recall election

September 14, 2008 at 11:00 pm | Posted in barnstable, barnstable town council, cape cod, capeCOG, centerville, council president janet joakim, hyannis, janet joakim, janet swain joakim, municpal politics, recall | 16 Comments
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

After careful consideration and discussion with family and friends I have decided that I will fight the recall attempt.

Throughout the past few weeks I have heard from so many people who are concerned about who is behind this recall effort and the vendetta that drives it, and what this means to our town.

The reasons for the recall as presented on the petition misrepresent my record and place blame and responsibility for the decisions of others at my feet.

According to several people who were met at their doors by someone asking them to sign a petition, my record, motives, and reputation were misrepresented in those discussions.

Taryn Thoman, who initiated this petition drive and collected signatures, and the group calling itself COG, have been relentlessly using harassment and intimidation to force me to resign since shortly after I became president.

These people and the vendettas they pursue are eating away at the fabric of our town.

I am not going to let them force me to quit.


16 Comments »

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

  1. Let me know what I can do to help. I’d be happy to do what I can. Glad that you’ve made the decision that you have.

    Comment by Tom Connors — September 15, 2008 #

  2. What fabric?

    Comment by Poly & Esther — September 15, 2008 #

  3. Hi Janet, I met and talked to you at the Citizens Leadership Academy on 9/3/08. I’m glad you are fighting these people. I am not in your precinct but please know you have my support and prayers. GO GIRL!!!!!

    Nancy Fournier

    Comment by Nancy Fournier — September 15, 2008 #

  4. Good for you!

    Comment by Anonymous — September 15, 2008 #

  5. Great decision!!!!

    Comment by Anonymous — September 15, 2008 #

  6. I am confused. Are you running against someone named Taryn Thoman? When is this recall election and what will your supporters be asked to do?

    Comment by Geoff — September 15, 2008 #

  7. I respect your decision. You should fight people who lie about and intimidate people who aren’t on their agenda.

    Comment by Anonymous — September 15, 2008 #

  8. “geoff”
    Taryn Thoman was the person who announced that she was going to be running a recall effort against me this summer during the public comment section of a town council meeting.
    She is responsible for much more than the recall attempt and has been relentlessly trying to cause me to quit as president or councilor for more than a year.
    I have never met this woman. The first time I actually saw her and heard her speak was at that meeting.

    What I am asking supporters to do is to reject a recall.

    I have done absolutely nothing wrong, and will not be driven out of office because a group doesn’t agree with my vote on an issue and has embraced someone with a strange personal vendetta.

    Comment by JSJ — September 15, 2008 #

  9. Anyone who knows (one of those behind the recall) knows that her and the truth never go together. She will do what she has to do and say what she has to say to get what she wants. (another blogger). bought her for very little money to do his dirty work. Wonder what else he bought? The woman has issues.

    (edited)

    Comment by smell's like fish to me — September 15, 2008 #

  10. It’s wrong when just 20% of the voters can try to remove somebody that was elected by the full voting public.Hang in there.

    Comment by Augie Pocius — September 18, 2008 #

  11. Ten percent signed the petition. Twenty percent are needed to make a recall election go forward, but the full voting public of the sixth precinct is welcome to vote for or against the recall.

    Comment by It's Democracy — September 19, 2008 #

  12. Get out and vote for or against the recall if you live in the 6th precinct. October 30th – Christ Chapel – 7am to 8pm.

    Comment by Duke — September 19, 2008 #

  13. Mrs. Joakim,
    I had to delay my post in regards to last weeks council meeting. I am outraged for being lied to and taken advantage of by Taryn Thoman who came to my door back in August. At my door she appeared to be a woman with genuine concern for the town. The woman that I saw on TV the other night seemed like she is angry and bully like. It is with much regret that I must tell you that I signed the petition supporting your recall. I am old enough that I should have been able to see right through her act. Unfortunately, the recall has been initiated and I cannot have my name removed. However, I plan to speak with my neighbors and urge them to change their minds and vote for you. NOT against you. A group of us go walking in the mornings and I will be discussing this with them. I also was pleased to see your fellow councilor come to your defense as he spoke about what kind of person Ms. Thoman is. There were others on the council that urged the voters to turn out in support of you as well. I for one was unaware of the personal attacks that have been focused on not only you but your daughters. Hearing that this woman had directed personal attacks at your daughters was the turning point for me. I was asking myself the question “what is this really about?” I was delighted to read that you are going to fight the recall attempt. I realize that I am only one vote but, I will be speaking with my friends in the morning and I am sure that they will have a different point of view. Good luck to you and your family.

    Comment by Mary — October 5, 2008 #

  14. Janet, I had a sign in my yard supporting your recall which I did not authorize. I remioved it & threw it away. One of my friends told me that it is considered stolen property. However, it was put on my property near Old Falmouth rd. and left. Is it ok that I removed it? I don’t want to get in trouble, but I don’t support your recall. My neighbor had the same thing happen to her. What should we do if it happens again? Thank-you and good luck with your recall, we will be there voting no.

    Comment by resident — October 14, 2008 #

  15. Ms. Joakim, How can I stop this woman from posting signs that I do not want on my property line? I am not a supporter of the recall and do not want her signs making it appear that I am in support of your recall.

    Comment by Precint 6 home-owner — October 17, 2008 #

  16. Dear Mrs. Joakim,
    unfortunately, we too were misled in this unsavory petition. Caught WAY off guard, and only half understanding what it was we (regretfully!) were even signing(shame on us),we (unknowingly)supported the recall. Shortly after, it became clear to us someone with a personal agenda was driving this. We have since been treated in a manner that could almost be considered stalking us, for signatures and deliveries of unwanted newsletters and information. We even had an unauthorized “vote Yes” sign posted on our private property when we were not there. We were horrified and threw it away. We have been harrassed into signing things and now realize that we absolutely do NOT agree with this recall party, and certainly do not want to be involved with this conspiracy. We feel we were tricked into signing as we were HEAVILY distracted and honestly, not the least bit interested in what this person wanted to convey. It was almost a means to just make them go away. We have both learned a valuable lesson about ‘giving away” your signature without properly understanding what it is your signing! I am going to try my best to have our names removed from any petition or the like the other party may have. I’m not sure if that’s possible, and if that’s the unfortunate case, PLEASE know not everyone who signed ANY paper at all, is even against you. In fact, both my husband and I voted FOR YOU in the past. And we WILL do so again this time by voting NO on the recall. And keep in mind, this vote is all that really matters, not misguided signatures. We do not believe that the state of affairs, be it the town, government, or economy, is because of you! We believe you are doing the very best you can. Afterall, this IS YOUR town too! Your home. Your family. Your friends, and your neighbors. We will be toasting you at the news of your victory! Sending you my heartfelt and most sincere apologies, and truest, very best wishes…

    Comment by Home-owners in Precinct 6 — October 28, 2008 #


Leave a comment

XHTML: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <pre> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.