Recall petition language approved by Livingston County Election Commission
BRIGHTON - On Friday, in a 3-0 vote, the Livingston County Election Commission approved Brighton High School parent Sarah Cross’ recall petition language against Brighton Area School Board Trustee John C. Conely.
The commission acted after 44th Circuit Court Judge Matthew J. McGivney overturned the commission's rejection of the petition language.
Cross had appealed the rejection after the commission acted in March. Cross now can start collecting signatures. She must collect 5,472 valid signatures from residents within a 60-day period.
If successful, the recall questions against Conely and Bill Trombley, for whom language was previously approved, would be placed on the November ballot.
The three-member commission, which includes, County Clerk Betsy Hundley, County Treasurer Jennifer Nash and Probate Court Judge Miriam Cavanaugh approved the language.
In January, Cross began her effort to recall two school board trustees, Conely and Trombley, for comments regarding mask mandates for COVID-19.
Both those requests were rejected due to the petitions not being sufficiently clear or accurate, according to the commission.
After three attempts and changes to the language, the petition for Trombley was approved by the commission in March.
At the same time, Cross presented language in which she said Conely compared mask mandates to actions by Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime.
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Cross made three attempts to get the petition language approved by the election commission. The third time it was rejected, she filed an appeal of the decision in circuit court. Judge McGivney overturned the commission's ruling April 15, and remanded the case back to the commission with an order to approve the language.
Conely and Trombley are both serving four-year terms that expire Dec. 31, 2024.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Recall petition language approved against Brighton school board member
