Here are ten good reasons to make the choice to not vote in William McLaughlin’s sham recall election:

1. The recall election is a terrible new political low and will discourage participation. If it succeeds it will also be a new political weapon that could become a regular occurrence. Don’t encourage that.

2. Recalls should be reserved for major, proven misdeeds like actual crimes, but this recall is based on manufactured scandals and lies. This isn’t Fall River.

3. The recall is just part of a pattern of attempts to disrupt the Town Council. Complaints filed with the Ethics Commission, the Attorney General’s office, and the municipal court have all been dismissed, and the recall is an attempt to see if enough voters can be whipped up with false accusations. Don’t fall for it.

4. This council has been the most productive, open, and professional that Tiverton has seen in years.

5. Council members are only in office for two years in Tiverton, and by the time of the recall election, there will only be one year left. Candidate declarations for the next election will kick off campaigns only about six months later. A special election now is a confusing waste of time and money.

6. The council is negotiating contracts, developing ordinances, working on a long-term financial plan to help get the town’s decision-making on track, and more, and voters should let the council finish that ongoing work and judge them on the results at next year’s regular election.

7. If this is really about the decisions of the council majority, why was the petition only filed against two out of those four members? Because it is entirely a political power grab, intended only to flip the majority for Mr. McLaughlin and his political allies.

8. It took Mr. McLaughlin four months to collect enough signatures, after three months of preparation, and he just barely made it. For any other election, candidates and petitioners have a limited time to collect signatures, but with our open-ended process, a handful of signature collectors can take however long they need to undo an election. Don’t be a part of it.

9. This recall could cost the town over $15 thousand. Taxpayers should not have to pay for this.

10. Mr. McLaughlin wants a $4 million settlement from taxpayers for a lawsuit against the town and is working hard to change the leadership of the Town Council — even going so far as to say whom he wants as the replacement president and vice president. Don’t let him get away with this.

For the recall to count and Mr. McLaughlin to pull this off, he needs a minimum of 800 people to vote either way. Whatever you think of the current council, the best choice for Tiverton is to stay home, and see if Mr. McLaughlin can get over 800 people to show up and support him in this sham.