District Attorney FrancisHUnderwood issued a second public statement on the recall petition against him on September 24th at 9:43 PM ET, going further than the formal written response he filed with the Electoral Commission the previous day.
In a message posted under the District Attorney’s Office, Underwood said neither he nor his office violated any provision of law or the Charter that would warrant recall, and characterized the petition as originating from “a disgruntled employee” — a reference to former Chief Assistant District Attorney Xolaaz, who filed the petition — fired, in Underwood’s telling, “for not waiting for approval for a case to be submitted to the courts for prosecution.”
This is a policy disagreement which should not lead to the usage of the recall mechanism.
Underwood argued the situation “sets a bad precedent,” describing a scenario in which an employee acts outside the scope of their authorized duties, an unlawful disclosure of information only accessible to that employee follows, and the employee then “starts a crusade against his former employer” once disciplined. He did not specify what disclosure he was referring to.
Underwood also invoked a comparison to a previous recall, stating: “Jarolin was recalled because one of his employees murdered a deputy, and when he disciplined them, they started a petition to recall him.” The Harrison Independent has not independently verified the details of that prior recall and is seeking further information on it.
Underwood closed by warning other department heads that supporting the petition against him would invite similar treatment from their own former employees, and said the county “cannot become like Clark where eggshells must be walked,” adding that violations of law or department policy would continue to result in discipline.
Accompanying Graphic
Underwood’s statement was accompanied by a graphic reading “POLICY DISAGREEMENTS ≠ RECALL OF OFFICIALS,” urging residents to “VOTE NO ON FRIVOLOUS RECALLS.”
Context
The statement follows Underwood’s September 23rd written response to the recall petition, in which he denied ordering anyone to drop the case against County Executive bob_govv and said his instruction to Xolaaz was to complete a full investigation before filing charges, not to abandon the prosecution. The petition itself, filed by Xolaaz, alleges Underwood caved to institutional pressure and fired him without proper process after the case was filed.
This is a developing story.