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Community members in Davison, Michigan have worked together to get more than enough signatures to remove a Republican official from the local school board.
The Committee for School Board Integrity announced their success which will lead to a recall election for Matthew Smith—who also served as the Genesee County GOP Chairman—from the Davison Board of Education.
The whole incident came about because of a harassing call Smith made in March 2020.
Two years ago, Smith made a call to Houghton County Clerk Jennifer Kelly, during which he threatened to kill her dogs.
Smith’s friend was running against Kelly, and he thought his threats were helping.
Since then, Smith has been targeted for recall, with members of the community not taking kindly to harassing telephone calls or threats against animals.
Commenters online felt the same.
Just look at his face. Tells you everything you need to know.\n\nThousands signal they want Trump-loving school board member removed from officehttps://www.rawstory.com/ma-2656426567/— Zac \ud83c\udf99\ufe0f\ud83d\ude37\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udca8\ud83c\udfbc (@Zac \ud83c\udf99\ufe0f\ud83d\ude37\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udca8\ud83c\udfbc) 1642538096
Good. This guy has got to go.pic.twitter.com/XM0Yiwyds6— Amie Burke | Abomb\u2019s Playhouse (@Amie Burke | Abomb\u2019s Playhouse) 1642464537
Remove them. Well done.https://www.rawstory.com/ma-2656426567/— Pat (@Pat) 1642535275
Maga goon is gonna get expelled from Davidson School Board for threatening Maga violence. @migop #griftersandfelonshttps://twitter.com/ABC12WJRT/status/1483227676278149121\u00a0\u2026— Michigan GOP Watch (@Michigan GOP Watch) 1642464198
Smith initially tried to claim his phone was spoofed and he didn’t actually call Kelly.
However, after a police investigation, he admitted to the harassing call. He then changed his defense to he just intended to “annoy” her and he was wrong, but claims he never threatened Kelly’s dogs.
Was the media in a frenzy over him for nothing?
Matthew Smith: "I apologize to you for calling and disturbing you ... but your honor what hurts me the most is being accused of threatening to kill employees and dogs." He says he never did that and petitions to recall him for it are not based in fact— Lisa Roose-Church (@Lisa Roose-Church) 1641910466
Smith eventually pled guilty to the misdemeanor for a harassing phone call.
After this, the school board censured him for lying about the call during the investigation. On January 11, Judge Crawford sentenced Smith to 1 year probation, a $650 fine, 240 hours of community service and to write an essay on the effects of bullying under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act.
Despite this, Smith still insists he didn’t threaten Kelly’s dogs.
Matthew Smith has been sentenced to one year probation after pleading guilty to malicious use of a telephone for making a harassing call threatening to kill the dogs of a county election official. @MichiganTeahttps://www.mlive.com/news/flint/2022/01/genesee-county-gop-chairman-sentenced-to-probation-for-harassing-phone-call.html\u00a0\u2026— MI GQP is Toast \ud83c\udf5e (@MI GQP is Toast \ud83c\udf5e) 1641928629
Probation wasn\u2019t enough.— Alison Chevalier (@Alison Chevalier) 1641947653
Lock him up!— Thee Jax is Boosted! \ud83d\ude37 (@Thee Jax is Boosted! \ud83d\ude37) 1641911355
Idk, but pretty sure he'll buy the essay online . Most likely it will be one written by a 5th grader— Metaphor53\ud83c\udf0adon't tu quoque me! (@Metaphor53\ud83c\udf0adon't tu quoque me!) 1642531253
He was ordered to perform 240 hours of community service, fined $650, and is required to write an essay on the effects of bullying\n\nAn essay?? Oh boy, that'll teach him!— MAIZE (@MAIZE) 1642531801
The recall needed about 3,600 signatures, or 25% of the total votes cast in Davison for all candidates of Governor in the last election.
They ended up with 4,100.
Genesee County will need to verify the signatures and has 35 days to set a special election. The election will take place in either May or November.