Recall petition for Palmer mayor set to open for signatures

PALMER — An application for a petition to recall Palmer Mayor Steve Carrington was approved by the city clerk last week, marking the first step required for citizens to call a special election.

State law allows citizens to file a petition to recall an elected official for “misconduct in office, incompetence, or failure to perform prescribed duties.”

The recall petition application said Carrington overstepped his authority when he hired an outside attorney to draft a separation agreement for now-former Palmer City Manager Stephen Jellie. Palmer city law requires such decisions to be approved by the city council. The application was filed by Palmer resident Cindy Hudgins.

“This abuse of executive power by Mayor Steve Carrington constitutes unlawful behavior by a public officer in relation to the duties of his office, willful in character,” the application states.

Carrington’s actions were the subject of a city council meeting last month. His decision to order that agreement was inappropriate under Palmer city law, City Attorney Sarah Heath confirmed during that meeting.

Palmer City Clerk Shelly Acteson approved the request last Wednesday after a review by outside legal counsel.

Hudgins previously helped lead a successful effort to recall three Palmer City Council members in 2021. City officials estimated the cost of that recall election at $8,000 to $10,000.

The petition booklet for Carrington’s recall will be issued Dec. 18, according to information sent to Hudgins.

A special recall election will be triggered if the booklet is signed by 71 registered Palmer voters, a threshold based on state law requiring signatures from 25% of the turnout in the previous general election for the office. Carrington ran unopposed in 2022, with about 280 voters casting ballots.

The complete petition must be returned to the city within 60 days.

Carrington said in an interview last month that he has no plans to resign. He said in a statement Monday that a recall election would allow voters to decide whether he should remain in office. His term expires in October.

Republished with permission from the Mat-Su Sentinel, an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan online news source. Contact Amy Bushatz at abushatz@matsusentinel.com.