A recall petition against Bridgeport Township Supervisor Rodney Fishler was filed with the township clerk, Linda Smrcina, on Monday, May 12.

Fishler, a local dairy farmer and opponent of the frac sand mine permitting process in the township, was elected to the three-member town board last year.

Earlier this spring, frac sand mine opponents filed recall petitions against Bridgeport Town Chairperson John Karnopp and Bridgeport Town Supervisor Mike Steiner. Both Karnopp and Steiner had voted in favor of permits that allow the Pattison Sand Company from Clayton, Iowa, to operate a frac sand mine on leased farmland adjacent to the Wisconsin River.

The recall petitions need 96 valid signatures by law to trigger a recall election, given voter turnout in Bridgeport during the last gubernatorial election. The petition seeking recall of Fishler had 112 signatures, while the recall petition against Karnopp had 146 signatures and the other recall petition against Steiner had 138 signatures.

The next step in the process is for Bridgeport Town Clerk Linda Smrcina to certify the petitions as legally valid or reject them as defective.  If Smrcina certifies the petitions, an election will be held on the sixth Tuesday after the certification.

The town clerk is hoping that if all three petitions can be certified on the same day the township can hold one election to include all three races. Fishler has until Thursday, May 22 to challenge any signatures. Smrcina has until Saturday, May 24 to certify the recall petitions against Karnopp and Steiner.