Alabamians deserve the power to recall public officials who break our trust (opinion)

Alabama, in many ways, has had an unfortunate and unlucky history in electing its chief executives.

Out of the last five men who were elected to our state’s highest office, two were convicted of serious felonies, one of which currently resides inside a federal prison cell; two proposed massive tax increases after strongly opposing them while running for office; and our current governor’s ongoing sex scandal saga has brought immeasurable embarrassment and harm to Alabama.

Malfeasance and scandal are not unique to the governor’s office, and elected leaders across the spectrum of state government have unfortunately behaved and acted similarly throughout the years.

It is obvious that the citizens of Alabama deserve a mechanism that would allow us to remove public officials who break our trust, wallow in scandal, and bring shame to our state during their terms of office.

That is why I have introduced a constitutional amendment providing for “recall and referendum,” which will bring Alabama into line with 19 other states in the country that already provide the public with a method to remove officials from office when necessary.

Under the provisions of my proposal, a recall referendum will be held only if a petition is signed by 30 percent of the voters participating in the last election and verified by the Secretary of State. These petition standards can be reasonably met, but they are tough enough to ensure that the recall and referendum power is used rarely and only in the most extreme and unavoidable situations.

Any constitutional officer serving in Alabama, including legislators, could be subject to recall under certain, specified circumstances that include wrongdoing in office, failure to fulfill official duties, moral turpitude, demonstrated incompetency, or lack of physical or mental fitness.

My proposal is not aimed at any one person, office, or political persuasion. It is designed to treat every official equally, regardless of the party that is in power at any given time.

Many Alabamians are unaware that our code already provides a provision for the recall of mayors and municipal officials. Expanding that authority to state government officials is a common sense reform that should have been implemented long ago.

Far too often, state officials have promised to act one way while running for office, but soon took the extreme opposite tack because they felt invincible and unaccountable following their oath of office. Sadly, this has been especially true if the office holder is constitutionally prohibited from seeking another term.

In those cases, recall and referendum will provide voters with a measure of grassroots kryptonite that quickly reminds the aforementioned “high and mighty” that they, too, can be brought back to Earth.

Our trust has been violated, integrity has been absent, and competence has been lacking even when a crime has not been committed. Recall provides a righteous sword of accountability and would be a not-so-gentle reminder to public officials of whom they serve.

Only by making recall and referendum a reality can we finally begin to provide Alabamians with an honest and accountable government that is worthy of the citizens it had been created to serve.

I ask you to join me in that effort.

State Rep. Will Ainsworth (R-Guntersville) is a freshman lawmaker representing District 27 in the Alabama House of Representatives.