Columbia Heights recall election canceled after Minnesota Supreme Court ruling

A special election set for Tuesday to recall Columbia Heights City Council Member KT Jacobs has been called off, following a decision Friday by the Minnesota Supreme Court that the petitioners had failed to make their case.

The high court ruled that the grounds stated in the petition filed by a citizens’ group to have Jacobs removed from office didn’t meet the legal definitions of malfeasance or nonfeasance, which are required for a recall election.

The petition, which calls Jacobs a “disgraced elected official” who engaged in “unethical behavior,” was filed after she allegedly made a racist phone call to a City Council candidate in 2022. Jacobs has denied the allegations from the outset.

“We’re very happy. The court got it right,” said Greg Joseph, Jacobs’ attorney, after the ruling was issued. “It never should have gotten this far, but it did.”

The case was expedited to the Supreme Court after an Anoka County judge in November decided the petition did allege malfeasance and ruled the recall election could go forward. The high court took the case when Jacobs appealed, and oral arguments were heard Wednesday.

In a three-page ruling reversing the lower court’s decision, Chief Justice Natalie Hudson wrote that “a recall election of a municipal officer may be held only if the officer committed malfeasance or nonfeasance while in office,” citing a 1959 case. A complete opinion will come at a later date, Hudson wrote.

City officials had no comment Friday on the decision.

The City Council censured Jacobs and removed her from all boards and commissions, and also passed two resolutions calling on her to resign. Jacobs, who was elected in 2020 and whose term ends next year, has refused to resign.

Jacobs said a relative had used her cellphone without her permission to place the July 24 call, which lasted two hours. An independent consultant hired to investigate found Jacobs to have been “untruthful” and her behavior in conflict with the City Council’s code of conduct.

Concerned Citizens for Columbia Heights filed a petition with the city, triggering the special election. More than 200 people have already cast ballots during early voting, according to a city spokesman.

It was not immediately known how much the city has spent preparing for the special election, but it won’t incur the costs of paying election judges since the proceedings have been canceled.

Joseph said the case largely centered on whether the phone call was private or made as part of Jacobs’ official council duties. He contended it was a private phone call, and added that the city had never charged her with malfeasance.