How Does Swampscott Handle Recall Elections?

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — A group of Swampscott residents took the first step to recall Selectman Don Hause by filing an affidavit with the signatures of 25 registered voters on Tuesday.

Hause has been under fire since earlier this month, when a bartender accused him in a Facebook post of making disparaging comments about the Black Lives Matter movement, including calling it "liberal bull----." Hause has repeatedly denied the allegations and said his comments were taken out of context while he had dinner at a local restaurant with his wife and another couple.

The rest of the recall process could take several months. The signatures submitted Tuesday are now being verified by the board of registrars to make sure the people who signed the affidavit are registered to vote in Swampscott. The board has five days to complete the verification and issue petitions to the primary petitioner, Nicolas Scibelli.

Next comes the hard part: the petitioners need to get signatures from 15 percent of Swampscott's registered voters within 20 days. The town had 11,017 registered voters at the time of the 2019 town election last April, meaning the petitioners need to get 1,653 signatures.

Previous stories on Patch:

• Swampscott Resident Files Recall Petition For Selectman
• Swampscott Schedules Race Forum In Wake Of Selectman Controversy
• Swampscott Selectman: I Misunderstood Term 'White Privilege'
• Swampscott Selectman: I Have No Ill Will Toward Bartender
• Bar Bans Swampscott Selectman, Rehires Bartender
• Bartender Fired After Facebook Post About Swampscott Selectman

The board of registrars then has another five days to certify those signatures. At that point, Hause would be served with written notice and given the option to submit a written resignation within seven days.

If Hause does not resign, selectmen would set a date for the recall election "not less than 64 days or more than 90 days from the date the board of selectmen called for the recall election," according to the town charter.

The ballot would also include the names of candidates nominated to fill the vacancy if Hause is recalled. The nominee with the highest number of votes in the recall election would serve the remainder of Hause's term. Hause has the option of having his name listed on the ballot as one of the nominees.

If Hause survives the recall election, a second recall election could not be held for at least six months.

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