ESCANABA - As Escanaba resident has filed petitions to recall State Senator Tom Casperson claiming the legislator has "proved himself unfit to represent" his district by supporting the Emergency Financial Manager Bill. "Senator Casperson's support of the Emergency Financial Manager Bill proves that he is unsuitable for public office," stated Richard Lake of Escanaba.
Lake submitted two recall petitions to the Delta County Clerk Office on May 27. A clarity hearing is scheduled to take place on June 16 to determine if voters would understand the language of the petitions.
Lake said this morning that he submitted a simple version of the recall and a more detailed version of the recall for the election board to consider. If both are okayed for the language, the group supporting this issue will decide which recall wording to put before the voters, he said.
"We've got a fairly large group of people working on this," he added.
"Immediately after the hearing, recall signature gathering is expected to begin," said Lake, also a member of a committee to recall Gov. Rick Snyder.
Regarding the Casperson recall efforts, Lake said the senator is "not working in the best interest of the people" by supporting the Emergency Financial Manager Bill.
"The law strips local officials and leaders of the power granted to them by local voters, undermines the enforceability of binding contracts, and fails to consider the long-term economic and social impact on the state of Michigan," stated Lake.
He said Casperson "voted in favor of another law which will result in tax increases for retirees and lower income families and cut welfare programs, while large tax cuts are bestowed upon corporations and businesses."
Casperson did not return a call from the Daily Press prior to press time.