People who want to recall Greeley state Rep. Rochelle Galindo will now be able to sign a petition to get the question on the ballot.
Colorado’s Secretary of State’s office approved the recall petition Thursday. Galindo represents some of Greeley, Evans and Garden City. Petitioners will need to collect 5,696 signatures by June 3 to get the question on the ballot.
The petition approval comes after several recall groups filed as issue committees with the Secretary of the State’s office in March. Nearly all the committees aim to recall Democratic legislators. Gov. Jared Polis is the target of one recall effort.
“The Official Committee to Recall Rochelle Galindo” and “Committee to Recall Rochelle Galindo” are two groups registered as issue committees with the Secretary of State.
The Committee to Recall Rochelle Galindo takes issue with Galindo over her stance on oil and gas and Senate Bill 181, which is now on Gov. Polis’ desk awaiting his signature. Weld County is the No. 1 producer of oil and gas in the state.
Last week, former Weld GOP Chairwoman Stacey Kjeldgaard, who is with the Committee to Recall Rochelle Galindo, said, “She is turning her back on oil and gas employees and her own constituents that have very, very good jobs in that industry.”
The groups are also angry with Galindo’s stances on a bill that would ban public schools from teaching so-called abstinence-only sex education. They’re also unhappy with her stance on gun legislation in the legislature, Colorado’s red-flag gun bill.
It’s unclear whether the two groups are working with the approved petition proponents, Mary Achziger and Karen Kornins.
In a statement from Conor Cahill, a spokesman for Colorado House Democrats, Galindo said House District 50 voters will not be intimidated by millionaires and special interests.
"People are free to disagree with the decisions I make at the state capitol, and they’re free to vote for someone else in 2020," Galindo said in a statement. "I will fight every day for our community and our shared best interests, and even for the people who disagree with me.”
Depending on when the required amount of petition signatures are submitted to the state’s office, the ballot question could possibly be voted on in the fall, said Colorado Secretary of State office spokeswoman Serena Woods.
