Recall Fails: City Tells Organizers Their Efforts to Remove Councilman Jerrel Tomlin Are Short of the Requirements; Secretary of State Contacted for Clarification

October 10

19:02 2023

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City of Mineral Wells City Clerk/Recall Petition Certification For Removal of City of Mineral Wells Councilmember Ward 1 Jerrel Tomlin

By Amy Bearden / Mineral Wells Area News

***Concerned Citizen Terri Glidewell hears from City Manager Dean Sullivan that her groups effort to Recall Tomlin did not meet the requirements necessary to oust the City Councilman***

On September 1st, a group of concerned citizens, led by Terri Glidewell, began an effort to have Councilman Jerrel Tomlin removed from his seat on the Mineral Wells City Council for “Gross carelessness in the discharge of his official duties” and it appears, according to City Clerk Sharon McFadden, that attempt could be dead in the water.

The following is a copy of the letter sent to Glidewell dated October 9, 2023 after City and County Officials reviewed the recall petition. The City had five days to certify the petition with the required signatures and it appears to have fallen short.

What Does the Process to Recall a Councilman Entail?

The City Of Mineral Wells explains the process and detailed steps Ms. Glidewell’s group had to follow and the text below is the information City Clerk McFadden presented to Glidewell:

Pursuant to Section 112 of the Mineral Wells City Charter, any elector of the City of Mineral Wells may make and file with the city clerk an affidavit containing the name or names of the officer or officers whose removal is sought; provided that such elector must reside in the ward in which the officer whose removal is sought resides. The city clerk must determine whether the affidavit is in proper form and, if it is, blank petitions signed by the city clerk must be issued to the elector who files the affidavit.

Section 113 of the Mineral Wells City Charter requires that completed petitions be submitted to the city clerk within thirty (30) days of the filing of the affidavit and that the petitions must be signed by 25% of qualified voters of the ward in question.

Pursuant to Section 114 of the Mineral Wells City Charter, the city clerk must immediately examine the petitions for sufficiency with the provisions of Article X of the Charter, including Section 103 which addresses sufficiency of petitions for initiatives and referendums. Section 277.002 of the Texas Election Code provides that signatures on a petition, such as a recall petition, must contain, in addition to the signature, the signer’s printed name, the signer’s date of birth or voter registration number, the signer’s residence address, and the date of signing.

***Jerrell Tomlin is the subject of a recall attempt by Terri Glidewell. She attempted to unseat him in the 2018 City Council election but was unsuccessful***

According to the Registered Voter List provided by the Palo Pinto County Elections Office, there were a total of 2,067 registered voters residing within the boundaries of Ward I in the City of Mineral Wells as of September 1, 2023.

“As City Clerk for the City of Mineral Wells, I, Sharon McFadden, submit the following chronology of activities for this petition’s certification process:”

(1.) An Affidavit for Recall was submitted by Ms. Terri Glidewell to the City Clerk’s Office on September 1, 2023. The City Clerk found the Affidavit for Recall to be in the proper form and accepted the Affidavit as filed.

(2.) A Recall Petition consisting of a total of 35 pages, as duly signed, sealed and issued by the City Clerk, was provided to Ms. Glidewell on September 1, 2023.

(3.) On September 6, 2023, Ms. Glidewell requested an additional 40 pages which were subsequently duly signed, sealed and issued to Ms. Glidewell by the City Clerk (totaling 75 pages).

(4.) Another 20 additional pages were requested by Ms. Glidewell and were issued on September 13, 2023 (totaling 95 pages) after being duly signed and sealed by the City Clerk.

(5.) The 30-day deadline to submit the Recall Petition to the City Clerk’s Office fell on Sunday, October 1, 2023. Therefore, the due date was the next business day, being Monday, October 2, 2023.

(6.) On October 2, 2023, Ms. Glidewell returned and presented to the City Clerk’s Office a Recall Petition for Removal of City of Mineral Wells Councilmember Ward 1 Jerrel Tomlin which contained a total of 72 pages, with 23 pages “unreturned” and noted.

