Myths and Facts:
Correcting Rep. Holvey's false statements
More to come! Check this space for updates!
A Recall Election costs money that could be spent on other services.
This is a common line from politicians who are really not thrilled about having to explain themselves to voters. In Rep. Holvey's case, this will be his first challenging election, since he was appointed into a safe seat 20 years ago and hasn't had any serious challenges since.
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This claim is not often written down, but rather passed through word of mouth. Simply put, the premise is that A special Recall Election will cost Lane County a certain amount of money to administer, and if we didn't have the Recall Election that money would be available for other services!
The Lane County Clerk's office plans for 4 elections per year
On the County Clerk's website, it's made clear that "There are four regularly scheduled elections each year." In 2023, Lane County ended up not having to hold March or August special elections because there was nothing on the ballot.
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If there were to be a special recall election, there are costs associated with administering it (or any election!) that would be borne by the existing County Clerk's budget. Those resources would not be pulled from other services, nor would other services be able to avail themselves of unspent resources from the County Clerk's budget if the election was not held. That's not how public agency budgeting works... So Rep. Paul Holvey, who sits on the Legislature's budget committee, either has not been paying attention or has been trying to misrepresent the facts.