By JOANNE L. PAPAIANNI
A former unsuccessful candidate for Asbury Park City Council and two other residents have filed a Notice of Intention at Asbury Park city hall to recall Councilman Jesse Kendle.
Duanne Small, Mabin Womble and Brian Bass, formally known as the Committee to Recall Jesse Kendle, were given approval to proceed in creating a petition.
The petition will be brought back to city hall for final approval before the recall committee can begin collecting the required signatures.
State law mandates that the recall petition must contain at least 25 percent of the electorate.
A letter from Melody Hartsgrove, Deputy City Clerk, states that the committee requested a special election be held for the recall, which will cost about $25,000.
Small, who ran unsuccessfully for a council seat, said the committee would not be making a comment until the petition is approved by officials.
“Right now we have to put together a petition for approval. It it’s approved we can start collecting signatures and then we’ll have a comment,” he said.
Kendle, said he was advised not to comment at this point by City Attorney Frederick Raffetto and City Manager Michael Capabianco.
But asked if he was surprised by the recall he said, “Yes, yes, I was. We are a council that’s working very hard…putting a lot of effort into it. We make mistakes, but we fix them. We are on the right track,” he said.
Kendle also said many people have called to offer support.
“Although I’ve been told not to comment on the matter my telephone has been constantly ringing, ringing, with supporters.I just want to thank the supporters,” he said.
Mayor John Moor, who ran with Kendle, said there is no reason not to support Kendle and questioned the committee’s reasoning.
“At this point in time there are too many unanswered questions,” Moor said.
Moor also questioned who the committee would put forth to run against Kendle.
“I ran with Jesse and there is no reason for me not to support him,” Moor said.
According to state law members of the recall committee must be registered voters in the jurisdiction of the elected officials they seek to recall.
The law also states that no more than one elected official can be named for recall and that official must have served at least one year of his or her term.
Also the person being recalled must have at least six months left on his or her term from the date of the election.
