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Kenny Wright recall, Portsmouth, Virginia (2015-2016)
| Portsmouth Mayor recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2015 Recalls in Virginia Virginia recall laws Mayoral recalls Recall reports |
An effort in Portsmouth, Virginia, to recall Mayor Kenny Wright from his position was launched in May 2015.[1] Recall supporters submitted 350 pages of signatures to the circuit court clerk on July 12, 2016.[1][2][3] Wright sought re-election against five challengers in the November 2016 general election.[4]
On August 9, 2016, Circuit Court Judge James Hawks ended the effort by ruling that there were only 6,012 valid signatures submitted by recall supporters. Hawks stated that recall organizers needed 7,786 signatures to bring the effort to the ballot.[5]
Recall supporters
Wright was targeted for recall due to growing issues within the city. Recall leader Robert Marcus said, "We have some very serious problems in Portsmouth. We're going to hell in a handbasket. We're concerned that changes need to happen."[1]
Response by Kenny Wright
Wright issued the following response to the effort to WTKR:
| “ |
We are extremely pleased with the progress that the City of Portsmouth has made over the last six years! I encourage all of our citizens to continue working together for the greater good! We have a bright future and our strength lies within our diversity! [6] |
” |
| —Kenny Wright (2016), [1] | ||
Path to the ballot
Supporters needed to collect 7,786 signatures to move the recall forward. There was no deadline for signature submission.[7][1] Circuit Court Judge James Hawks established a deadline of August 8, 2016, for city officials to complete their review of submitted signatures.[8]
See also
- Recall campaigns in Virginia
- Political recall efforts, 2015
- Political recall efforts, 2016
- Mayoral recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Hampton Roads, "There's no gray area here: Effort to recall Mayor Wright is wrong," May 14, 2015 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "recall" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 13 News, "Petition receives enough signatures for Portsmouth mayor recall effort," June 22, 2016
- ