Chester’s recall effort to remove the Utility District Board Members amid a dire financial crisis has failed. Marcy Demartile, Plumas County Elections officer to the board of supervisors, announced yesterday, “all four submitted petitions have been found to be insufficient to recall the board members of the Chester Public Utility District.”
Signatures on the recall petition were turned in on April 23, and had been circulating since February—the effort aimed to afford a special election to oust CPUD’s chairperson and three members.
Proponents of the recall have blamed the board for mismanagement of CPUD, which has been running an annual deficit of 1.2 million dollars for years and has, due to this financial crisis, eliminated ambulance and fire services and seen the layoff of fire staff as of February 28. The department now has only two paid employees, and volunteers are being trained to respond to fires.
Other attempts to raise funds through special elections in November 2023 and May 2024 have also failed. CPUD remains in financial desperation, and its board is fighting an uphill battle to garner community support to resolve the crisis.
