Recall Efforts Face Long Odds In MA: Patch Week In Review

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Here's our recap of the top stories Patch covered on the North Shore this week:

Swampscott Selectman Don Hause survived a recall effort this week when petitioners collected just 374 of the 1,708 signatures they needed to force a recall election.

The Swampscott petitioners claimed victory, noting the 1,708 minimum signatures was 388 more than the number of votes than Hause received when he won reelection in last year.

The concept of a recall election dates back to the constitution in ancient Athenian democracy. In the U.S., Massachusetts was the innovator of recall elections: recall laws first appeared in the laws of the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1631.

Backers of recall efforts typically face tough sledding in Massachusetts. So far this year, just three petitioners have gotten enough signatures to force a recall election:

• In a June 27 election, Kingston voters removed Selectmen Elaine A. Fiore and Joshua A. Warren for not intervening in a dispute between a town employee and another selectman.
• On Sept. 1, Reading voters will decide whether to remove Select Board Member Vanessa Alvarado. Petitioners said Alvarado stalled in hiring a new police chief.
• A recall election of six of the seven members of the Westford School Committee was postponed because of the coronavirus.

As for Hause, petitioners have to wait six months before filing another recall petition under the Swampscott Town charter. "I look forward to continuing to work very hard for the citizens of Swampscott, and am committed to learn more about ways I, and we, can continue to evolve as a community while proactively working harder so that everyone feels welcome, safe and equal," Hause said in a statement.

More North Shore political news

Angus McQuilken, a gun control advocate and Democrat challenging Rep. Seth Moulton in September's primary, tried to muddy up the incumbent's name this week by linking Moulton to Jeffrey Epstein. In a news release, McQuilken accused Moulton of keeping most of the money he received in campaign contributions from a New York hedge fund manager accused of having sex with underage girls in the Epstein scandal.

"It's disgusting that Angus is trying to put his name in the news by exploiting for political gain one of the worst human trafficking and child sex scandals ever reported," Moulton's campaign said in a statement.

Also: Marblehead has a key cameo role in "Too Much and Never Enough," the controversial new book by Donald Trump's niece, Mary L. Trump.

Coronavirus Updates

• A special education watchdog accused Beverly and other Massachusetts school districts of using the coronavirus shutdown to skirt state and federal laws this spring by asking parents of special education students to absolve the school district of certain responsibilities.
• Salem officials moved to restrict access for nonresidents to popular waterfront parks by increasing parking fees and limiting parking. The changes come less than a week after the city created zones downtown and waterfront areas where it would fine people who do not wear masks.
• Children's Island Camp in Marblehead was closed for cleaning Thursday, a day after a member of the camp's counselor-in-training program tested positive for the coronavirus.

Cops and Courts

No charges were filed against two dog owners who got in an argument on Bubier Road in Marblehead, even though one of the men pulled a gun. Chief Robert Picariello said the dispute followed a "pile of misunderstandings" and that the man who drew the gun is licensed to carry it.

Also: State High Court Sides With Salem Police On 2015 Apartment Search

And, finally this week: Visitation for Jake Straw, the former Beverly High hockey star who died unexpectedly last week, will be Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Campbell Funeral Home at 525 Cabot Street in Beverly.

Dave Copeland writes for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).