Recall petitions hit the streets targeting 3 Richland school officials. What to know
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Richland School Board Recall Effort
A high-profile group of voters filed to recall board members Semi Bird, Audra Byrd and Kari Williams after their controversial vote to make face masks optional.
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The citizen recall group expected to begin gathering signatures Wednesday in an effort to remove Semi Bird, Kari Williams and Audra Byrd from the Richland School Board.
A calendar posted on the Richland School Board Recall campaign’s website shows the group planned to start at 3 p.m. at two sites: Bombing Range Sports Complex and Uptown Shopping Center. And they were going to collect names beginning at 4 p.m. at Badger Mountain Park.
A full list for Friday and Monday is available on the group’s website.
This latest effort comes after the Washington Supreme Court ruled Thursday that four charges levied against the trio were “factually and legally sufficient” enough to proceed to the next step to try to get the measure on a ballot.
The three board members are accused of violating the state’s Open Public Meetings Act, statewide emergency orders on indoor COVID mask requirements, board policies and exceeding their power as school board members when they voted Feb. 15 to go “mask optional” in Richland schools.
The act forced the district’s superintendent to close schools for two days for the district’s 14,000 students while district leaders considered the legal ramifications.
Who can sign?
Only registered voters who live within the boundaries of the Richland School District can sign the three recall petitions — one for each school board member.
No proof of registration is required when you sign since signatures will be verified by the Benton County Auditor’s Office.
The recall campaign needs to collect the signatures of 25% of the total number of votes cast in the last election that each school board member was involved in.
The campaign is also aiming to collect an additional 10% cushion to account for any errors.
Here’s how many signatures they will need to gather for each school board member to satisfy the 35% threshold:
- Kari Williams: 5,176
- Misipati Semi Bird: 5,822
- Audra Byrd: 5,887
In all, that adds up to 16,885 signatures.
If the campaign fails to reach that threshold, their name will not be on the ballot.
Organizers have until early May to gather the signatures in order for the issue to be in the August primary.
Benton County Auditor Brenda Chilton will call for an election if she finds the submitted signatures are sufficient.
On Saturday, Feb. 11, a group support of keeping the trio in office, Resist the Recall, posted on Facebook that the recall effort a wasteful effort by “radical leftists.”
“1 year ago: Audra, Semi and Kari voted for mask choice. This was reversed two days later. This is the logic behind why radical leftists want to waste $250,000 in taxpayer money that belongs to our local schools,” the post read, referring to an estimate the district would have to pay to call a special election for the recall.
Recall organizers have said it will cost far less if the measure is on the primary ballot rather than a special election.
Brian Brendel, lead organizer of Richland School Board Recall, has insisted that the campaign is not politically motivated or about masks.
“It has nothing to do with conservative or liberal. It’s simply that they broke the law,” he told the Tri-City Herald last week.
If enough signatures are gathered, the voters will decide whether or not the board members are guilty of the charges levied against them.
This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 4:52 PM.
