By Tom Tolen / news@whmi.com

Another hearing will be held in the recall effort by a Brighton woman against two members of the Brighton Area Schools Board of Education.

Sarah Cross, a local attorney and mother of a child enrolled in the district, charges board Trustee John Conely with comparing mask mandates to actions by Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime, which Conely has denied.

Last month the Livingston County Election Commission, on a 2-1 vote, rejected the petition language submitted by Cross. But she appealed to Livingston County Circuit Court, and Judge Matthew McGivney overturned the decision, remanding the petition back to the commission for the language to be certified. The date for the hearing is Friday, May 6th, at 8:30 a.m. The commission had 10 days in which to appeal the ruling but chose not to, and the appeal window expired on Monday.

Cross tells WHMI she has “a couple hundred” volunteers lined up to collect signatures, which she intends to start doing on Saturday, May 7th, pending expected certification of the petition language.

Cross told WHMI, in her words, “I’m proceeding with an abundance of caution...I want to do this exactly according to the letter of the law.”

Citing his service of three board terms and previous experience as a para-professional in the district, Conely charged that the recall effort, quote, “is an attempt to make it where people like me won’t want to run for the school board.” He further predicted that the recall attempt will be unsuccessful, saying he doesn’t think the organizers "will even come close to getting enough signatures.” However, Cross has said all along that she believes the recall campaign will ultimately be successful.

Cross also has fellow Brighton Board of Education Trustee Bill Trombley in her crosshairs for potential recall, her petition language against him having earlier been approved by the commission. Trombley is being targeted for recall because, Cross contends, he admitted at a board meeting that he did not read his board packet. Trombley has stated that his value to the board — as its longest-serving member and member of the bond committee — is a matter of record, and that his skills have been a big asset to the district.

The rules state the signatories must be registered voters and live within the Brighton Area School District boundaries. The signatures must be gathered within 60 days of the date on which Cross begins collecting them. She will be required to obtain a minimum of 5,472 signatures in order to force a recall election. If Cross succeeds, she will then submit the completed petitions to the Election Commission for validation and certification.