What really scares me about Kim Davis

[csziggy]

Her position does not just issue licenses and records documents. Her office is in charge of elections, taxes and the county's finances.

First off, I think that puts too much power in one person's hands. The county clerk will know everything about every person in the county - marital status, mortgages, tax obligations, everything that has to be recorded in that county. While much of it may be publicly accessible records, some may not. I'm not familiar with Kentucky's laws on public records. In Florida most of that information is public but the control of the various aspects of a Kentucky county clerks job are separate in Florida counties.

If by some perverse legal loophole Kim Davis is let out and allowed to run the county clerk office again, what other rights might she deny on the word of her god? While the focus has been on her denial of the right to obtain marriage licenses she could abuse any other aspect of her office to deny rights to any group the voice in her head tells her to. If she wins the right to use her office to inflict her religious views on other citizens, the potential for abuse and denial of rights is unlimited.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Could she be impeached or recalled by voters?

[csziggy]

3. From what I've read here on DU on the Kentucky legislature can impeach her

And since the legislature there is as fundamentalist as Davis, it's not likely to happen, even if she is registered as a Democrat.

[no_hypocrisy]

5. What about a people's referendum to recall her?

[csziggy]

6. Petitions for recall elections have to filed with the county clerk

http://www.lrc.ky.gov/statutes/statute.aspx?id=27630

But Kentucky does not actually seem to have provision for recall of officials at any level: http://ballotpedia.org/Laws_governing_recall

[smirkymonkey]

2. I think there needs to be a caveat for public servants who refuse to uphold the law.

Regardless of the fact that she is an elected official, if one refuses to uphold the the law, they should be impeached. Nobody should be allowed to hold an office hostage to their religious beliefs.

[csziggy]

4. It should be easier for voters to dump an elected official

If they refuse to do their job.

Kim Davis took an oath to support the law of the land. Just because the law changed since she took office should not allow her to violate that oath and the rights of the people of her county. As soon as she refused to do her job there should have been a mechanism to get her out of that office. If not then, once she defied the judge after exhausting her appeals and refused to arrive at a compromise, she should have been removed from office.

To allow one pigheaded religious fanatic to hold an entire county hostage is ridiculous.

[struggle4progress]

11. She can be prosecuted for official misconduct

KRS 522.020 Official misconduct in the first degree.
(1) A public servant is guilty of official misconduct in the first degree when, with intent to obtain or confer a benefit or to injure another person or to deprive another person of a benefit, he knowingly:
(a) Commits an act relating to his office which constitutes an unauthorized exercise of his official functions; or
(b) Refrains from performing a duty imposed upon him by law or clearly inherent in the nature of his office; or
(c) Violates any statute or lawfully adopted rule or regulation relating to his office.
(2) Official misconduct in the first degree is a Class A misdemeanor.

522.030 Official misconduct in the second degree.
(1) A public servant is guilty of official misconduct in the second degree when he knowingly:
(a) Commits an act relating to his office which constitutes an unauthorized exercise of his official functions; or
(b) Refrains from performing a duty imposed upon him by law or clearly inherent in the nature of his office; or
(c) Violates any statute or lawfully adopted rule or regulation relating to his office.
(2) Official misconduct in the second degree is a Class B misdemeanor.

[randome]

7. I think the Kentucky legislature will find a face-saving means to impeach her,

Something along the lines of, "Until this can be resolved, it's best to have the county clerk's office running efficiently."
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Birds are territorial creatures.
The lyrics to the songbird's melodious trill go something like this:
"Stay out of my territory or I'll PECK YOUR GODDAMNED EYES OUT!"[/center][/font][hr]

[csziggy]

8. They're going to have to do something soon

Or Rowan County's elections will be at risk.

At some point someone, judge or legislature, will have to give her a choice - quit, delegate the tasks she is unwilling to do, or be impeached. She's already refused the first two options in front of the judge so unless the Kentucky legislature is willing to let Rowan County go under because of one religious fanatic they will have to impeach her.

[Left coast liberal]

9. Yeah, and I hope Annonomous is watching their votes on election day...

She is the kind of "public servant" I would trust with that solemn responsibility!

[Jamastiene]

10. You can bet a person in their position due to nepotism in a small area

like that who is so much of a zealot that she's willing to go to jail to keep people from having civil rights has probably already done some nasty stuff to citizens in that area. That's the way it works in a lot of small towns in the south. It's the way things go in my hometown. It's a shitty place to be. You can forget equal rights in these areas. They will find ways to deny you basic rights here.