Effort to recall Albion Mayor Dave Atchison ends after sponsor withdraws her name

The effort to recall Albion Mayor Dave Atchison has ended, the Calhoun County Elections Office announced Tuesday.

The sponsor of the recall effort, Melissa Craig, a registered voter in Albion, has withdrawn her name as sponsor.

A sponsor is required to insure that the recall is initiated by the voters of the electoral district. Without a sponsor, there is no representation in the electoral district to support the recall effort, so the recall is dropped.

The Clarity/Factual Review Hearing for the recall language scheduled for today  has been canceled.

"I am a little perplexed," Atchison said. "I was actually looking forward to the opportunity to debunk the claims."

Craig, 57, is a native of Albion who left for eight years and moved back home in October.

She's been concerned about what happened when 13-year-old Da'veon Michael-Lee Cieslak, who is mentally impaired, was arrested last November with the use of force by a police officer. 

"I think that was handled wrong," Craig said.

Calhoun County Prosecutor David Gilbert issued an opinion on the incident and found that former police officer Tyler Collins, who was fired by the police department, did not commit a crime. The family has since filed a lawsuit.

She was approached one day by the former mayor Garrett Brown while mowing her lawn. He asked her to sponsor the recall. 

"They wanted a name on that paper," she said. 

Craig feels what being a sponsor meant wasn't fully explained to her. She didn't write the language in the recall and never reviewed it, she says.

Brown said that Craig received the language for review.

"Basically, I am not the scapegoat here," he said. "There are people who are severely disaffected and troubled by the lack of leadership from the mayor. I don’t think that residents are going to be quiet about his lack of concern about certain portions of the community."

Craig said she was approached by several members of the community and asked why she sponsored the recall. They filled her in on Brown's background and what's been happening in Albion while she's been away, she said.

Brown lost the election to Atchison last November. 

“The stories I was hearing, it’s almost like a disgruntled employee and he was just trying to get back at [them]," she said.

But Brown said there's a group of people behind the recall. The group was concerned about how the city handled Da'veon's case.

"This is basically a situation where people were outraged with what happened with the young man and met and decided what we should do about this," Brown said. "It was determined that recall was the best option."

Contact Kalea Hall at (269) 966-0697 or khall@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow her on Twitter at @bykaleahall.