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Keith Bell and Kimberley Yancy recall, LaMarque, Texas (2022)
| LaMarque mayor and city council recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Kimberley Yancy |
| Recall status |
Did not go to a vote (Yancy) |
| Recall election date |
| November 8, 2022 |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2022 Recalls in Texas Texas recall laws Mayoral recalls City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort in La Marque, Texas, to recall Mayor Keith Bell was initiated in July 2022.[1] Recall organizers submitted enough signatures to put the recall on the ballot. The recall election took place on November 8, 2022, and Bell retained his seat.[2]
After starting the recall against Bell, organizers later expanded the campaign to include District A City Councilwoman Kimberley Yancy. The recall effort against Yancy did not qualify for the ballot after organizers submitted fewer than the required number of signatures.[3][4]
Bell was elected as mayor of La Marque in May 2021.[5] Yancy was elected councilwoman in June 2021.[6]
Recall vote
Keith Bell recall, 2022
Keith Bell won the Mayor of La Marque recall election on November 8, 2022.
Recall Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
Yes |
45.0
|
2,088 | |||
| ✔ | No |
55.0
|
2,548 | ||
Total Votes |
4,636 | ||||
|
|
Recall supporters
Resident Joseph Lowry initiated the recall effort against both Bell and Yancy. Lowry alleged that Bell had "asked me to ... set up business accounts in his wife’s name and his daughter’s name to go after bond money that was coming into the city." Lowry said that Bell was "not honest with the public" and that he "screams transparency, but he’s not transparent at all."[7]
Lowry alleged that Yancy had created "division in the community since her election."[4]
Recall opponents
Bell denied Lowry's accusations, saying, "There’s no proof of these allegations made against me. ... Everybody didn’t like the hard decisions that had to be made to move our city forward, and sometimes when that happens, people get vindictive and retaliatory." Bell added, "At that moment, he [Lowry] has a personal experience with a sitting mayor that says clearly that the sitting mayor is corrupt, but he doesn’t record it. He doesn’t advance the conversations. He doesn’t go get the bank accounts. He doesn’t find his obligation in any way to bring any evidence. ... There is no proof of these accusations. There will never be proof of these accusations because it is untrue.”[7]
Yancy gave the following comment on the recall campaign to KPRC 2 News: "Our election was a true election, the people spoke and we need to respect that. Recall efforts should not be a form of harassment. ... What did not happen on January 6, do it in your local government, that’s what’s happening with this instance."[4]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Texas
Recall of local elected officials in Texas is available only in political subdivisions that have their own charter, and only if their charter specifically authorizes recall of the local elected officials.
Article V Section 5 of the La Marque Code of Ordinances gives petitioners 30 days to gather valid signatures equal to 51% of the total number of votes cast in the last citywide contested election in which the mayor or council member was elected.
The recall effort against Yancy did not qualify for the ballot after the Galveston County Voter Registrar’s Office validated 115 signatures out of the 237 signatures that organizers had submitted. For a recall election to have been scheduled, organizers needed to have collected 144 valid signatures.[3]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Daily News, "Petition to recall La Marque's mayor still under review," July 28, 2022
- ↑ The Daily News, "Enough signatures collected for recall election of La Marque Mayor Keith Bell," August 4, 2022
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Daily News, "Drive to oust La Marque councilwoman fails to secure enough signatures, city says," October 17, 2022
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Click2Houston.com, "More political turmoil for city of La Marque; another recall effort underway," September 15, 2022
- ↑ Government website of La Marque, "Keith Bell," accessed August 26, 2022
- ↑ Kimberly Yance for LaMarque City Council District A, "My Bio," accessed October 7, 2022
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Click2Houston.com, "Mayor of La Marque faces recall election this November," September 1, 2022
