A petition filed with the Kenai Peninsula Borough on January 26 to recall Assembly Member Kelly Wolf has been denied.
Borough Clerk Johni Blankenship said she received council from the borough’s legal department which helped her decide the petition filed by Kasilof resident Chase Duncan should be denied.
Blankenship: “The application alleged that his introduction of ordinance 2015-02 was a show of incompetence where essentially we elect assembly members to do just that, introduce legislation, so that is not legitimate grounds for recall.”
That ordinance was introduced by Wolf at the January 20 meeting and aimed to prohibit the operation of marijuana cultivation facilities within the borough subject to voter approval. A public hearing is set on that ordinance February 24, the day recreational marijuana use for those 21 and over becomes legal in Alaska.
To be accepted, the petition would have had to illustrate an instance of misconduct in office, incompetence, or failure to perform prescribed duties as outline by Alaska State Statute Title 29 which defines requirements of the recall process.
After the denial, Duncan said he didn’t fully expect it to be approved.
Duncan: “Mainly just hope it kind of proved a point that people do have a voice you know and we don’t have to just sit by and watch what our elected officials do while they’re elected. We have the right to step up and say no you can’t represent us, I may have failed at it but hey maybe it reminded somebody that was possible.”