Town trustee recalled on pledge protest

ESTES PARK, Colo., March 23 (UPI) -- An Estes Park, Colo., town trustee has been recalled by voters because he refused to stand for recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.

Trustee David Habecker, who served on the town board for about 12 years, lost Tuesday's recall election 903-605. Richard Homeier was the top vote-getter among candidates seeking to replace Habecker.

"We've set a precedent here that as an elected official you are responsible for your actions and your verbiage. He was elected and he's been unelected," recall organizer Richard Clark told the Rocky Mountain News.

Habecker objected to standing for the Pledge of Allegiance, which the trustees added to meeting routine last year. Habecker, a self-described agnostic, reportedly stood the first few times for the pledge, but then refused because he said, with the words "under God" included, the pledge violated separation of church and state, the Rocky Mountain News reported.

"I sat for what I believe in and still believe in," Habecker told the newspaper.