Update — Sept. 16, 2026: This article was updated to include Mayor Michael Duncan’s public Facebook response to the Republic’s post following the submission of the recall petition.
A recall petition seeking to remove Johnstown Mayor Michael Duncan has been submitted to the Town Clerk with 559 signatures, 69 more than the minimum number of valid signatures required for the petition to advance.
Town Clerk Meghan Martinez confirmed to the Johnstown Republic that the petitions were turned in by the Sept. 15 deadline. The Clerk’s Office now has five business days to review the petition and determine whether it contains at least 490 valid signatures from registered Johnstown electors.
Johnstown’s Home Rule Charter requires a mayoral recall petition to be signed by registered electors of the Town equal to at least 25% of the votes cast for that office at the election in which the mayor was elected. The Town Clerk previously calculated that requirement at 490 valid signatures.
Under C.R.S. § 31-4-503(3)(a), the municipal clerk must issue an initial written determination that a recall petition is sufficient or insufficient by the close of business on the fifth business day after the petition is filed, unless a protest is filed before then. The clerk initially deems a petition sufficient if it was timely filed, contains the required affidavits and was signed by the requisite number of registered electors.
The 559 signatures submitted have not yet been determined valid. The Clerk must first determine whether the petition satisfies those requirements and contains the required number of registered-elector signatures.
Martinez told the Republic that if the petitions are deemed sufficient, the governing body will set an election date unless a protest is filed.
What happens next
Colorado law allows a registered elector of the municipality to file a written protest under oath within 15 days after the petition is filed. A protest may challenge the petition, circulator affidavits or whether a circulator complied with statutory requirements. C.R.S. § 31-4-503(3)(b) governs that process.
If a protest is filed, a hearing is held before the municipal clerk or another person designated by the governing body as hearing officer. Testimony is taken under oath, and the hearing officer may issue subpoenas and compel witnesses.
A hearing officer’s sufficiency determination may be reviewed by district court at the request of the officer sought to be recalled, the officer’s representative or a majority of the recall committee. The clerk’s initial determination is not itself subject to court review unless a protest has first been filed and decided by a hearing officer.
If the petition is ultimately determined sufficient, the Clerk must submit the petition and a certificate of sufficiency to the Town Council at the first applicable meeting after the protest period expires or after any protest hearing is resolved, whichever is later. C.R.S. § 31-4-503(4) provides for that next step.
State law generally directs the governing body to set the recall election between 30 and 90 days after the petition is submitted to the governing body, subject to provisions involving regularly scheduled elections.
Johnstown’s Home Rule Charter, Section 7.4(E) contains an additional timing provision: if a general municipal or statewide general election is scheduled within 90 days after submission of the recall petition, the recall election shall be held at the same time, provided the petition was submitted at least 45 days before that election.
Mayor says he will challenge petition if sufficient
Mayor Michael Duncan responded publicly Wednesday, emphasizing that the 559 signatures submitted have not yet been determined valid.
Duncan said that if the petition is found sufficient, he intends to exercise available legal rights to challenge its sufficiency “where the facts and law support doing so.” He also said that if the matter proceeds to a protest hearing, he would request that the hearing be livestreamed and conducted publicly.
Recall allegations remain disputed
The recall petition alleges that Duncan exceeded his authority under the Town Charter and undermined transparency in Town government. Duncan has disputed those allegations.
The Johnstown Republic previously examined the petition and underlying Town records in “Records Complicate Key Claims Behind Recall Effort Against Johnstown Mayor Michael Duncan.”
For now, the immediate question is whether at least 490 of the 559 submitted signatures are determined to be valid.
