Recall Committee Sets Aug. 1 Deadline To Collect Petition Signatures

The committee to recall Mayor Bill Laforet has set Aug. 1 as the deadline to collect more than 4,000 signatures that would place a question on the November ballot asking if Laforet should be removed from office.

The committee has until Oct. 5 to collect the approximately 4,200 signatures needed, 25 percent of the voters in the last general election, to get the question placed on the ballot.

However, the deadline to get a question on the ballot is sooner than Oct. 5, NorthJersey.com reported. Rather than have a special election, which would cost taxpayers money, the committee reduced its time to collect the signatures to 90 days.

The group will give the signatures to the town clerk by Aug. 3, the website reported. The clerk then has 10 business days to verify the signatures and Laforet has 10 days to challenge them.

Committee chairwoman Annette Freund said the group will not disclose the number of signatures it has collected, although Freud has previously said the group is “on target” regarding getting the number of signatures needed.

Campaigners have citied five reasons for the recall, including Laforet allegedly not abiding by municipal statutes regarding the opening of an ice rink on town property and circumventing the Township Council.

Laforet was elected to an unexpired term in 2011 and re-elected to a four-year term in 2012. His current term expires in 2016.