With Clock Ticking, Effort to Recall Darling Begins in Earnest

Organizers of the effort to recall state Sen. Alberta Darling said the effort will begin Saturday with canvassers going door-to-door with petitions.

Scores of volunteers are expected for the kickoff of the effort that got its start on Facebook.

Founder Kristopher Rowe, a respiratory therapist, said the Facebook page has attracted more than 2,200 visitors in just two weeks.

The recall effort is one of several spurred by recent events surrounding Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill. The bill strips public employees of most of their collective bargaining rights, but also gives the governor extensive powers in other areas. One part of the bill allows his administration to make changes to the state-administered Medicaid program.

David Buerger, a spokesman for the state's Government Accountability Board, said the number of signatures needed to force a recall election in the sprawling 8th District is 20,343. A number equal to at least 25 percent of the total number of votes cast in the last gubernatorial race is required for certification of the recall.

The petitioners have until May 2 to gather the required signatures, or 60 days from the filing of the notice of recall on Tuesday.

Only voters who live in the district are eligible to sign, but any person in the country who is eligible to vote can circulate the petitions.

“I don’t think we’ll have any difficulty getting district residents to circulate the petitions,” Rowe said.

Darling, a River Hills Republican whose 8th District includes Menomonee Falls, Shorewood, Whitefish Bay and Fox Point, could not be reached for comment Thursday on the recall effort.

However, when Patch asked her about it in Madison on Tuesday, she said: "My interest right now is doing the job of the people."

Volunteers will meet Saturday at the 2510 E. Capitol Drive in Shorewood, the law office of Mark Sweet. They will go to all corners of the district, Rowe said, adding that it may take several weekends to get the 25,000 to 28,000 signatures that is their goal.

Rowe addressed accusations that his group was a front for labor unions or the Democrats.

“We are working with other groups,” he said. “But they are beside us, not in front of us. This is a movement of the people of the district.”

He said the Democrats and others bring resources and experience that can make the effort a success.

“They have maps of the district and they know what neighborhoods to hit,” Rowe said.

Rowe said his organization has not decided on a candidate to run against Darling, if the group is successful in getting enough signatures.

Rowe, 32, said he is passionate about politics. While he said he would like to run for elective office one day he believes that someone with name recognition in the district would be a better choice.

“My role would be to get behind the candidate and see that person elected,” Rowe said.

Sheldon Wasserman, who gave up his seat in the Assembly to run against Darling, is considering a run. He narrowly lost the race.

He that Gov. Scott Walker and the Republicans who control the Legislature will try to protect Darling through the redrawing of district lines, a once every decade requirement that must be finished by 2012.

But Rowe said Darling may not be safe, no matter how the district lines are drawn.

Darling is being targeted because she is chairwoman of the Joint Finance Committee, the powerful legislative committee that is considering Walker’s controversial budget repair bill.

“She had the opportunity to stand up to the governor when the budget was in her committee,” Rowe said. “Instead of going with the people of her district, she has been toeing the line of the Republican Party.”

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