Mayoral recall application refiled

After their first application was too early, a group of 10 Wrangell residents on Monday refiled an application to recall Mayor Steve Prysunka after waiting the legally required 120 days into his term. The recall is in response to a meeting the borough assembly held Nov. 12, where members imposed a mask mandate and fines for violators.

According to the recall application, the meeting and actions taken during it were in violation of state and municipal laws. It was called without a locally required 48-hour notice for a special emergency meeting, the application alleges.

"The assembly has repeatedly acted in violation of state law by imposing untimely quarantines and closures and has restricted public access and comment in addition to the above violations," the recall application reads.

Don McConachie, prime sponsor of the recall application and self-described spokesman for the group, said this latest application is exactly the same as the earlier one.

The mayor is responsible for the meetings, which need to follow public notice requirements, McConachie said. "All of the meetings in question were called by the

mayor and/or city manager," he wrote in a letter to the editor in the Feb. 4 edition of the Sentinel.

In an interview

Tuesday, McConachie said that he does not want to come across as being "against" anything in the recall effort. Rather, he said is for the rule of law.

"I would prefer to think that I am not against something, but I am for something different," he said. "I am for, and all of us are pro, following our ordinances and state laws as they are set out."

Borough Clerk Kim Lane said the city has 10 days from the filing date to determine if the application meets

the legal requirements for a recall. If it does, the sponsors will need to gather signatures from 25% of the vote total in the last municipal election, or 121 valid signatures, to force a special election on the

recall.

The application required 10 signatures from community members for submission. The 10 are: McConachie, Jim DeBord, Mike Lockabey, Michelle Bloom, Ryan Soeteber, Royce Cowan, Sherri Cowan, Dusty Cowan, Sarah Cowan and Jerry Wayne McHolland.