A Caldwell recall effort ends as organizers fail to submit signatures by deadline

A months-long effort to recall Caldwell's mayor and four city council members ended Monday when organizers failed to submit petition signatures by the required deadline, with the recall leader citing concerns about protecting supporters from harassment.

Jim Hollis, who spearheaded the recall campaign targeting Mayor Jarom Wagoner and council members Brad Doty, Geoff Williams, Chris Allgood, and Mike Dittenber, told KTVB that organizers deliberately chose not to turn in signatures to the elections office.

"We have been very successful. We have educated the voting public in Caldwell, and we've allowed the city government to expose their non transparency," Hollis said in a statement.

When asked why recall organizers did not submit any signatures by Monday's deadline, Hollis explained his reasoning for the decision.

"To protect the people that signed from the kind of harassment that all of us doing this recall have received," he said.

"Legal advice was, if you don't have more than enough to your goal, don't expose these people to the kind of treatment that we have received," he added.

The recall effort, which began in March, required organizers to collect 4,982 signatures for each official,  equivalent to 20% of registered voters at the time of their last election, within 75 days by the June 2 deadline.

According to information released by recall organizers, the petition drive fell short of the required threshold. Still, it collected significantly more signatures than the vote totals that originally elected the targeted officials.

Mayor Jarom Wagoner, who received 2,236 votes in his runoff election victory, had 4,298 signatures collected against him, nearly double his original vote count. Similarly, the four council members all faced more recall signatures than their original election totals: Brad Doty (Seat 1) won with 1,432 votes but had 4,206 signatures against him; Geoff Williams (Seat 4) won with 1,566 votes and faced 4,174 signatures; Chris Allgood (Seat 5) won with 1,879 votes and had 4,126 signatures; and Mike Dittenber (Seat 6) won with 1,349 votes but faced 4,277 signatures.

The recall campaign emerged from controversy over a city council decision to approve hotel construction on a lot previously used for event parking at local venues, including the rodeo and county fairgrounds. The decision would reduce parking capacity from 295 spaces to approximately 72.

Hollis and other organizers also cited concerns about city spending, the installation of parking meters, and ongoing legal disputes involving the police department as reasons for the recall effort.

The campaign faced legal challenges in February when four of the targeted council members sent Hollis a cease-and-desist letter through their attorney, accusing him of making false and defamatory statements about city officials.

Recall organizers alleged they encountered what they described as questionable tactics during the signature-gathering process, including pressure tactics and messages that city employees weren't "allowed" to sign the petitions. Organizers also claimed some citizens who signed were contacted by private investigators.

With the June 2 deadline now passed, the recall effort has officially ended, and the targeted officials will continue serving their current terms. The next regular municipal elections in Caldwell are scheduled for November 2025.

Idaho law does not require specific grounds for recall efforts, requiring only that organizers collect sufficient signatures within the designated timeframe.