PLAINFIELD TWP., Mich. — Plainfield Township residents are asking how they could remove Trustee Bob Reminga from office after the township board censured him last week over an Islamophobic image allegedly posted to social media by Reminga — something he continues to deny.
Because Michigan law does not allow a governing body to remove an elected official, I spoke with Kent County Clerk Lisa Posthumus Lyons about the recall process.
"It's a long process," Posthumus Lyons said.
The process begins when a registered voter in the jurisdiction files a recall petition with the county clerk. From there, the clerk, county treasurer and the chief judge of the probate court meet to review it.
"The clerk notifies the elected official who's the subject of the recall. They'll notify the sponsor of the recall, let them know when the meeting is taking place, because what the election commission's responsibility is is to make sure that the petition language that's going to be circulated to voters is clear and it's factual," Posthumus Lyons said.
Both the subject of the recall and the sponsor of the petition make their case. If there are grounds for the recall petition, the official being recalled can appeal.
"They have within 10 days after the decision is made to file with the circuit court, the county circuit court. So, once that happens, then you know the petition's on hold until the judge makes a ruling," Posthumus Lyons said.
If the appeal fails, the person who filed the petition has 180 days to collect signatures. In Plainfield Township's case, Lyons says that means collecting more than 4,300 signatures — 25% of all votes cast in the last gubernatorial election.
"There's a lot of review, a lot of verifying. The elected official who's being recalled has the ability to challenge those signatures as well. But once that process has taken place, once all the signatures have been determined valid and there's a sufficient number, then a recall if if there is a sufficient number, a recall election is called by the clerk," Lyons said.
A recall election would then be held in either May or November. Lyons says it is rare to reach that point.
WATCH: WHAT'S A RECALL?: Plainfield Township trustee recall process explained after censure over alleged Islamophobic post.
"That's kind of how the system is set up. It's set up by design to make sure that that there are that there are thresholds that that can't get caught up with, you know, with public whim, that it's very deliberative," Posthumus Lyons said.
Posthumus Lyons described the overall design of the process this way:
"It's hard by design, and it should be difficult to recall an elected official because they have been put in place by the people. And so while it should be hard, it shouldn't be impossible," Posthumus Lyons said.
At last week's meeting, Reminga made clear he has no intention of stepping down voluntarily.
Reminga has continuously denied making the post online. He initially suggested the image may have been photoshopped, and days later said he was hacked.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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