INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — A hearing on Friday at the Eastern Jackson County Courthouse included multiple parties involved in a recall election lawsuit.
Legislators set a date for a recall election against Jackson County Executive Frank White after petitioners exceeded the threshold for certified signatures.
Controversy has followed ever since.
Jackson County residents behind the recall petition filed a lawsuit challenging an effort to push the election date to November.
November would be outside of the 60-day window required by the county charter.
Judge Marty Seaton heard an hour of witness testimony, arguments, and received briefings in advance from all parties.
Mark Jones, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, unexpectedly got called to the stand.
He shared his reasons behind the recall effort are personal.
"My taxes went up 341%. I want the man gone. Gone from the county. Our people can't handle this," he said.
Cameras weren't allowed in the courtroom for the hearing.
Multiple arguments from parties on both sides focused on timing, legal consequences, the expense of a special election, and the lack of time for election authorities to prepare.
However, all parties agreed that it's not a matter of if an election will happen — it's when.
Fawn Collins, a Jackson County resident who signed the petition, wants the election to happen as soon as possible.
"I want justice done. I want it to be fair. We don't mind paying taxes, but I want it to be fair," she said.
Friday's hearing was the first time two additional election dates were mentioned — Sept. 30 and Oct. 7.
Plaintiffs want an election within 60 days. However, if the judge believes an extension is needed, they would agree to those two dates.
"If they want to recall someone, want to vote to take someone out of office, they don't want them sitting around for four more months," said Phil LeVota, attorney for the plaintiffs.
Election authorities shared that they need at least 70 days to prepare for any election. This special election schedules them less than 60 days out.
Tammy Brown, director of the Jackson County Election Board, took the stand, sharing difficulties with complying with federal and state laws for testing election equipment.
They would have three weeks between elections. Brown said machines must be ready 14 days before an election and cannot be touched 30 days prior to an election.
She said it's likely they won't be ready for the Nov. 4 election.
During the hearing, Brown shared that 50 out of 103 polling locations for Jackson County are located at schools.
Election dates have already been shared with schools for the year, and most districts don't want voters in the building when kids are present.
Another hurdle Brown mentioned was finding judges and volunteers.
"I'm sorry. You knew it was coming," Jones said.
White has stated that the recall effort is because of the failed stadium sales tax vote.
Petitioners like Collins believe it's solely about issues with property tax assessments over the years.
"I just really want to see this end. We cannot afford every two years to have these huge tax assessments on our properties. People are gonna lose their homes, some people have already lost their homes," she said.
Judge Seaton will take the weekend to make a decision.
He said there should be an election date set on Monday or Tuesday.
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KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers portions of Johnson County, including Overland Park, Prairie Village and Leawood. Share your story idea with Alyssa.
