A warrant article that would have created a mechanism for Burlington voters to recall elected officials failed at Town Meeting Wednesday as Town Meeting Members worried about the potential for misuse.
The rules would have created a system for voters to recall officials over accusations or convictions of crimes or ethical misconduct, failure to fulfill duties, or broken promises on the campaign trail.
“No group in this town should consider this to be a toy or a weapon to be used against a group that they disagree with because that group that is targeted could turn around and frivolously do the same to you,” The General Bylaw Review Committee wrote in the backup material. “It has to be worth it, and the circumstances and situations that we are considering would be ones that affect the entire town, ideally warranting wide-scale support of the residents if indeed the grounds are valid.”
“The one thing I worry about is, I get in a felon-type situation we can use this, that’s good, but if it becomes even a chance of it becoming a political weapon and people trying to get somebody out for all these other bad reasons that are not legitimate, I’d rather not have this than have the possibility of that happening,” said Precinct 5 Town Meeting Member Chris Murphy.
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