Clerk faces possible recall after decision to stop performing weddings

[Ian David]

Clerk faces possible recall after decision to stop performing weddings

Ann Barnett, the Kern County Clerk who made national headlines last week when she announced that she would no longer perform county wedding ceremonies following the California Supreme Court's ruling legalizing gay marriage, may be facing a recall from office.

Or not.

The Bakersfield Californian reported in this story that a man walked into the county election's ofice and asked for a package of recall papers. While he did not give his name, the person helping him quoted him saying that it was his intention to recall Barnett..

“He asked for a recall packet and said it was for Ann Barnett,” said Sandy Brockman, county elections chief, over the weekend. “But people pick up recall packets all the time and a lot of times they don’t realize the work that’s required.”

About 38,000 signatures — or 10 percent of registered voters in Kern — would have to sign a petition in order to get a recall measure on the ballot, Brockman said.

More:
http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2008/06/clerk-faces-possible-recall-after.html

[BOSSHOG]

1. Recall her hateful ass

No doubt the lovely and talented MS Barnett has no problem "performing" divorces for the christian conservative values scum that come to her office to undo what no man should put asunder.

I take this personal because me and the Mrs got married in Kern County in 1974.

[damntexdem]

3. LOL!

I don't recall a more-deserving case.

[kestrel91316]

2. Kern County is very conservative. Recall could be near-impossible.

[terrya]

5. Yeah, but....

she is in defiance of a decision by the California Supreme Court. This is ridiculous. If she has a problem with this, perhaps she should resign her position.

[TechBear_Seattle]

6. Unfortunately, she is not in defiance of anything

Civil ceremonies are a perq and potential source of revenues that the county may chose to do, but there is no statutory requirement that they do so. Some counties will do civil ceremonies every day of the week, some do them only on certain days and some have not been doing them for years. My younger brother wanted a civil ceremony in Tulare County a few years ago; he was told that Tulare had never done civil ceremonies and they could either prevail upon a judge or go to one of the neighboring counties.

As the Clerk for Kern County, it is well within Barnett's power to set county policy with regards to how, when and if her department conducts civil ceremonies. What she is doing is legal. You can't even claim discrimination, as she has stopped doing all civil ceremonies.

If California requires a cause for recall, any such move is doomed before it even begins.

[ronnykmarshall]

4. My parents will sign it!

Even if it fails, I'd love to see that slug have to fight a recall election.