year terms in 2020.[2] At the time the recall petitions were filed, Wilson was serving as president of the board, Christenson was serving as vice president, and Kehoe was serving as treasurer.[3]
Recall supporters
Howard L. Ring, a resident of Plymouth, filed the recall petitions. The petitions against the three members included the following reason for recall: “voted on July 11, 2023 to retire Canton High School’s use of the nickname Chiefs and the arrowhead logo.”[2]
“Fifty years ago, when Canton first chose their chiefs nickname, they did so with pride,” Ring said. “Being a chief is not an insult or a diminutive, but quite the opposite. It is a compliment and honor, a title that demands responsibility and denotes leadership abilities. We would all be fortunate should our students live up to the honor it requires of them.”[2]
The Recall PCCS website listed the following concerns:[5]
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Recall opponents
Wilson responded to the recall with the following statement:[2]
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They (those opposed to the change) claim we ignored the community survey, yet they've ignored PCCS students and 4,000 plus signatures collected by the first student group [...] It broke my heart and angered me to have students share how they've been treated after bringing their request forward. They were bullied, mocked, and harassed. I'll accept the results of a recall if the PCCS community believes it was wrong to listen to our students. The recall has only made me more resolved to elevate student voices in our district and my vote lets those students know their voices are heard and valued.[6] |
” |
In response to the recall, Christenson said, “I firmly believe that my role as a school board member is to amplify student voices and support their endeavors to effect positive change within the Plymouth Canton Community Schools.”[2]
Kehoe said:[2]
| “ |
Civil rights are not a popularity contest governed by surveys and I will always vote to support all students and marginalized groups. In this case we are giving the next generation the same opportunity that was provided to students more than 50 years ago to select their own nickname and logo. This change is not erasing the legacy and history of our alumni as Chiefs or our achievements, which will live on.[6] |
” |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan
To get a recall on the ballot in Michigan, recall supporters must collect signatures equal in number to 25% of voters in the jurisdiction in the last gubernatorial election. They have 60 days between the collection of the first signature and the collection of the last signature on the petition. Recall petitions are eligible to collect signatures for 180 days.[7]
To get the recalls against Christenson, Kehoe, and Wilson on the ballot, supporters would have had to collect approximately 16,700 signatures per board member.[1]
2024 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia has tracked 38 school board recall efforts against 79 board members in 2024. A recall election against one board member is being held on December 17, 2024. Earlier recall elections in 2024 removed 11 members from office and retained seven members in office.
The chart below details the status of 2024 recall efforts by individual school board member.
2023 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 48 school board recall efforts against 97 board members in 2023. Sixteen of those board members faced recall elections. The recall elections were held on January 10, 2023, August 1, 2023, August 8, 2023, August 29, 2023, November 7, 2023, and December 12, 2023. The school board recall success rate was 13.4%.
The chart below details the status of 2023 recall efforts by individual school board member.
Recall context
- See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2023 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.
See also
- Plymouth-Canton Community Schools, Michigan
- Recall campaigns in Michigan
- Political recall efforts, 2024
- Political recall efforts, 2023
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hometown Life, "School board recall efforts fail in Plymouth-Canton for lack of signatures," January 10, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Hometown Life, "Recall efforts underway against Plymouth-Canton board members who voted for Chiefs retirement," September 7, 2023
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Plymoth-Canton Community Schools, "Board of Education," accessed August 29, 2023
- ↑ Wayne County Election Commission, "Minutes: August 17, 2023
- ↑ Recall PCCS, "Our Concerns," accessed October 24, 2023
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Recall of Local Officials," accessed July 27, 2021
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