By Alan Greenblatt | Governing magazine
Recall campaigns against state legislators used to be rare. They’ve not only become more common, they’re now more often driven by partisan politics than accusations of high crimes or misdemeanors.
On Sunday, Colorado Democratic state Rep. Rochelle Galindo stepped down in the face of a recall effort. On Monday, Colorado’s secretary of state approved a petition to collect signatures for a recall election against Tom Sullivan, another Democratic state representative. As many as 10 other Democratic legislators in the state are being targeted for recalls. Gov. Jared Polis may face a recall as well.
“It’s all clearly a strategy to undo elections,” says KC Becker, the Democratic speaker of the Colorado House. “I think it is a partisan power play.”
The fights in Colorado follow recent recall efforts in California and Nevada that aimed to change the partisan balance of power.
