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Recall Petition filed against Harney Judge Grasty

Signatures of 444 active registered Harney County voters are needed to force a recall election

grasty

Recall Petition filed against Harney Judge Grasty

A recall petition has been filed against Harney County Judge Steve Grasty in the aftermath of the 41-day takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by armed militants earlier this year.

If you remember, Steve Grasty is the Harney County ‘Judge’ that shut down citizen’s rights during the protest of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge.

He did not allow citizens the right to assemble in any public facility when they wanted to discuss Bundy and his group of protesters.

Petitioners say they gathered 566 signatures, the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office reported Thursday. The valid signatures of 444 active registered Harney County voters are needed to force a recall election or compel his resignation.

If the petition is validated, Grasty will have to resign or submit a “statement of justification” that would be printed on the ballot. If Grasty chooses the latter, a recall election would be held within 35 days of the end of the resignation period, reports the Oregonian.

There was talk of a recall last January from several citizens who were disgruntled at having their rights violated by this man. There was a protest on the streets of Burns, by several residents. over this issue.

Though many of the residents did not agree with the tactics used by Bundy and his group, they voiced support of his words. They mentioned repeatedly that more and more rights were being denied They did not feel like they lived on the United States anymore.

Grasty, and his appointee David Ward, were vocal during the protest that Ammon Bundy and his supporters leave Harney County. Bundy’s group took over the Wildlife Refuge on January 2nd.

The issues came to a head on January 26th when the group was ambushed on their way to John Day in Grant County. The Federal agents, along with Oregon State Police, orchestrated a ‘Dead Man’s Roadblock’ and LaVoy Finicum was killed.

The protest was finally ended on February 11th, when members of the Coalition of Western States (COWS), among others, traveled to the Refuge to talk the remaining protesters into a peaceful surrender.
~ Shari Dovale