In the voters' hands: Couy Griffin recall petition begins circulation The recall committee is seeking final approval of its petition before it can be circulated for signatures. FILE - In this Friday, Jan. 31, 2020 file photo, Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin speaks in Santa Fe, N.M., during a gun rights rally. "We are slightly behind the pace of signatures required to meet our goal and we are expanding our advertising and collection methods.". 2023 www.alamogordonews.com. The Otero County Clerk's Office, although not a participant in the recall proceedings, is interested to ensure that, if a recall is triggered, it is done in an orderly and clear fashion "so the voters are clear on the process," Ivey-Soto said. He is also awaiting trialon charges ofknowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authorityfor his alleged role in the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol. Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter. The vicious Democrat recall against Republican Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin has officially failed, collecting only 1,229 signatures from voters, short of the amount needed to trigger a special election. Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter. The petition can be signed only by currently registered District 2 Otero County voters. Griffin is revered and reviled in politically conservative Otero County as he confronts criminal charges for joining protests on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - A state district court judge says an effort can move ahead to try and recall Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin from his seat as an Otero County commissioner on . Commissioner Griffin's rhetoric is only getting worse. A full contingent of signatures. Michelle Lujan Grisham would name a replacement. Griffin says that Cowboys for Trump is a for-profit endeavor that is not subject to financial disclosure requirements for political organizations. Griffin appealed Arrieta's the decision in favor of the Committee to Recall Couy Griffin to the New Mexico Supreme Court on April 19. Griffin says the film about him was put together by Trump-allied attorney Sidney Powell and her group, Defending the Republic. The Committee to Recall Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffinreminded residentsthat the change.orgpetitioncirculating is not a legal document and cannot be used to trigger a recall election. Griffin deniedthe allegations claiming they were"frivolous and devoid of merit," court records state. Recall petition begins against Cowboys for Trump founder Today, Couy Griffin is divorced, disparaged by family and confronts a political recall drive, a state corruption investigation and federal charges. Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin presides at a public meeting in Alamogordo, N.M., on Thursday, May 13, 2021, in a shirt with a "C4T" logo that stands for Cowboys for Trump. Cowboys for Trump has held horseback-riding parades across the country in support of President Donald Trump. Griffin says he didnt directly witness violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6 but believes it was perpetrated by militant leftists and not Trump supporters, contrary to extensive evidence. Time is running out for a petition drive to recall Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin from office as a county commissioner in southern New Mexico. Supreme Court allows recall effort against Cowboys for Trump leader Visit us at Ballotpedia.org, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Their actions should represent the best interest of their constituents and spend tax payer money responsibly," the Committee statement read. The hearing was held in the old Otero County Commission Chambers in the Otero County Courthouse across the street from the Otero County Administration Building. "We are still striving to get the signatures by Sept. 8in order to get the recall initiative on the November ballot instead of a special election," a press release from to recall effort states. Couy Griffin recall petition short signatures as deadline approaches "We are grateful for this opportunity to provide the registered votersof Otero County District 2 the chance to decide if Commissioner Griffin is still the person they want to continue to represent them on the county commission as well as nationwide," Committee to Recall Couy Griffin spokesman Paul Sanchez said. Once the petition is received by the Otero County Clerk's Office, the recall election has to happen within 90 days. Third Judicial District court Judge Manuel Arrieta determined probable cause existed to proceed with a recall lawsuit filed against Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, initiating procedures to remove Griffin from public office. Today, Couy Griffin is divorced, disparaged by family and confronts a political recall drive, a state corruption investigation and federal charges. "This is a historic opportunity for the people of District 2 and we look forward to the next step in this process.". The petition needs 1,574 signatures from current Otero County District 2 voters in order to trigger a recall election. On Monday, June 28, the New Mexico Supreme Court affirmedthe Second Judicial District Court determination that probable cause existed in the case to recall Griffin. SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) An effort to recall the founder of Cowboys for Trump from his public office as a county commissioner can move forward, under an order Monday of the New Mexico state Supreme Court. AlamogordoTownNews.com Special Report: Recall Couy Griffin - "It ain't Couy Dale Griffin (born 1973) is a former politician who served from 2019 to 2022 as a county commissioner for District 2 of Otero County, . Otherwise, Griffin is up for possible re-election in 2022 for a second, four-year term. Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, the founder of Cowboys for Trump, discussed his past and future in politics from the porch of a tidy double-wide trailer in Tularosa, N.M., on Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Griffin appealed Arrieta's ruling to the New Mexico Supreme Court which in turn affirmed the ruling. All rights reserved. "The committee to recall Couy Griffin is hopeful that this effort has shined a light on local politicians and their actions while in office. Griffin has five calendar days to file an appeal to the New Mexico Supreme Court. FILE - In this May 13, 2021, file photo, Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin presides at a public meeting in Alamogordo, N.M., in a shirt with a "C4T" logo that stands for Cowboys for Trump. Few people are more partisan than Couy Griffin, the fast-talking, horseback-riding New Mexico politician and founder of Cowboys for Trump. Griffin was present at the hearing for for about 45 minutesbefore he excused himself and returned to the Otero County Commission meeting. If we quit we lose. Griffin described the charges as frivolous and blamed county staff for providing bad guidance on travel reimbursements. "We can always do better, and I hope to do better moving forward. Change.org Covid-19 . Griffin has not been charged with any crime by the New Mexico Attorney General's Office as of July 1, 2021 and the investigation of him is ongoing as of that date. The recall petition fell shy, with about one-quarter as time ran out on Wednesday. Griffin says the group is a for-profit endeavor that is not subject to financial disclosure requirement for political organizations. Retired military veteran Paul Sanchez and other members of the Committee to Recall Couy Griffin are accusing Griffin of using his elected county position for personal gain. A publicly appointed defense attorney is representing Griffin in the Jan. 6 case, and Griffin says he is represented by Powell free of charge in his lawsuit against the New Mexico secretary of state. Bidens victory was certified by officials in each of the swing states he won and by Congress on Jan. 6 after Trumps supporters, fueled by false allegations of widespread election fraud, stormed the House and Senate chambers in a failed attempt to prevent certification of how Americans voted nationwide. While Griffin was present at the hearing, he was able to answer to the allegations against him and rebut Committee To Recall CouyGriffin President Paul Sanchez. The filing also noted that Griffin inappropriately filed a travel voucher for a trip to Washington, D.C. and for allegedly violating the Gift Act when he accepted a $3,500 donation from a restricted donor to pay back the travel voucher. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Contacted Monday, Griffin called the recall initiative frivolous and vowed to stand strong. Griffins term runs through 2022. FILE - In this Friday, Jan. 31, 2020 file photo, Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin speaks in Santa Fe, N.M., during a gun rights rally. Effort to recall Griffin from County Commission falls short Griffin insists Cowboys for Trump is exempt as a for-profit group and wants a 2019 state law concerning independent political expenditure groups to be declared unconstitutional. Griffin is fighting for his political future amid a recall initiative and state probes into his finances. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. petition to recall Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, Griffin recall to begin collecting signatures on Mescalero Reservation, banishment from the Mescalero Apache Reservation, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Griffin, who co-founded political advocacy group Cowboys for Trump in March 2019 to promote the agenda of then-candidate Donald Trump, is alleged to have used his office as county commissioner to further his organization's work. "He had as much right to due process as we do and the judge very much made it clear and afforded him that right. SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) An effort to recall the founder of Cowboys for Trump from his public office as a county commissioner can move forward, under an order Monday of the New Mexico state Supreme Court. Powell has filed a number of baseless lawsuits challenging 2020 election results and helped fund the recent Arizona election audit. The original civil complaint was filed March 11 with amended complaints filed March 24 and April 5 by the Committee to Recall Couy Griffin. In a 50-minute online documentary and political origin story released in August, Griffin recounts his own travails inside a Washington, D.C., jail for nearly three weeks after his arrest in the run-up to President Joe Bidens inauguration. Griffin's motion for dismissal was heard in theApril 8 recall hearing and denied. Dan Casey. I just want those that have already come to the conclusion that Im guilty, I just again ask you to put the brakes on a little bit and let the legal process take place, Griffin said. The. Otero County Commission talks aftermath of Couy Griffin statement. A successful recall election would have allowed Democratic Gov. SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin has filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court as he seeks to fend off an effort to recall him from office as a county commissioner in southern New Mexico. A successful petition with enough signatures would trigger a special election vote on whether Griffin can finish his four-year term in office. "On the decision, I am obviously very pleased," Sanchez said. The hearing was only to establish probable cause, in other words to determine if there wasevidence of truth to the charges alleged. Oliver, the Alamogordo Chamber of commerce Executive Director, were the basis of an investigation. NMPED opens public comment on proposed social studies standard, New push to expand nuclear radiation compensation includes New Mexico sites, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. ? Only the March 11 complaint was heard in the April 8 recall hearing. Recall committee spokesman Scott Fredrick said a petition drive collected 1,229 signatures from registered voters in Griffins Otero County district, short of what they needed to trigger a special election. Officials at the Otero County clerks office were unavailable Monday to confirm requirements and deadlines in the recall drive. The Committee to Recall Couy Griffin reported that only 1,229 of the 1,574 required signatures were collected from District 2 votersby theSept. 