Southeast Colorado Springs resident Robert Blancken wants a recount of the signatures turned in for the recall against District 4 Councilwoman Helen Collins.

On Tuesday he filed a 22-page protest, which includes research and legal cases related to signature collection, questioning the validity of the recall petition.

“The main legal point is that we found enough discrepancies in our review that it should warrant a more in-depth investigation by the city clerk,” Blancken said. “We feel there are enough people who signed who had incomplete addresses.”

City Clerk Sarah Johnson has between five and 15 days to set a public hearing.

In December, three District 4 residents headed by Deborah Hendrix, launched a recall effort against Collins, who represents southeast Colorado Springs. Collins was elected in 2013 to a four-year term, beating out Hendrix and Dennis Moore. Hendrix has said she is not interested in the council seat.

Hendrix, who is heading up a committee called Citizens for Integrity in City Council District 4, said she turned in 3,007 signatures. The City Clerk’s office checked them and tossed out 1,292, but Hendrix said she feels confident that the 1,715 signatures – 230 more than needed – will stand up to review.

“I would say, at this point, they have been vetted against the City Clerk’s records and I don’t see any validity to their claim,” Hendrix said.

Johnson did not return phone calls Tuesday and referred questions to the City’s Code, which is online and says the City Clerk is the person who will recheck the petition and signatures.

Blancken said he wants someone else to do the review.

“We’ve asked that she (Johnson) recuse herself and asked for a third-party review,” he said.

Blancken said part of the protest is related to how quickly the recall petition was certified. The City Code says the City Clerk can take up to 30 days to review the petition, but Johnson certified the petition within five days, which included a weekend. The City Council voted Jan. 27 to put the recall question on the April 7 ballot.

“How can anyone review something of that importance in three business days?” Blancken asked.

Collins could not be reached Tuesday for comment. A committee called Collins for Council has raised $7,362 in campaign contributions to defend her seat. There are no candidates running against Collins.

If voters recall Collins, the City Council will appoint someone to the council seat for District 4 residents.

The recall effort was financially backed by the newly formed Colorado Springs Government Watch, which says on its website that it will “demand transparent operations for all to see.”

The group paid $14,122 to signature collectors in the recall effort. Its executive director Dede Laugesen, the wife of The Gazette’s Editorial page editor Wayne Laugesen, said the group did not launch the recall or hire the signature collectors.

“Deborah Hendrix is the one who initiated the recall,” she said. “All Colorado Springs Government Watch did was provide material support. Other than that, we had nothing to do with it.”

Laugesen said the watch group may consider funding the campaign against Collins if Hendrix needs the financial support.

Hendrix said in December that residents weren’t pleased with Collins’ performance. She said that one reason for the recall was Collins’ opposition to the November stormwater proposal that would have created a stormwater authority and collected fees from all property owners in Colorado Springs, part of El Paso County and three other cities. Voters rejected the proposal, including voters in 16 of 17 precincts in District 4.

In the recall statement as grounds on which to remove Collins the recall organizers also referenced Collins’ relationship to Douglas Bruce, a former state lawmaker and convicted felon, as a concern for “politically championing and publicly associating with a convicted felon and controversial figure who served jail time for tax evasion and attempting to influence a public servant.”

Collins has said that Bruce does not influence her votes or proposed policies.

Blancken said the recall effort against Collins is unfounded.

“Councilwoman Collins has represented her district with honor and integrity,” he said. “This is nothing more than an outrageous attempt by self described elitists to silence the voice of a strong conservative, and to intimidate any future candidates or councilmembers into supporting their radical tax-and-spend agenda.”

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Contact Monica Mendoza: 636-0187

Twitter @Mendo1987

blog, City Hallways