The Washoe County Registrar of Voters Office continues to work through the list of petition signatures and is close to being done with the verification process.
As of 5pm this evening, there are currently 108 signatures for Dent and 68 for Schmitz that will not be counted unless they are what the County calls “cured.” To see if your name is on the list, you can download the lists from the Washoe County website (click the blue “here” under the section for Dent and the “here” in the section for Schmitz).
Or, with just one click you can open this consolidated spreadsheet that was created to make it a lot easier, and faster to find your name. It is current as of 5pm today and will be updated again on Thursday, so be sure to check back at the end of the day.
If your name is on either or both lists, you will need to follow these instructions to ensure your signature is counted.
As a reminder, the deadline is Friday, October 20th at 5pm. If your signature is not “cured” by this time, your signature will not be counted.
The County expects to submit all signatures to the Secretary of State on Monday, October 23rd for certification. When this is done, the total number of verified signatures will be released. We will also know how many signatures were not eligible to be counted. If either Trustee Dent or Schmitz has over 1,801 verified signatures on their petition, a recall election will be called.
The Washoe County Registrar of Voters Office has estimated this recall election will cost IVGID a total of $69,202.44.
The timing of the election is yet to be determined, but under NRS 306.045, any Trustee(s) who is subject to a recall can choose to resign before the special election is issued. It is not known if either Trustee Dent or Trustee Schmitz would choose this path if presented with the option, but they would save IVGID $69,202.44 if they did choose to resign.
NRS 306.045 Effect of resignation by public officer subject to proceedings for recall. If a public officer who is subject to a recall petition resigns his or her office:
1. Before the call for a special election is issued:
(a) The official with whom the petition to recall is filed shall cease any further proceedings regarding the petition;
(b) A vacancy occurs in that office; and
(c) The vacancy thereby created must be filled in the manner provided by law.
2. After the call for a special election is issued, the special election must be conducted. (Added to NRS by 1999, 2169)
Now, let’s also compare the cost of the recall election estimated to be just over $69,000, to what this Board has cost IVGID with one item – the separation with our former General Manager, Indra Winquest.
- Indra received one years severance, roughly $220,000 plus benefits
- It is our understanding that IVGID had to do a bump up for the Interim GM, Mike Bandelin, which is estimated to be between $25,000 and $50,000 (annually)
- There is $50,000 budgeted for expenses related to recruiting a new General Manager
This current board majority, of which Trustees Dent, Schmitz and Tulloch make up, have cost this community anywhere between $295,000 – $320,000 with just this one decision in the last five months.
And, there are more big and unnecessary expenditures on the horizon if Dent and Schmitz remain in office for another year. The $69,000 required for a recall campaign is small in comparison.
This recall election is not about costs, it is about doing the right thing to take back our community.