28 deadline. Sanchez presented the allegations to Arrieta even after Griffin left the hearing. And Im damn sure no quitter!!". It states his conduct resultedin his banishment from the Mescalero Apache Reservation, that he used county resources for non-commission reasons namely forGriffin's political advocacy companyCowboys for Trump, filing an improper travel voucher and violating the Gift Act when he received approximately $3,500 from a restricted donor to pay back the travel reimbursement from the travel voucher. In a written order, state Supreme Court justices unanimously rejected an appeal from Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin and upheld a . New Mexico allows recalls at the county level for malfeasance or misfeasance in office or violation of the oath of office by the official concerned. Those actions must have occurred during the officials current term of office in order for a recall effort to be approved to circulate petitions. A statement dated Jan. 19 by Otero County, New Mexico, commissioners following the Jan. 17 arrest of fellow commissioner Couy Griffin, 47, following his arrest on . 296. "I want every person to have confidence in my representation," Griffin said. And I think Im in tune with them.. Griffin is under scrutinybased on five allegations that led New Mexico Third Judicial District Judge Manuel Arrieta to find probable cause for a recall. 2023 www.alamogordonews.com. Griffin was accused of trespassing onto the west steps of the Capitol Building Jan. 6. The hearing continued for about an hour after Griffin exited the hearing. Calls mount for Griffin's removal During his incarceration, Griffin's fellow Otero County Commissioners, New Mexico Attorney General Hector. The petition alleges that Griffin neglected and misused his position as a county commissioner while skipping public meetings and promoting a support group for President Donald Trump that Griffin treated as a for-profit business. Otero County Clerk Robyn Holmes said the petition is due by 5 p.m. Wednesday. An effort to recall Couy Griffin (R) from his position as the District 2 representative on the Otero County Commission in New Mexico did not go to a vote in 2021. The Committee was given a 90-day window to collect the required statutory 33.3% of signatures by New Mexico Third Judicial District Judge Manuel Arrieta, after Griffin's appeal to the New Mexico Supreme Court failed. [1] Recall supporters filed paperwork on March 11, 2021. All rights reserved. Griffin has called those allegations frivolous, baseless and politically motivated. The allegations could only be determined to be malfeasance,misfeasance, violation of his oath of office or a combination of all three. Trump cowboy seeks 2nd act in politics after Capitol breach - WKBN.com In April, Arrieta foundthere was probablecause to proceed with the recall petition. A state district court judge this month found good cause for a recall petition, but Griffin says the hearing took place unjustly at the same time as an Otero County commission meeting where he was being pressured to resign. It was unclear how soon the state Supreme Court will decide whether to intervene. Republican leads recall effort against king of Trump's cowboys Otero County Clerk Robyn Holmes says a successful petition would put the question on the November general election ballot for local, nonpartisan races. The petition to recall Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin began circulation on July 1. Backers of the petition drive in Otero County say they still need to collect several hundred additional signatures by next Wednesday to trigger a special recall election against Griffin. Contact us at editor@ballotpedia.org. Separately, Griffin is confronting federal charges in connection with the U.S. Capitol siege on Jan. 6, where he appeared on an outdoor terrace and attempted to lead a prayer. Griffin said he would not resign. Griffin, elected in 2018, says allegations in the petition are frivolous and without merit. Griffin said he planned to fight the recall, though he no longer has the option to do that via the courts. (Griffin) chose not to take it. "Recall is intended to be difficult and it is intended to be a very serious matter,"Ivey-Soto said. If allowed, a recall petition against Griffin with a sufficient number of signatures could trigger a special election within months. Abbey Smith is a staff writer at Ballotpedia. July 1, 2021. The Committee to Recall Couy Griffin reported that only 1,229 of the 1,574 required signatures were collected from District 2 voters by the Sept. 28 deadline. Ballotpedia is the digital encyclopedia of American politics and elections. Cowboys for Trump Founder Offered Plea Deal in Capitol Riot Case - Newsweek The effort to recall Otero County District 2 Commissioner Couy Griffin failed by 345 signatures. Removal of Couy Griffin as Otero County Commissioner - Change.org So its been a blessing.. However, New Mexico State Auditor Brian Colon said the funds, donated to Griffin by G.B. "Just because the State of New Mexico wants to acknowledge the recall doesn't mean that the good people of Otero County will. The district court stay was denied by Third Judicial District . Recall supporters did not collect enough signatures by the deadline on September 28, 2021. Feb 3, 2021. These allegations are that Griffin failed to attend Otero County Commission meetings properly