Westminster City Councilor Jon Voelz will face a recall election on July 20.
City council finalized the date when it passed a resolution 5-0 at a May 10 council meeting. In a phone call after the council meeting, Voelz commented, “I think it’s really unfortunate.”
The Westminster Water Warriors tried to force recall elections against former Mayor Herb Atchison, Mayor Anita Seitz, Councilor Kathryn Skulley and Voelz. Ultimately, recall petitions for Atchison and Voelz contained enough valid signatures to trigger recall elections, though Atchison resigned soon afterwards. Voelz’s petitions crossed the threshold by nine votes.
At the May 10 council meeting, City Clerk Michelle Parker said an “educated guess” for the total cost of the recall election will be between $200,000 to $250,000. The city will have to hire an outside vendor to manage the election because it isn’t a regular, coordinated election with the counties.
In addition to voters deciding whether to recall Voelz, they will also have the option of voting for a candidate to replace Voelz on council, should he be recalled. The period for candidates to submit nomination petitions opened May 11 and it will close May 20 at 6 p.m. A candidate needs to schedule an appointment with the city clerk’s office to pick up the nomination packet, either by calling 303-658-2161 or emailing cityclerk@cityofwestminster.us.
