In Lansing today, the petition to recall Grand Traverse Prosecuting Attorney Noelle Moeggenberg was approved, allowing organizers to collect signatures to get their recall question on the ballot this fall.
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The basis of the petition is rooted in how two cases, and their resulting plea bargains, were handled by Moeggenberg in court.
The first case comes from recall organizer Andrea Flowers, who, in the petition language, argues Moeggenberg failed to properly investigate the sexual abuse of her 4-year-old granddaughter last year and then offered the abuser a plea deal of less than a year.
In the second case, Grand Traverse resident Brenda DeKuiper argues that Moeggenberg failed to investigate a car accident that resulted in the death of her son. Then, DeKuiper says, the prosecuting attorney failed to consult with the victim's family regarding a plea for the driver at fault.
DeKuiper said the idea to organize against the prosecuting attorney came together after she heard echoes of her own experience in reporting in the Traverse City Record-Eagle about the plea deal given to the abuser of Flowers’ granddaughter.
In previous reporting by IPR, Moeggenberg said she was frustrated by the Record-Eagle’s coverage and called it incomplete.
The recall petition was unanimously approved by Michigan’s Board of State Canvassers. Organizers now have 60 days, from the first signature to the last, to gather around 14,000 signatures from Grand Traverse residents.
Flowers said already 35 volunteers have committed to collecting signatures.
According to data from Ballotpedia, between 200 and 400 recall petitions were filed nationwide each year in the last decade. The majority of those petitions do not result in a recall election but, of those which do go to elections, over half result in officials being removed from office.
That same data show Michigan led the nation in recall efforts in 2025, with 59 officials targeted, and also ranked first in 2018 and every year from 2022 through 2024.
The recall organizers will hold a public meeting on June 17 at the Traverse City District Library where they will be working with volunteers to begin the signature collection process.
IPR reached out to Moeggenberg for comment, but she did not respond in time for this story.
