Hearing about Hyer recall set for April 12

A hearing on a request to recall Councilman Joe Hyer has been set for 9:30 a.m. April 12 in Thurston Superior Court. Olympia resident Steven McKnight filed the request last week, saying Hyer should be removed from office for dealing marijuana, which police allege. Hyer has pleaded not guilty to three felony drug charges.

The hearing will determine whether McKnight’s charges are sufficient for a recall process. If the court deems that they are, McKnight will have 180 days to come up with enough signatures to put a recall on the ballot. That time limit begins 16 days after the Superior Court determines that the criteria for a recall are met.

The petitioner must gather enough signatures of legal voters to equal 25 percent of the total votes cast for all candidates for the office “to which the officer whose recall is demanded was elected at the preceding election,” according to state law.