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Recall petition against Mabton Mayor advances amid dispute over lack of 2024 budget
By By Emily Goodell,
1 day ago
YAKIMA, Wash. — Yakima County Superior Court Judge Richard Bartheld has ruled that a petition to recall Mabton Mayor Rachel Ruelas will proceed, based on two of the six charges presented.
The ruling came after a petition filed by Mabton City Council members in July, alleging that Ruelas violated her oath of office and state law.
Ruelas' attorney argued that the petition lacked sufficient information and did not include enough evidence to prove any of the actions allegedly committed by Ruelas were done intentionally.
However, while Bartheld found that four of the six charges in the petition lacked enough information upon which to base a recall, two charges were deemed to be both legally and factually sufficient.
One charge accuses Ruelas of using her position to secure special privileges by advertising her personal business on the city website.
The second charge states that she failed to submit a final 2024 budget, which resulted in no budget hearing and no adopted budget for 2024, in violation of state law.
The court noted that only two lines in the Nov. 14, 2023 council meeting minutes indicated any work done on the budget for 2024.
"There’s nothing in those minutes to indicate that any steps were taken beyond November 14th to adopt a budget," Bartheld said.
The mayor now has the option to appeal the decision. If the recall petition continues through the process successfully, voters could see it on the ballot as early as next year.
MABTON, Wash. — Mabton city officials and citizens gathered in Yakima County Superior Court on Wednesday morning for the latest hearing on the petition to recall Mayor Rachel Ruelas over claims she has violated state laws and her oath of office.
MABTON, Wash. - The majority of the Mabton City Council is leading a charge to recall Mayor Rachel Ruelas over allegations of gross incompetence. This came a week after police said $22,000 was stolen from the city in a fake robbery scheme.
MABTON, Wash. - The Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has declined to file charges against a Mabton city employee who is accused of stealing thousands of dollars of city money.
MABTON, Wash. - Just days after a city employee was arrested on suspicion of stealing $22,000 from the City of Mabton in what police said was a fake robbery scheme, the mayor of Mabton refused to address the community's concerns when they questioned her leadership at Tuesday night's city council meeting.
MABTON, Wash. — A City of Mabton employee accused of stealing $22,000 from the city as part of a fake robbery scheme was arrested Friday and appeared in court Monday afternoon, where a judge released her pending future court hearings.
MABTON, Wash. — Deputy City Clerk Yuliana Morales has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree theft after police say she pretended to be the victim of a robbery, allowing her boyfriend to allegedly escape with a bag containing $22,000 worth of checks and cash from the city.
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