when he attended them telephonically while he was on his political group, Cowboys for Trump, business outsidethe county; conduct resulting in Griffin's banishment from the Mescalero Apache Reservation; using Otero County resources for Cowboys for Trump business; filing an improper travel voucher and failing to "exercise proper fiduciary responsibility; and violating the Gift Act when he asked for and received $3,500 from a restricted donor, the petition states. The original civil complaintwas filed March 11 with amended complaints filed March 24 and April 5 by the Committee to Recall Couy Griffin. Griffin said the allegations against him were baseless and politically motivated. I mean, how much bigger representation can you bring to Otero County? Griffin said. Any person who makes statements like these does not have any place in Otero County Politics, no less an elected office. Once the recall petitions are signed by the lower court justice who initially approved them, recall supporters will be given 90 days to collect 1,574 signatures to get the recall on the ballot. The fund drive highlights a photograph from the White House Oval Office of President Donald Trump posing with Griffin, who wears a shirt with the Cowboys for Trump insignia. Griffin denies allegations that he knowingly entering barricaded areas of the Capitol grounds with the intent of disrupting government as Congress considered the 2020 Electoral College results, though he openly ascribes to unsubstantiated claims of fraud in the 2020 election. SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) A political committee has begun circulating a petition to recall Cowboys or Trump founder Couy Griffin from public office as a commissioner in Otero County. The recall would be voted on by Otero County District 2 voters - 1,574verified signatures would need to be gathered for a recall election to proceed. The regular Otero County Commission meeting that had begun at 9 a.m. and was still underway into the afternoon had recessed to allow him to attend the hearing. Griffin, who founded the organization Cowboys for Trump, was arrested in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 17, for his alleged role in the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. A Democrat last sat on the Otero County Commission in 1994. Griffinrequested for the case to be dismissed and if it was not dismissed then he filed a demand for a jury trial in the case. For the recall to proceed, Arrieta must sign the petition to recall, triggering a 90 day deadline for the Recall Committee to get the required signatures. Separately, Griffin is defending himself against criminal charges in connection with the siege on the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Why not subscribe? This ruling said the process of recalling Griffin from his elected office, a decision first assertedApril 8 byThird Judicial District Court Judge Manuel Arrieta, may proceed. Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin survives vicious Democrat recall I believe I still have much support in my district. The Committee to Recall Couy Griffin said Thursday in a news release that it has begun collecting signatures in efforts to scheduled a recall election . Trump cowboy Couy Griffin seeks second act in politics after Capitol 2023 www.alamogordonews.com. Griffin described Cowboys for Trump as a name brand he proudly created and still wears on shirts in public, but says his visit with Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in September 2019 was an opportunity to raise concerns about the management of federal lands in Otero County. We proceeded and the judge found for us.". Probable cause found in Couy Griffin recall case - Alamogordo Daily News In response to the allegations, Griffin said in the April 7 email that "As far as Im concerned I will stand on the same principle Ive stated over and over. Countless registered voters from the other Otero County districts were turned away from signing since only District 2 signatures counted for the recall effort. "I would rather these allegation brought forward be heard from a group of peers rather than a (former Gov. https://www.facebook.com/RecallCouy/videos/565453014816238. Retired military veteran Paul Sanchez and other members of the Committee to Recall Couy Griffin are accusing Griffin of using his elected county position for personal gain. Among the listed causes for recall were Griffin's attendance of Otero County Commission meetings by phone rather than in person,his banishment from the Mescalero Apache Reservation andthe alleged use of Otero County Commissioneroffices for personal business. Trump cowboy Couy Griffin seeks political comeback after riot They say Griffin. Only the March 11 complaint was heard in the April 8. 1 of 2. "The fact that the committees efforts were unsuccessful will be upsetting to some and rewarding to others," a Facebook post by the Committee read. Couy Griffin - Wikipedia (AP Photo/Morgan Lee, File), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. "The Committee to Recall Couy Griffin has received the official petition to Recall Otero County District . ", More:New push to expand nuclear radiation compensation includes New Mexico sites, The signatures collected represent "78% of what was required," the Committee post read and "26% of the total votes cast in District Two during the last election.". Supreme Court allows recall effort against Trump booster On the 7th of January, after being part of the crowd that attacked the US Capitol grounds on 6 January (and live streaming from it), he made a vide "The Committee to Recall Couy Griffin is very pleased that we have been found with probable cause, no less for all five of the allegations we presented.". A probable cause determination is not a guilty verdict, rather it is a determination that the defendant most likely committed the crimes/issues alleged against him or her.
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