The recall moves forward

The Kent County Election Commission unanimously approved seven recall petitions Tuesday against three Lowell Township board members. The decision allows residents to begin collecting signatures to remove the officials from office.

The targeted officials are Township Supervisor Jerry Hale and trustees Mark Anderson and William Thompson. The recall effort centers on their handling of a proposed $1 billion Microsoft data center at Covenant Business Park.

Judge Avery Rose, chair of the commission, approved the petitions after hearing arguments from both the recall committee and the officials' legal team. The officials have up to 10 days to appeal the ruling.

What the petitions say

The Lowell Township Recall organization submitted three petitions against Hale and two each against Anderson and Thompson. The petitions cite several actions by the three board members:

• Voting against a proposed six-month moratorium on data center applications at a May 18 board meeting
• Voting to uphold the partial denial of a Freedom of Information Act request related to rezoning meetings in March
• Hale signing a nondisclosure agreement with Microsoft in January 2025

"We've been fighting this, and they keep representing Microsoft more than the people who elected them," said Melissa Tichelaar, chair of the recall effort. "It's just time to change over the board, so we can have transparency."

Co-chair Jennifer Stewart Dodgson said she was satisfied with the commission's decision.

"The wording was clear and it was factual. The court agreed with us, as they should," Dodgson said. "Now we are able to give the citizens, the residents of Lowell Township their voice and let them decide if these people have lost the trust and confidence of them."

The path to the ballot

The recall committee must gather a minimum of 894 signatures from registered Lowell Township voters within 60 days of the commission's approval. Tichelaar said the group is targeting 1,200 signatures to provide a buffer.

"We've got canvassers ready to go door-to-door and to events," Tichelaar said. "If somebody wants to sign it and can't get out, we're going to them. We're pretty confident we can get it done."

The committee aims to submit signatures by July 31 to qualify for the November ballot.

The officials' defense

Attorney Emily Palacios with Miller Johnson represents Hale, Anderson, and Thompson. She argued that petition language lacked factual clarity because some dates were incomplete and because the petitions omitted the word "proposed" when referencing the moratorium ordinance.

"That is an important factor to take into consideration because of the inferences that could flow from that from a signatory who didn't have complete information about whether the ordinance was in effect or merely proposed," Palacios said.

She also said the board upheld the partial FOIA denial because the request was too broad. Rose determined that the commission's role was to assess whether the petition language was clear and factual, not to judge the merits of the board's FOIA decision.

Neither Hale, Anderson, nor Anderson offered comment on the ruling.

The data center debate continues

Microsoft is seeking approval to build a large data center at a 237-acre industrial parcel at 4687 Alden Nash Ave. SE. A Planning Commission workshop is scheduled for June 22, where Microsoft representatives are expected to present details of the project.

The controversy has disrupted township meetings. Hundreds of residents flooded a board meeting on Monday night to protest the board's handling of the project. Officials have been forced to host meetings in school auditoriums and fairgrounds to accommodate the crowds.

Trustees Carlton Blough and Andy Vander Ziel also voted against the proposed moratorium but were not included in the recall effort. Tichelaar said the committee could expand the recall to include more officials if needed.