Recall efforts for Ishpeming City Council member fail

MARQUETTE -- Recall efforts for Ishpeming City Council member Lindsay Bean have failed.

Marquette County Clerk Linda Talsma, county treasurer Jacqueline Solomon and Judge Cheryl Hill voted against the recall petition due to no direct evidence presented and lack of clarity in the petition Friday afternoon.

The petition was submitted by Ishpeming resident Mike Tonkin on behalf of a group of Ishpeming residents last month.

According to the petition, Bean faced a recall for "consistently violating the Ishpeming City Charter, repeatedly allowing both the Ishpeming City Manager and City Attorney to violate said charter and for violating the Open Meetings Act."

"As expected, the Marquette County Election Board denied the recall language because it was unclear and completely baseless," Ishpeming City Manager Craig Cugini said in an email. "We look forward to continuing the important work of carrying out the business of the city and proudly serving our residents."

In a phone interview with The Mining Journal on Wednesday, Tonkin said he was not surprised that the recall petition failed. He said the group is looking into picking up legal advice from an attorney to see what the "best route is."

"If it is appealing, we will," Tonkin said. "Personally, I think we should just turn around and file another one."

Either party can appeal the ruling to the Marquette County Circuit Court within 10 days of the ruling.