Folsom mayor could be removed from ballot 2 weeks before election over signature complaint
The city of Folsom may remove Mayor Kerri Howell from the ballot two weeks before Election Day because she allowed another City Council member to gather signatures for her campaign in a potential violation of state law, according to a petition the city filed last week in Sacramento Superior Court.
Howell told The Sacramento Bee earlier this month she allowed Councilman Mike Kozlowski to gather some of the 20 signatures she needed to qualify for the Nov. 8 election. The Bee published her statement in a news story about Kozlowski’s campaign.
Her statement raised questions in City Hall about whether Howell had violated a state law that requires candidates to observe residents writing their signatures on nomination papers, according to the petition.
If other people gather signatures on behalf of the candidate, those people have to sign separate affidavits. Howell was the only person who signed her affidavit.
“The city remained unaware of any irregularity until October 3, 2022, when The Sacramento Bee published an article quoting Ms. Howell’s claim that a third party helped collect the signatures on her Nomination Paper,” the petition read.
After the city learned the nomination papers potentially did not comply with state law, the city contacted Sacramento County for guidance. That prompted Sacramento County to consult with the state Attorney General’s Office, the petition read.
The Attorney General’s Office advised the city to seek a court order to determine if Howell should remain on the ballot.
“Maintaining the status quo without a court determination on this issue until after the election will severely undermine the public’s trust in their government and the integrity of the elections process, and is a dereliction of the city’s duties to uphold the integrity of its elections,” the petition read.
After The Bee story, Howell told the city manager and city attorney she collected 16 signatures and Kozlowski collected four, the petition read.
“On Oct. 6, 2022, in a phone call with me and (the city attorney), Ms. Howell said that she ‘was just trying to save Mike the paperwork’ in signing under penalty of perjury that she herself had collected signatures that Mr. Kozlowski had actually collected,” City Manager Elaine Andersen wrote in a court document.
Howell faces a challenge from Anna Rohrbough, a newcomer to Folsom who moved to the city about three years ago. She held elected office in Washington state prior to moving to California.
Howell has served on the Folsom City Council since 1998. If Howell is disqualified, Rohrbough would automatically win.
“In the case of Ms. Howell running for re-election as a sitting council member, the city would inherently be providing her with an unfair advantage by looking the other way and ignoring her failure to comply with statutory prerequisites,” the petition read.
In an interview Wednesday, Howell declined to disclose how many signatures she collected herself.
“That is really not the question,” Howell said. “I can’t speak for anything city said. I’m telling you the relevant question here is, were there a sufficient number of signatures from voters who live in the district and were those signatures verified by the city and the county?”
She pointed out the city and county had verified the signatures before The Bee published its story.
This story was originally published October 27, 2022 at 6:30 AM.
