Juliaetta city councilor could be recalled

Voters in Juliaetta will decide Tuesday whether to vote one of its city councilors out of office.

There is a recall election on the ballot for Judi Fuller, who was sworn into office in January after being appointed.

Juliaetta resident Stephanie Tackett helped gather the necessary signatures to put this election on the ballot.

Tackett and Fuller have conflicting reasons for why the recall election is happening.

Fuller claims this is retaliation because she raised concerns about the city inappropriately collecting taxpayer money for a privately owned service.

For years, Juliaetta residents had the option to donate an extra $5 on their utility bill to pay for a TV service that provided channels locally, called the Juliaetta Television Association.

The Juliaetta Television Association started in the 1950s and used to have its own board overseeing it. The association dissolved in the 1980s, and was taken over by Dick Groseclose, who now serves as Juliaetta’s mayor. Groseclose kept the service going as a nonprofit for decades.

Fuller told the Daily News it is a conflict of interest for the city when the mayor is using city money to run this nonprofit.

“You can’t use your elected title to collect monies for a private organization using a city as a conduit,” she said.

City Attorney Todd Richardson agreed with Fuller during a June 11 city council meeting when Fuller brought up her concerns. The city council voted to remove the TV service from all city utility billing, but not before an angry exchange of words between Groseclose and Fuller when the mayor told her to keep her mouth shut.

Fuller was allowed to submit a written argument to be placed on the election ballot, and it points to this as the primary reason she is being recalled.

Tackett, however, said the recall has nothing to do with the Juliaetta Television Association issue. She said it primarily has to do with Fuller’s social media conduct.

Tackett said Fuller sent misleading Facebook messages to residents this summer about the Gwen Fire, causing a panic about how close the wildfire was to residences. She also said Fuller posted a sensitive photo of the mayor when he was hospitalized after fighting the fire.

Tackett also claims Fuller caused panic when she made social media posts regarding the safety of a local bike path when Juliaetta man James Mauney was allegedly killed by escaped inmate Skylar Meade in March.

Tackett said Fuller’s comments caused the city councilor to be banned from community Facebook pages. Tackett said she felt Fuller was being a danger to the community, which is why she took action. Tackett said she is not endorsing anybody else for city council.

Fuller confirmed she was banned from social media pages, but claimed the controversial posts were made by another resident.

“I have been silenced,” she said.

According to Latah County Auditor Julie Fry, the necessary 90 signatures of registered Juliaetta voters were collected to hold a recall election. She said the petitioner is required to collect signatures from 20% of a city’s registered voters.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.