FORT SCOTT — A recall petition filed against Bourbon County Commission Chairman Samuel Tran has been certified, the second such petition filed against an elected county official in less than a month.
The Bourbon County Monitor reported Wednesday that Bourbon County Attorney James Crux certified the petition, noting it contained all of the statutorily required elements.
The recall alleges a “Failure to Perform Required Duties,” the Monitor reported, although a full copy of the petition has not been released.
The allegations center on claims Tran failed to comply with state statutes regarding the county’s 2025 budget.
Violations were reported in an audit presented to the county this month, which spelled out a violation in the jail bond and interest fund. While the fund was budgeted at $926,935, the county spent $1.4 million.
Crux noted in certifying the petition that he looked only at the legality of the petition itself, and not in the claims, the Monitor reported.
The recall committee now has 90 days to collect the required number of signatures from registered voters in District 1 to trigger a recall election, the Monitor reported. The number of signatures required depends on votes cast in the last election for the district — a figure that may be affected by recent redistricting.
A RECALL petition was certified in April against Bourbon County Clerk Susan Walker, stemming from a formal vote of no confidence against Walker by Bourbon County Republican Party precinct members.
The complaint stems from the 2025 November general election, when names of Uniontown USD 235 Board of Education candidates were left off advance voting ballots. The error was not corrected until the day before the election, the Monitor reported.
Petition organizers have until July 26 to collect the needed signatures for a recall election.
