Three candidates file in Columbia Heights election to recall City Council member

Early voting is underway in Columbia Heights where residents will decide on whether to recall an embattled City Council member, and if so, who will take her place.

Three candidates are running for the seat that KT Jacobs will be forced to vacate if she is recalled during a special election set for Feb. 13. Voters can also cast ballots through Feb. 12 at the Columbia Heights City Hall, 3989 Central Av. NE.

Just one question appears on the ballot.

"Shall Council member KT Jacobs be recalled?" the question reads. Voters are given the option to vote "yes" or "no."

Voters also are instructed to select Robert Rogne, Stan Hoium, or Laurel Deneen to replace Jacobs if the recall effort is successful.

Jacobs, whose term runs through Jan. 6, 2025, sued the city last fall to stop the election, arguing that a petition submitted by a citizens group seeking to have her removed from office was "procedurally defective." But an Anoka County judge dismissed Jacobs' suit and gave the north metro suburb permission to proceed.

Jacobs' lawyer, Gregory Joseph, immediately filed an appeal, and in December the state Supreme Court agreed to hear Jacobs' case. Oral arguments are set for Feb. 7, Joseph said.

It was not immediately clear how that could impact the election, but city spokesman Will Rottler said "the election is moving forward until the city hears otherwise from the Supreme Court."

The Minnesota Secretary of State's Office concurred, saying the election will continue unless the court intervenes.

Jacobs has been at the center of controversy since July 2022 when she allegedly made a phone call to a biracial candidate running for City Council and questioned him about racial identity and qualifications for office. She later apologized to Justice Spriggs, who was elected to the Council. Jacobs has maintained that an extended family member used her cellphone to make the call.

A report from a consultant brought in to investigate found that Jacobs had been untruthful and failed to conduct herself ethically and in accordance with the council's Code of Conduct.

That led a citizen's group to submit a petition asking for an election to remove Jacobs from office, which the City Council approved on a 4-1 vote in July.

Jacobs sued the city on grounds that the citizen's group's petition was "procedurally defective" and behavior she is accused of fell "woefully short of malfeasance," a requirement needed for a recall election.

"We look forward to zealously arguing this case and getting justice for KT," Joseph said in a statement.