(7.) Upon receipt, the City Clerk immediately began her examination of the Recall Petition as submitted by Ms. Glidewell in this matter. The City Clerk’s examination found the following:

a. A total of 569 signatures were contained within the Recall Petition;

b. A total of 451 signatures were confirmed and verified as valid;

c. A total of 118 signatures were unconfirmed as unable to be verified and/or questionable.

(8.) On October 4, 2023, the City Clerk contacted the Palo Pinto County Elections Administrator regarding those signatures that were unconfirmed as unable to be verified and/or questionable. The Palo Pinto County Elections Administrator was provided with a true and exact copy of the original Recall Petition received and began an independent audit of the petition signatures, including those 118 signatures in question.

(9.) The City Clerk was notified on October 6, 2023 that the Palo Pinto County Election Administrator’s Office had completed its review of the Recall Petition and determined the following:

a. A total of 569 signatures were examined within the Recall Petition;

b. A total of 451 signatures were verified as valid and, therefore, eligible; and

c. A total of 118 signatures were found to be ineligible as electors in Ward 1 for the following reasons and therefore defective:

i. Fifty-six (56) signatures were registered in the City of Mineral Wells in a ward other than Ward 1;

ii. Forty-one (41) signatures were not registered as electors at all;

iii. Seven (7) signatures were of “suspended” voters, meaning that the State’s registrar could not be certain of the voter’s residential address provided or on file with the State; therefore, these signatures were deemed “invalid”;

iv. Six (6) signatures were illegible and/or clearly did not match signatures on State voter registration cards and/or other signature verification formats;

v. Five (5) signatures, although registered in Palo Pinto County, were not registered voters within the City of Mineral Wells;

vi. Two (2) signatures were deemed duplicate as previous entries; and vii. One (1) signature was registered to vote in Parker County.

As mentioned, this Recall Petition needed 517 valid signatures to be verified legally sufficient.

Based on my examination of this Recall Petition, there were only 451 valid signatures of qualified electors within Ward 1 in total, and thus the petition is 66 registered voter signatures short of the number required.

On this 9″‘ day of October, 2023, I hereby certify the Recall Petition for the Removal of City of Mineral Wells Councilmember Ward 1 Jerrel Tomlin does not satisfy all legal requirements and is deemed to be legally insufficient, pursuant to Article X of the City of Mineral Wells Charter and Section 277.002 of the Texas Election Code. Hereto, as listed above, are the particulars in which this petition is defective, as noted, and therefore I, as City Clerk for the City of Mineral Wells, Texas, do hereby reject the Recall Petition submitted by Ms. Terri Glidewell, as presented.
City Clerk Sharon McFadden

Upon being notified of the recall’s failure, the group met with City Manager Dean Sullivan in City chambers on Tuesday October 10th to discuss the City’s findings and understand the group’s recourse or next step, if there is any.

**Terri Glidewell along with Christopher Perricone, a former mayor of the council who was removed from his position, speak with Sullivan**

As MWAN stood in the lobby while Glidewell spoke with Sullivan, we talked to Brandon Johnson, also a member of the group who is trying to recall Tomlin, and he indicated that they feel the group should have a period of time to address the discrepancies presented regarding the recall. He also thinks the number of registered voters reported to them in Ward 1 was inaccurate because of the inclusion of “suspended” voters. That term refers to someone who didn’t have one of the 7 IDs, cast a provisional ballot but never came in to verify their registration. He thinks the number should be closer to 1800 instead of the 2000 they were told, which would lower the number of signatures required for the recall

***The answer Glidewell’s group received from the city regarding the recall***

Laura Watkins, the PPC Elections Coordinator says the voter’s roll changes daily, but says she gave the most accurate numbers her office can provide.

As far as the next step, if any, Dean Sullivan says he has reached out to the Secretary of State Elections Division for clarification on computation.

Mineral Wells Area News will continue to follow this story as it is unfolds, but it seems Mr. Tomlin will remain in his council seat for the meantime.

The next Council meeting is set for Tuesday October 17th at 6pm.

***Glidewell is seen here submitting the Recall Petition to Sharon McFadden***

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