Efforts to Recall Mary Lazich Appear to Have Fallen Short

Organizers of the Recall Lazich drive announced today that they did not collect enough signatures to force State Senator Mary Lazich, who represents Greendale, into election in an attempt to drive her out of office after she voted in favor of Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill.

Today was the deadline to turn in the required 20,973 signatures to recall Lazich. The group only turned in 18,987 signatures as of noon today to the Government Accountability Board (GAB).

The Lazich recall faced the highest number of needed signatures compared to other State Senators who are also facing recalls.

Members of the Recall Lazich drive didn’t seem too surprise with the results.

"This is not a swing district,” Recall Lazich drive spokesperson Elizabeth Galewski said. “This is the heart of the Governor's right-wing base. Senator Lazich ran unopposed in the last election, so many of the people who have signed the recall petition are the same people who voted for her. Quite simply, every signature is a victory.”

Kevin Clark, one of the group’s organizers, said that the group’s top priorities include, “preparing for the recall of Governor Scott Walker, fighting to preserve the standard rules and procedures of democracy, and protecting citizens' rights.”

Organizers of the recall effort still have hope. The news release's headline of "Recall Lazich Effort Ends Just Short of Goal" implies the effort did not require the necessary number of signatures, Galewski's and Clark’s comments in the release say it is not certain.

“The official committee that registered with the GAB is affiliated with the Wisconsin Democratic Party, while the Recall Lazich drive is the self-organized group of local volunteers who have actually been collecting the signatures,” said Clark.

Galewski said, "The truth is that we won't really know if we've collected the necessary signatures until we see whether or not the Democratic Party files the signatures with the GAB. If they do file, then we won't know whether or not we've triggered a recall election until the GAB validates the signatures."