WHITEHALL, Ohio — A recall effort targeting Whitehall Mayor Michael Bivens and two city council members has cleared a significant milestone, with the Franklin County Board of Elections confirming this week that all three petitions have met the minimum valid signature requirements needed to move forward.
The board validated enough signatures on petitions to recall Mayor Bivens, Councilmember Lori Elmore and Councilmember Amy Harcar. The Clerk of Council now has until Tuesday to determine whether the petitions are legally sufficient — the final procedural hurdle before the recall process can advance.
Documents sent by the Board of Elections to City Attorney Brad Nicodemus detail the signature counts for each petition. For the mayor’s recall, organizers collected 472 signatures, of which 444 were deemed valid. The minimum required was 425 — a threshold calculated at 15% of votes cast in the last mayoral election…