FORT SCOTT, Kan. — Petitioners seeking the recall of Bourbon County Commission Chairman Samuel Tran must gather 821 signatures by a July 16 deadline following a directive from the Kansas Secretary of State's office.
The signature threshold represents approximately 40% of the total votes cast in the 2024 general election for the District 1 seat. Due to county redistricting enacted in 2025, Bourbon County Clerk Susan Walker said the signatures must come exclusively from registered voters living within the new District 1.
Under K.S.A. 25-4323, recall petitions against local officers must be filed at least 180 days before the end of the official's term. With Tran's partial term ending Jan. 12, 2027, July 16 is the last day a petition can be filed.
The recall petition was submitted by a committee formed by former District 1 County Commissioner Lynne Ohara and Mapleton residents Clint and Rachel Walker. Bourbon County Attorney James Crux certified the petition May 11, finding that the allegations of "Failure to Perform Required Duties" were stated with sufficient particularity and possessed a clear nexus to the responsibilities of a county commissioner.
The petition centers on allegations that Tran failed to comply with Kansas budget laws by making himself unavailable for a late-December 2025 budget amendment hearing. According to official county records, the absence of a timely budget amendment resulted in statutory compliance violations noted in the county's 2025 financial audit conducted by Jarred, Gilmore & Phillips, P.A.
During the regular commission meeting on Dec. 15, 2025, county officials discussed holding a public hearing at the end of the year to amend over-budget funds to avoid audit infractions. At that meeting, Tran said he would be traveling in an area without cellphone reception during the final days of December, making him unable to participate or help form a necessary quorum.
In an interview with the Fort Scott Tribune, Tran said commissioners spent several months attempting to finalize the county budget. He said the timeline left him with no way to make himself available for the year-end reconciliation.
"I make myself available to everything the county has," Tran told the Tribune. "The only time I don't is when it has to do with my family. If I'm not here, it's because of my family."
Tran told the Tribune he supported the democratic process, but encouraged voters to view the December 15th meeting on YouTube and make their own decisions.
"I applaud the public for exercising their rights as voters. If they feel I need to be recalled, so be it," Tran told the Tribune. "Just make sure the evidence is there to corroborate [claims]."
The YouTube video of the meeting can be viewed here. The budget amendment discussion begins at approximately three hour and fifteen minutes into the meeting.
Tran was originally appointed to the commission by the Bourbon County Republican Party on June 11, 2025, to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of former District 1 Commissioner Brandon Whisenhunt.
The effort against Tran marks the second recall petition certified against a Bourbon County official this year. A separate recall petition against County Clerk Susan Walker was certified April 27 regarding ballot errors that occurred during the November general election.
