Recall election still up in the air

Whitehall residents will have to wait a few more weeks to see if a recall election for Mayor Dale Davis and Town Council members Tom Jenkin, Gary Housman, Joe Adams and Vincent G. Keogh will move forward.

A hearing Monday in the Jefferson County District Courtroom to determine if the recall election would proceed -- was called to an end after nearly 90 minutes of testimony.

Seventh Judicial District Court Judge Katherine M. Bidegaray had only scheduled from 10 a.m. to 11:30 for the hearing.

The remainder of the hearing will take place in the same courtroom Friday, August 12 at 10 a.m.

The hearing was addressing the challenging of a recall petition for the five elected official submitted by Whitehall resident Lynn Nemeth.

The law firm of Guza, Nesbitt, and Putzier had challenged the petitions arguing they were invalid as to form, and were legally insufficient.

A temporary restraining order granted July 15 that pre

vents Jefferson County officials from moving forward or making preparations for the recall, will remain in effect until the hearing later this month.

The original date for the election was August 16, but it is unclear at this time what the date of the election would be if the recall were to proceed.

Only one witness was called to the stand during testimony Monday.

As his first witness for the case, Attorney Edward J. Guza called Jefferson County Clerk and Recall Election Administrator Bonnie Ramey to the stand.

Guza was still questioning Ramey when the hearing ended.

(Editor’s Note: To be fair to both sides involved, the information from the testimony of Ramey, as well as the other witnesses presented will be published following the Aug. 12 hearing. A detailed article about the hearing and decision will appear in the Aug. 17 issue of the Ledger.)