LAKEVILLE — Two Lakeville Select Board members challenged a Town Meeting article that proposes to set measures to recall elected officials during a discussion of the warrant at the Oct. 24 meeting.

More signatures should be required before a recall vote can be authorized and elected officials should be given more than three months of service before being subject to recall, Select Board members Richard LaCamera and Evagelia Fabian said.

The article, which was presented to the select board by Lakeville residents Brynna Donahue and Noelle Rilleau, states that residents can begin to recall any elected official after the person’s 90th day in office. 

Fabian said if the article passes without any changes at Town Meeting, it will “create a revolving door for Selectmen,” because of how quickly into an official’s term the recall process can start. She said the recall process in most other towns can begin after six months.

Donahue said that she and the people who drafted the article felt three months “seems reasonable.” Regarding whether an elected official would be recalled after three months in office, Donahue said, “I don’t see that happening.”

“The point of this is to establish accountability in the way that many other towns do,” Donahue said.

LaCamera said “one of the things I really don’t like” about the article is how if an official gets recalled after 90 days in office, they cannot serve in another elected role for the next four years.

The article requires 100 signatures from Lakeville residents to initiate the recall process, and 200 signatures to send the recall to a vote. 

The decision then goes to the voting public in ballot form. A majority of voters must agree to a recall before the official can be removed from office.

Fabian asked why the petition drafters chose those numbers when other towns require a percentage of each precinct to sign a petition. Fabian said requiring a percentage of each precinct ensures one neighborhood cannot change a town’s leadership.

Donahue said 1,200 Lakeville residents voted in the previous election. She said requiring 10% of “active voters” to initiate a recall and 20% of active voters to send the recall to a vote “is not a small amount.”

 LaCamera said that the fact the article does not list any reasons to recall an official means officials could be recalled for any reason. 

“If you look at recall bylaws in other towns, they are very specific,” LaCamera said. “This thing says you can be recalled for any purpose.”

“You never know who is getting recalled next because [the petition] is not specific enough,” Fabian said. “You could recall me just because you don’t like me.”