COEUR d'ALENE - The four officials targeted by the recall haven't done anything illegal.

Nor are they accused of crimes, or malfeasance.

They did approve spending $14.2 million for Phase 1 of the McEuen Field redevelopment plan, however, and have voted for employee salary increases in the past.

In Idaho, that can be enough.

More specifically, under the Idaho Constitution, the electorate can recall local and state officials for any reason it wants to.

So while the effort to oust Coeur d'Alene City Council members Mike Kennedy, Woody McEvers, Deanna Goodlander and Mayor Sandi Bloem has divided the community, so too has the fact that it's allowed to happen without illegalities or malfeasance as the driving force.

"It's a double-edged sword," said Justin Ruen, policy analyst for the Association of Idaho Cities, on the latitude given Idaho electorate on initiating a recall. "Idaho is definitely unique in that regard. Other states ... have some sort of threshold of malfeasance."

The double-edged sword to which Ruen referred is playing out locally.

Recall supporters say the ability to recall for any reason is a perfect checks and balance mechanism that gives the ultimate power to the people, while some opponents say because of the latitude given, the recall effort was launched for a frivolous reason that could circumvent the election process since replacement officials would be appointed, not voted upon.

"They have the right to elect different representatives at the next election," Recall opponent Jon Hippler wrote in a My Turn column in April. "The interim recall effort is divisive/destructive and smacks perhaps of some hidden motives on the part of the organizers."

Recall supporter Jim Pappas responded in print defending those who support the recall effort.

"It deeply offends me to witness people in our community demonized for exercising and protecting their constitutional rights by standing up against people only representing their self serving interest," he wrote.

Splitting the middle

North Idaho College political science instructor Richard Tanksley said the opposing viewpoints, combined with the fact that getting valid signatures from 20 percent of registered voters from the last election - "no easy task" - means the Idaho Legislature may have hit the nail on the head when it adopted the statute in 1912.

"To me, it's almost like they hit it dead on," Tanksley said.

Idaho, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, is one of at least 29 states that offers the recall of local officials. While some states, like Alaska, require malfeasance to initiate a recall, around 13 others have lower thresholds than Idaho. Idaho requires valid signatures from 20 percent of registered voters at the last election. But in Ohio, for example, petitioners only need signatures from 15 percent of the people who actually voted.

"Given the rarity of recall elections, I do not think that Idaho standards are too lenient," Tanksley said, adding that the populace "should be grateful that the option exists."

"Recalls, however, do cause animosity between groups and divide the community," he said. "To many a recall election might appear to be just a black eye for Coeur d'Alene. On the other hand, the community is lucky to have citizens that are active and passionate on both sides."

Tanksley said his opinions do not necessarily reflect those of NIC.

Recall supporters, led by the group RecallCdA, have until June 19 to turn in 4,311 certified signatures on each petition to get the recall on the ballot. Mary Souza, of RecallCda, wrote in an online newsletter last week that the group had collected more than half of the required total.

Past efforts

In Idaho, only one state senator, and one state representative has ever been removed.

But successful recall efforts aren't unheard of in Idaho, according to the Secretary of State's office. In fact, the last successful recall was pulled off last year for a school board seat in Canyon County. But it's generally the smaller districts, like highway or school board districts, that commonly see recall efforts, said Tim Hurst, Secretary of State chief deputy, while successful efforts in larger cities are much more rare.

A central database that tracks all recall efforts in the state doesn't exist, but an AIC survey tracking the years 1995 to 2001 showed that Eagle, with a population of around 11,000 at the time, successfully recalled one city official, and enough signatures were collected to put a recall election on the ballot in McCall, but failed to pass.

The AIC office also said the mayor of Salmon - population 3,000 or so - was successfully recalled in 2010, and city officials in St. Anthony and Rigby resigned as the recall effort was under way.

Neither the AIC nor Secretary of State track petition drives that fail to gather enough signatures, either.

There are roughly 1,000 elected city officials in Idaho's 200 cities.

"At any one time there is one or two places where a proposed recall is circulating," Ruen said.

But even the 75 days petitioners have to turn in certified signatures splits the middle.

In Nevada, petitioners have 60 days whereas in New Jersey they are given 180 days. Typically, 90 days appears to be the timeline most states use, according to the NCSL website.