Recall of Falls City mayor fails

This story has been updated to add statements of Mayor Harkendorff and Kaylie Ractliffe.

FALLS CITY – The primary circulator of a recall petition for Falls City Mayor Mark Harkendorff says the petition has failed.

Kaylie Ractliffe had 30 days to turn in 475 signatures from Falls City voters, but the county clerk’s office reports that no signatures were turned in by the end of May.

Ractliffe said people had expressed support for the recall effort but some said they would not sign for concern about losing customers or getting in trouble at work for having their name on a petition.

She said some saw the recall as a “kneejerk” reaction to the resignation of the city linemen. The former city councilwoman said the recall was also motivated by what she described as disrespectful  and nonsensical comments made by the mayor.

Mayor Harkendorff said the head linesman told him he had nothing to do with the linesmen decision to resign. At a public meeting where former linesmen were present, Mayor Harkendorff told them he wishes they had come to him before making their decision. He said the linesmen were welcome to re-apply.

 

Hark file photo

Ractliffe said part of the reasoning behind the recall effort was that it often seemed that the mayor did not understand most of the agenda items at previous meetings when she was on the council.

She said the recall was a way to hold the mayor accountable. She said the ultimate goal is better leadership and she hopes that can happen without a recall.

During the recall process, Mayor Harkendorff issued a statement in defense saying his leadership is grounded in facts and the personnel decisions followed proper administrative process.

Here is the statement Mayor Harkendorff provided to the county clerk when given an opportunity to respond to the recall petition.

 

“The claims are false, misleading and defamatory. No evidence supports the accusations made. Personnel decisions followed proper administrative processes and were not the result of misconduct. I have consistently acted within my legal and ethical duties as mayor.

Falls City deserved leadership grounded in facts – not politically driven attempts to damage reputations through misinformation.”

Harkendorff

 

Here is a statement issued by Kaylie Ractliffe following the failure of the recall.

 

While many people expressed support for the recall effort, the petition fell short of the required 475 signatures. The most common reason people gave for not signing was that they didn't want to lose customers or get in trouble at work if someone saw their name on the sheet. It's unfortunate that people feel that way, but I understand it.

 Some saw the recall as a kneejerk reaction to the recent city linemen resignations, but that was only one factor. During my time on the city council, I frequently heard Mayor Harkendorff say things that I—and others—felt were disrespectful or even just nonsensical. Community members would sometimes reach out to me and other council members privately after council meetings to complain, and on more than one occasion people expressed concern that the mayor did not seem to understand most of the agenda items and discussion. 

 Falls City deserves a mayor who leads with integrity and respect for the position. I personally do not believe Mayor Harkendorff has met that standard. The recall petition was simply a way to gauge public interest in holding him accountable. While hundreds of people supported the idea, not enough were willing to actually put pen to paper.

 I hope the mayor doesn’t view this outcome as a personal victory. A good leader wouldn’t celebrate avoiding a recall; he’d ask himself why so many people wanted one in the first place. He has an incredible opportunity here to do some self-reflection, publicly take accountability, and make a genuine effort to be better going forward. Ultimately, our goal is better leadership, and if that can happen without a recall, that’s a win for everyone.

 

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