Voters will have the chance to recall Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr. in a special election on September 30.
In a Monday morning ruling, a Jackson County judge scheduled the recall vote for next month, after the county election board said the initial Aug. 26 demanded by petitioners was not “feasible.”
16th Circuit Court Judge Marty Wayne Seaton heard arguments Friday in a pair of court actions: Election officials asked to move the recall vote to the general election date in November, while a group of concerned citizens pushed to keep their earlier date.
The board said the Nov. 4 date was the “earliest available date that fully complies with Missouri election law,” according to court documents.
Phil LeVota, attorney for the citizens’ group, said they were happy to have a specific date set, but called on White to resign so a special election would not be necessary.
“With all of the delay tactics, we certainly understand the extreme balancing of interests the judge had to consider in coming to this decision,” LeVota said in a statement. “We now call on the County Executive to do the right thing and resign immediately and save Jackson County taxpayers almost $2 million in having to go through the process of holding a recall election to have him removed from office.”
In an emailed statement, White thanked the court for moving the date back, but criticized the idea of holding a recall at all, which he said would be costly.
“If this effort is ultimately allowed to proceed, it will be a $5 million mistake — one I believe Jackson County voters will not forget. I will not stop fighting this reckless misuse of public funds and power," he wrote. “This is a distraction from the work we should be doing.
Jackson County Legislature chair DaRon McGee also applauded the ruling, and urged the election boards to comply.
“Today’s ruling sends a clear message that the people of Jackson County — not political maneuvering — will decide this recall,” he said in a statement. “We recognize the tight timeline, but our voters deserve a well-run, accessible election on September 30th.”
The hearing followed White’s tit-for-tat legal battle with the state of Missouri over his handling of property tax assessments, though he attributed the effort to have him removed from office to anger over his opposition to a stadium sales tax last year.
"They want me out because I refuse to go along to get along," he said in his statement. "I believe the people of Jackson County deserve something real in return for a billion-dollar investment — jobs, community benefits, transparency and respect."
White on July 17 vetoed his own recall election, drawing condemnation and outcry from neighborhood activists. County legislators overturned White’s veto the next day.
County Legislator Manny Abarca is expected to introduce an ordinance during the Monday legislature meeting that would strip any recalled official of their pension.
