Elections Division Orders Recall Election for Troy Mayor

The Oakland County Elections Division completed its final review of a late Monday afternoon, concluding that there are more than enough signatures to order a recall election for embattled Troy Mayor Janice Daniels, who was elected to office in November.

"The petitions contain 8,877 valid signatures which exceeds the minimum requirement of 7,985 valid signatures," reads a letter sent Monday afternoon to Recall Janice Daniels co-founder Matt Binkowski from Elections Director Joe Rozell. "In accordance with MCL 168.963(2), a recall election is hereby called to be held on November 6, 2012."

"I'm extremely pleased with the hard work and dedication that our supporters showed in achieving this goal," Recall Janice Daniels co-founder John Kulesz said. "It shows that the people of Troy believe in their Constitutional rights to hold a referendum on the failed leadership of Mayor Daniels."

He added, "Thank you to everyone who supported us."

An email from the Recall Janice Daniels team to petition signature gatherers Monday evening read: "Congratulations! It was your hard work and dedication that made this this possible, and our gratitude is inexpressible! We look forward to continuing to work with you to rid ourselves of the failed leadership of Janice Daniels!"

The will now appear on the Nov. 6 ballot as a yes or no question. If a majority of voters vote to recall the mayor, she will be removed from office, according to Troy City Clerk Aileen Bittner.

Bittner said what would happen next, if the mayor is recalled, is tricky.

“According to the charter, in the absence of the mayor, the mayor pro tem assumes responsibilities. Beyond that, the city attorney and I would need to do an analysis to determine what would happen next.”

Calls to Troy Mayor Janice Daniels were not immediately returned Monday afternoon.

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Daniels first came under fire in December for her  and has remained the center of controversy after  (a  was later approved), telling the  Gay-Straight Alliance she would bring in an expert to tell them  and writing a lengthy position paper some viewed as .

For comprehensive coverage of the recall effort, visit the Troy Mayor Janice Daniels topic page. For the latest Troy news and information, follow Troy Patch on Facebook and Twitter and sign up for the daily newsletter.