Homer recall effort fails, council members retain their seats

Update | 9:45 a.m. Tuesday

Homer’s canvas board counts absentee ballots in recall election. (Photo by Aaron Bolton/KBBI)
Homer’s canvas board counts absentee ballots in recall election. (Photo by Aaron Bolton/KBBI)

Three Homer City Council members subject of a highly contentious recall effort will retain their seats.

The political battle led to a court case with the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska and two political groups have formed around the issue.

Council members David Lewis, Catriona Reynolds and Donna Aderhold all enjoyed double digit wins as the official results came in Friday.

As the canvas board counted hundreds of absentee ballots Friday afternoon, several Heartbeat of Homer supporters in the audience eagerly awaited the results.

The pro-recall political action committee’s spokeswoman, Sarah Vance, sat quietly as the stacks of ballots were counted.

The three council members narrowly eked out a win Tuesday in the regular vote and needed a strong showing from absentee voters.

City Clerk Mellissa Jacobsen read the results for the record and those in attendance.

Aderhold and Lewis were both favored by 57 percent of voters and Reynolds came away with 56 percent of the vote. Vance and her supporters were noticeably disappointed as they walked out of City Hall.

“Of course we are disappointed in the outcome,” Vance said. “We feel that they definitely were dishonest in their dealings over the issues, but the people have spoken and we’ll proceed from here.”

The three council members found themselves subjects of the recall effort this spring. Petitioners took issue with two resolutions they crafted and sponsored, namely an inclusivity resolution.

Petitioners argue it was the council members’ intent to make Homer a sanctuary city, damaging the tourism industry. They also claim their actions were misconduct in office.

The council members all had one word for the results, vindicated. On Friday evening, Homer Citizens Against the Recall gathered in the very place the inclusivity resolution began, Homer resident Hal Spence’s living room.

Council member Reynolds gave an impromptu speech to supporters.

“There hasn’t been anything I could do about any of this for a long time, but knowing that you were all working to show the recall was not valid, I think we did that today with the results,” Reynolds said in Spence’s living room. “We did it Tuesday with the results.”

Lewis and Reynolds both say they’re happy the special election is over. However, Lewis notes the division created by it will not dissipate overnight.

“You know I went back and read some of the articles, and we’ve been called Marxists and all sorts of stuff,” Lewis said. “That doesn’t go away.”

Aderhold, an avid writer and runner, added she is particularly excited to have time in her personal life.

Homer Citizens Against the Recall Chairman Ron Keffer explained the one-issue political action committee will be dissolved. But, Keffer noted its progressively minded supporters will remain a group.

“Because we don’t want to get ourselves into a position in which we have not been active enough and things happen and we have to play catchup,” Keffer explained. “We want to be an active part constantly at this point.”

The Homer City Council held a special meeting Monday to certify the results.

Reynolds and Lewis’ terms are up in October. Lewis, a three-term councilman, said he decided not to run prior to the recall effort. Reynolds noted the recall, as well as other obligations, pushed her away from running for reelection. Aderhold, whose term expires in 2018, said it’s too early to make that choice.

However, all is not said and done. Heartbeat of Homer is seeking reimbursement for its legal fees from the council members.

Update | 11:08 a.m. Monday

Council Members Tom Stroozas, David Lewis, Mayor Bryan Zak, Heath Smith, Shelly Erickson, Donna Aderhold and Catriona Reynolds. (Photo courtesy City of Homer)
Council Members Tom Stroozas, David Lewis, Mayor Bryan Zak, Heath Smith, Shelly Erickson, Donna Aderhold and Catriona Reynolds. (Photo courtesy City of Homer)

Three Homer City Council members subject of a highly contentious recall effort will retain their seats. Each council member was voted on individually.

After the election day Tuesday, each council member obtained little more than 50 percent of the regular vote. Margins widened since the unofficial results.

David Lewis and Donna Aderhold both took 57 percent of the vote and Catriona Reynolds came away with 55 percent.

The results were announced shortly after 5 p.m. Friday. The city council will hold a special meeting at 4 p.m. Monday to finalize the election results.

All three council members had one word for how they felt, vindicated. Reynolds was notified of the results by phone.

“I felt elated at that point,” Reynolds said. “I feel like this has given clear direction as to the fact that recall in this situation was not acceptable to the majority of the community.”

All the council members said they tried not to focus too much on the count as the canvas board worked through much of the afternoon.

Several supporters of the pro-recall political action committee, Heartbeat of Homer, attended the entire canvas board meeting.

Heartbeat spokeswoman Sarah Vance looked disappointed as she walked out of the council chambers.

“Of course we are disappointed in the outcome that they’re not being recalled,” Vance said. “Because we feel that they definitely were dishonest in their dealings over the issues, but the people have spoken and we’ll proceed from here.”

Vance is happy with the strong voter turnout, which was about 41 percent.

Heartbeat isn’t going away, Vance said, but declined to say what topics it would focus on next.

Now that the recall is over, she said the town needs to be accepting of each other despite beliefs and political views.

“I hope we don’t go back to the way things were before because we need to proceed and find a new normal,” Vance said.

Lewis, who said he’s not going to the “campfire to sing Kumbaya” at the last council meeting, still thinks it will be hard for the politically divided town to reconcile.

“You know I went back and read some of the articles and we’ve been called Marxists and all sorts of stuff,” Lewis said. “That doesn’t go away.”

Lewis, a three-term councilmember, does not plan to run again in October, a decision he came to before the recall.

Council member Reynolds’ term is also up this year. She noted the recall issue made her decide not to run. Reynolds added other commitments also have led her to that decision.

Aderhold, who will remain on the council until 2018, said it’s too early to decide. She’s excited to have more time in her personal life, she said.

“I write a lot, and I’m looking forward to getting back to writing. I’m looking forward to getting back to running, doing some other things that give me peace of mind,” she said.

Aaron Bolton, KBBI


Original story | 4:21 p.m. June 17

All 3 Homer City Council members survive recall election

HOMER, Alaska — The recall election in Homer has failed, and all three members of the city council will keep their seats.

City officials say council members Donna Aderhold, David Lewis and Catriona Reynolds survived the recall election that was held after some residents were upset after the three sponsored a resolution promoting inclusivity after President Donald Trump’s election. A revised version that the council voted on did not mention Trump, and it failed.

The count of outstanding ballots in Thursday’s election was delayed Friday after city officials found an 18-vote difference between the number of ballots cast and the number counted. But late Friday the city announced that the tabulation was complete and the results were certified.

The Associated Press

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