Recall petitions taken out against Yuma councilmen

Mitchell Dunn with Recall Them All 2012 says certain members of the Yuma City Council have abdicated their responsibilities to the citizens of Yuma and has taken out recall petitions against councilmen Paul Johnson and Jerry Stuart.

“The catalyst for this (recall) was the Jan. 4 blind-side attack against the mayor at the city council meeting,” Dunn said. “After I saw that there was a movement against the mayor, I started going to the meetings, getting involved and researching what's been going on at City Hall. And once I started finding out more facts, I felt like I had an obligation to do something about this.”

When asked about the recall petition against him, Stuart responded, “The voters put me in office, and they can take me out of office. I am going to entirely leave it up to them to decide.”

Johnson declined comment for this article.

One of the biggest problems Dunn said he found while researching the city was the influence City Administrator Greg Wilkinson wields over the city council.

“The overall climate at City Hall seems like the city administrator has an inordinate amount of influence and it seems he is the tail wagging the dog, And the city council is not supervising him properly.”

For evidence, Dunn cites Wilkinson's new contract extension the council approved 7-0 at its Jan. 4 meeting.

“I've read some documents related to his contract that basically say that he can't be removed unless he's convicted of a felony. It's like he's writing his own contract.”

According to Wilkinson's contract, the city council does retain the authority to terminate his contract anytime, with or without cause. But Section 3 paragraph A stipulates that if he is terminated and is willing and able to perform the duties of city administrator, the city agrees to return Wilkinson to his position as assistant information technology director for telecommunications, unless he commits a felony whereby the city would have no further obligation to him.

When contacted, Wilkinson said he turned all information concerning the investigation over to the attorneys the city retained and he is not involved in it.

But Dunn said Wilkinson is only one part of a laundry list of problems emanating from City Hall over the years, including the city's relationship with developer Craig Clark and his handling of the riverfront development and construction of City Hall, the clause in city attorney Steven Moore's contract granting two years of severance pay and Johnson's behavior at the recent city council meeting.

“Paul Johnson's doing the same thing that he's accusing the mayor of,” Dunn said. “He directed (without council approval) the city attorney to select and hire a legal firm in Phoenix. And when he was called on it at the meeting, he said he only requested him. That excuse doesn't pass the straight-face test. He is doing exactly the same things the mayor is being investigated for.”

As for the prospects of a successful recall, Dunn said there are already over 30 people collecting signatures, and numerous people have already expressed support for their efforts, leading Dunn to believe that they will collect 5 to 10 percent more signatures than the approximately 1,780 required to trigger a special election.

“So far it has been an overwhelming response against the council. There are a lot of people who are very concerned and outraged over the direction the city council has taken. And it's not just (Mayor Al) Krieger or any particular issue because there are lots issues and lots of details that are driving this recall campaign ... The council has been going against the will of the people for a long time.”

For more information, call Dunn at 1-760-391-0025.

Darren DaRonco can be reached at 539-6857 or ddaronco@yumasun.com. Follow him on Twitter @YSDarrend or on Facebook at www.faceboook.com/YSDarrenD.