Signature submission first step in recall of Saugus selectmen

SAUGUS – Monday at 7 p.m. is zero hour for Save Saugus PAC, the time when the signatures needed for a special election to recall four selectmen must be submitted to Town Clerk Ellen Schena.After Save Saugus Chairman Mark Mitchell hands in the petitions, Schena and her staff will time-stamp and count all the pages before giving Mitchell a handwritten receipt.Town Counsel John Vasapolli said the Board of Registrars will then be contacted “immediately” to begin the signature-certification process.Schena said that although the Save Saugus volunteers have been conducting their own pre-certification, it will only necessarily be beneficial for them in terms of keeping track of how many signatures have been compiled.”It really has no effect on our side,” said Schena.If a name is not legible, the person’s address will be used for identification and to verify that he or she is registered to vote.”It’s a tedious process,” said Vasapolli.The state’s Voter Registration Information System will be used to aid in the verification process.The next step will be for Schena to determine whether the number of signatures for each selectman represent 25 percent of the town’s registered voters. As of Thursday, she said that number was 4,443.Provided that threshold has been reached, that selectman will be added to a certificate indicating that there are a sufficient number of signatures to put his or her name on the recall ballot.Vasapolli said the certificate will be sent to the selectmen and, according to the Town Charter, they will have five days to let Schena know that they have received it.Vasapolli said the selectmen will then coordinate with the Secretary of State’s office to schedule a special election. He expects the election to take place sometime in January.”It’s going to be a long process, you’re talking thousands of signatures,” he said.Vasapolli said that anyone wishing to run against any of the recalled selectmen can file nomination papers with the town. Candidates can also choose which selectman they prefer to replace, as there will be a separate ballot for each selectman subject to recall.”It will be like a fresh selectmen’s race,” Vasapolli said.Citing the charter, Vasapolli said that any elected official who is recalled must wait two years before running for office again.