Jefferson County prosecutor could face recall
Some Jefferson County residents say the county’s prosecutor is putting his personal interests ahead of the county’s and they want him out of office.
Tuesday a Jefferson County woman filed a petition for an election to recall prosecuting attorney Robin Dunn.
“People are tired and they are fed up and they are just exasperated with what we see as corruption,” said longtime Jefferson County resident Lyndsay Goody, who’s leading the recall campaign.
Goody said she about 40 other concerned citizens are attempting to collect 2,800 signatures for their petition over the next 75 days.
Among her grievances with Dunn, Goody said the law firm he owns once charged the county $18,000 to represent it in a federal case.
“It should have been his responsibility in the first place to represent the county,” said Goody.
“I feel like he didn’t do the job that he was paid for,” said Kristy Lance.
While Dunn doesn’t deny billing the county, he said he did so at the request of county commissioners.
“They approached me, I didn’t approach them. We charged a very minimal fee,” said Dunn.
Dunn eventually paid the money back, but Goody also points to another case involving former Rigby city councilman Lawrence Blackburn, who was convicted last year of stealing money from an elderly client of his investment firm.
Dunn represented Blackburn and recused himself from his role as prosecutor.
“He’s not putting his job as a county prosecutor before his other jobs that he has,” said Goody.
But Dunn said he was Blackburn’s attorney long before any criminal charges were filed against the ex-councilman.
“I had already represented him. I had a built-in conflict,” said Dunn.
Dunn said he isn’t guilty of any wrongdoing and dismissed the recall petition.
“Over 30 years you have some people that are displeased with how you handle some things. That’s going to happen to anyone in public office who does their job,” said Dunn.
Goody insists the recall petition is “not personal.”
If enough signatures are collected, Goody said it’s possible a special recall election could be held in March.
