Alaska governor's recall effort on hold as judge sides with state on timeline

Superior Court proceedings over the state’s denial of an application to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy will follow a timeline proposed by state attorneys and not the recall’s supporters, who had proposed an expedited schedule.

That’s after Superior Court Judge Eric Aarseth ruled in the state’s favor Thursday morning in Anchorage, setting oral arguments in the case for Jan. 10. Aarseth also approved as a party to the case a group called Stand Tall with Mike, which has hired lawyers to oppose the recall effort in court.

Recall Dunleavy says it has gathered more than 40,000 signatures from Alaskans supporting the recall, and to get the recall on a ballot, the group would have to go through another round of signature gathering.

But the state Division of Elections denied the group’s application, based on an opinion by Dunleavy’s own attorney general. The recall supporters sued and Thursday’s scheduling hearing was set to determine how fast the lawsuit should proceed.

Read more: https://www.alaskapublic.org/2019/11/14/alaska-governors-recall-effort-on-hold-as-judge-sides-with-state-on-timeline/