Dave Moyle

By Escanaba

Daily Press staff

ESCANABA — Delta County Commissioner Dave Moyle intends to fight a recall that could remove him from office as soon as November, but he does not intend to seek reelection in 2024.

“It’s time to hang my hat on the nail, be proud of my accomplishments and seek my exit — once I’m finished with the (term) that I was elected to represent the people, because I have no intention of soft-shoeing it or backing down from this fight. So if the public gives me the opportunity to serve and finish my commitment to them, but I won’t seek reelection,” Moyle told the Daily Press Wednesday.

Moyle said his daughter is the reason he does not intend to seek the commission seat in 2024. He cited a number of incidents that have impacted her, including comments made online and interactions he has had with constituents while she was present that turned hostile.

“She asked me when we were down in Texas, ‘Daddy, will you get out of this?’ and I was like, ‘I will now,'” he said.

Because he is intent on finishing out his current term, Moyle filed paperwork Wednesday to appeal a recent decision by the Delta County Election Commission allowing petitions for his recall to circulate.

“The language, as stated by the law, has to be clear and factual, and I thought their language was clear and factual but I’m appealing on grounds of what I consider to be substantive issues not debating their language,” he said.

Based on Moyle’s understanding of the appeal process, after his paperwork and the related $175 fee is filed with the court, the petition sponsor seeking his recall, Christiana Reynolds, will be served notice of the appeal. The petitions would then be blocked from circulation until a circuit court judge could weigh in on the appeal.

It’s unclear which judge would hear the appeal. In 2017, Delta County Circuit Court Judge John Economopoulos recused himself from an unrelated personal protection order case involving the protection of Moyle’s family based on the fact Moyle was a county commissioner.

“If he recuses himself, then we are at the mercy of another judge coming in from another county,” said Moyle.

Those seeking to recall Moyle already face a narrow window to collect the needed 666 signatures. If the appeal does not extend the statutory appeal window when signatures cannot be collected, petitioners will only have from July 29 to Aug. 4, the day signatures must be turned in to the county clerk, to have the recall question on the November general election ballot. If the appeal issue is not decided by July 28, the window could narrow further.

It’s unknown if the other two commissioners facing recall, Bob Petersen and Bob Barron, will file their own appeals or if they will accept the circulation of the petitions. Neither Barron nor Petersen were present at the clarity hearing held by the Delta County Election Commission on July 17 when the petition language was approved for circulation.

Petitioners will need to collect 1,001 signatures for Barron and 775 signatures for Petersen to place their names on the ballot.

In all cases, the ballot language states the three commissioners are being recalled because “On February 7, 2023 (the commissioner) voted to terminate Administrator Emily DeSalvo’s employment contract.” Moyle stands by his vote to terminate DeSalvo after she gave an 11-minute public statement accusing the commissioners of unethical behavior and suggesting that, if she were to remain employed by the county, all communication between her and the commissioners should be in “writing through email to serve as a public record of the board’s actions.”

“The last thing she said was that if we communicate, if she keeps working with us, we’re going to have to do it by writing, and I’m like, ‘This is not going to work. It’s a very unhealthy environment,’ but I did not go into that meeting on the 7th planning to terminate her, and it wasn’t a knee-jerk reaction,” said Moyle. “If you call your boss a liar and you say they’re unethical, I think there’s going to be consequences. I deeply regret that evening, but I would do it the same way if I had to do it tomorrow, knowing that I was going to be recalled.”

Moyle views the recall as politically motivated by individuals that opposed his election in 2020, including Escanaba resident Kelli Van Ginhoven, who ran against Moyle as an independent in 2020 and has indicated she intends to be his challenger if the recall makes the ballot.

“I believe … the intent of this recall group is to create so much havoc that the public would throw the baby out with the bath water because we are getting things done. It’s not fun, it’s not pretty. I never asked for this hot fudge sundae with nuts from the public. I told them I’d do my job and I have been,” he said.