9th Judicial District Court Judge Ann Norrdin ruled this week in favor of Garfield County clerk and recorder Jackie Harmon, who was the defendant in a March, 2024 appeal by Garfield County RE-2 school board member Tony May. Supporters of both sides gathered on Monday June 18 in courtroom C of the Garfield County Courthouse in Glenwood Springs for the long-awaited hearing and the final ruling the next day.
It all started last fall when Harmon approved a petition filed on November 26 by the Coalition for Responsible Education in RE-2 to recall then-school board president May. Petitioners had 60 days to gather 2,038 signatures, which, if collected, would trigger a special recall election. The group ultimately submitted 2,880 signatures, out of which 2441 were validated.
The recall petition alleges that May misused his position on the board to push a partisan agenda and to bully parents, staff and community members with whom he disagreed. But, what the Coalition did not foresee were a protest and an appeal by May.
“Our petition was deemed sufficient on February 29 and here we are June 19 and we finally can progress toward the actual election,” said Willow Brotzman, a member of the group, which is also a respondent in the appeal. “When you learn about recalls and what you’re going to go through, it doesn’t really show you the timeline if you have a protest. It doesn’t talk about the appeal to District Court part of it.” She added that the group was not prepared for delays. “We thought we’d be buttoned up by last month,” she explained. “We thought we would be done. We would have an election and it would be over.”
May appealed Harmon’s decision after his initial protest was unsuccessful. The appeal did not challenge the signatures or how they were gathered. At issue were the dates of the 60-day window between approval of the petition and the deadline for signatures. May claimed the petitions were untimely and therefore invalid. He asked for the clerk to declare the petition insufficient and not hold a recall election.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Judge Norrdin found that May’s own protest document did not include a signed statement that the information contained in the protest was true and correct. She said she could have thrown out the case but decided to continue, pointing out the irony of May’s claim against Harmon.
“She wanted to get it on record that he was protesting the technicality of a paperwork filing on the part of the clerk and recorder, and he didn’t even file his protest petition correctly himself,” observed Leanne Richel, also a member of the coalition.
Tuesday’s ruling means either the recall election can move forward or May could appeal to the state Supreme Court. Garfield County Chief Communications Officer Renelle Lott told KDNK in an email that the recall election will take place after August 26 and before the General Election on November 5… unless May appeals or resigns.
It doesn’t look like May will go to Colorado’s highest court. In an email to KDNK on Tuesday, June 19, he wrote, “I do not regret pursuing justice, and now will seek it from the ballot box, and will trust the good voters of our district to allow me to continue in the office they elected me to serve.”
Brotzman said the coalition is relieved at Judge Norrdin’s ruling and is ready for voters to decide.
But, Richel said the recall process has changed her. “This has divided our community in a big way,” she said. “And I didn't realize that division before.” She explained that it has nothing to do with Democrats and Republicans. “There's, like, a side that is parental rights. You know, they want to censor what our kids are able to say or do or express themselves at school - Christian based curriculum, things like that,” she said. “And then you have the side that's, like, we need to fund our teachers. We need to fund our schools. We need to let kids enjoy their educational experiences without putting the hammer down on if they “out” themselves at school as being gay or something.”
She added that this division is not just happening in Garfield County, it’s happening across America.