Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Luna recall gains second wind

Movement will be better organized, says leader

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By KATHERINE WUTZ
Express Staff Writer

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna's job may still not be safe, as the effort to recall him from office has gained steam for the second time.

Former gubernatorial candidate and standup comedian Ron "Pete" Peterson is spearheading the state's second attempt to put a recall of Luna on the November ballot, a movement that will require nearly 160,000 signatures.

Peterson was involved last year in the Committee to Recall Tom Luna, founded by former Mountain Home Air Force Base secretary Nancy Berto. The second movement is separate from the committee's efforts, which failed in July as only 50,000 signatures were collected before the deadline.

The premise of the recall mission is that Luna did not mention his education reforms in his original election campaign, and should be held accountable. The reforms established a merit pay system, reduced state funding for teacher salaries and paved the way for increased technology in classrooms and more online courses for high school students.

Peterson said the first movement failed due to a lack of organization and planning.

"We only had a 75-day window [to collect signatures]," he said. "We were still planning and organizing in the middle of that."

The group will not start collecting signatures until April 30, and Peterson said that he plans to spend the next few months organizing to collect signatures, educate the public and build up his website. Peterson said he will offer printable petitions online that people may send to a Boise post office box, and supporters of the movement can purchase T-shirts and bumper stickers through the site.

Peterson and his organization will need to collect roughly 158,000 valid signatures by mid-July to place a recall vote on the November ballot. However, Peterson said he will need to collect more than 200,000 signatures to be sure of having enough from valid, registered voters.

Once county clerks statewide verify the signatures, Luna would have five business days to decide whether to resign or to stand for a November vote.

"You can call me a little pessimistic, but I would be surprised if Mr. Luna decides to resign," Peterson said with a laugh.

Though he said he supports the referendum on Luna's three education reform bills, which will come up for a new vote in November, the recall is still necessary.

"It's my belief that even if all three of the referendums prove to be successful, there's nothing to prevent Mr. Luna from reintroducing those or some bills very similar," he said.

Peterson said he had high hopes for the results of the recall movement, saying that if recalling Luna is successful, it could change the course of politics in the state for the next decade or even longer.

"It will show that the little guys actually have the power, when they are organized and upset, to change things," he said. "I would not be surprised if we saw another Cece [former Gov. Cecil Andrus] walk out of the woods and into the Statehouse."

Katherine Wutz: kwutz@mtexpress.com

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