Petition to Recall WA Legislative Districe Representative Mike Hope:
 
This petition is to the population of registered Washington State voters in Legislative District 44 who disapprove of the actions of Rep. Mike Hope, and wish to recall him from his elected position in Olympia.  This is not a formal recall petition, but is meant to gauge interest in a formal recall.

The recall of elected officials is allowed under Washington law, pursuant to Washington Constitution Article I § 33, on the grounds of physical or mental lack of fitness, incompetence, violation of oath of office, official misconduct, or conviction of certain felony offenses.  We, the undersigned, believe that Rep. Hope should be recalled pursuant to Washington State law for the following reasons:

Rep. Hope has shown incompetence in his duties by failing to adequately represent the majority of citizens in the 44th District through his support of several bills that were against the majority will of the people. 

Rep. Hope has also violated his oath of office by failing to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the State of Washington; through the co-sponsorship and open support of laws that infringe upon the citizens of Washington's right to bear arms as recognized in the Second Amendment.  This action also violates the same rights of said citizens directly.
 
Rep. Hope, as a current and active Seattle Police officer, is in a unique position that allows him to both enact law and personally enforce it.   As a state lawmaker, he may sponsor, vote on, and put laws into effect.  As a police officer, he also has the power to detain, arrest, search, question, and/or investigate citizens in the enforcement of those same laws. This affects any of his constituents who enter the Seattle Police Department jurisdiction, as well as the citizens of all of Washington.  Rep. Hope's dual position in the legislative and enforcement roles of government create a conflict of interest.  In addition, this creates the potential to infringe upon his constituents' First Amendment rights to free speech: though the citizens have the right to redress of grievances against governmental officials, Rep. Hope also has the power to detain and/or arrest those same citizens who may have sought right of redress against him.  The people of Washington State deserve lawmakers who eschew even the appearance of impropriety or potential abuse of power, and Rep. Hope should already possess the basic amount of integrity necessary to be aware of the potential for abuse in his dual position.

Rep. Hope's actions and voting record shows that he has gone beyond the powers granted elected officials under Article I section 8 of the United States Constitution, and that he no longer represents the common citizen of the 44th District of the State of Washington, but instead is swayed by special interest groups, party politics, and personal power.  

Rep. Hope has shown on several occasions to be publicly disrespectful and demeaning to his constituents, lacking in integrity, and willing to use falsehood to mislead the people of the 44th District as to his intentions, agenda, and planned actions.

The people of Washington deserve to be adequately represented at all levels of government by elected individuals who fully realize that they work for “We the People”, and that they must listen to their constituents and vote according to the will of the people and not their own whims or personal agendas.  They deserve lawmakers who treat their constituents with respect and conduct themselves with integrity while serving the will of the people.

If there is sufficient interest in this recall of Rep. Hope, which will be evidenced by the number of registered Washington voters in the 44th District who sign this petition, then a formal recall of Rep. Hope will be initiated following the protocol set forth in the Washington Code for such recalls. Please note that persons signing this petition must be registered Washington voters within the 44th District for their signature(s) to be considered, and that no person can sign the petition more than once.

Please forward this petition and its associated web site to any and all of your fellow Washington citizens who are interested in enacting future and immediate change in our Senate representation and regain control of our government.

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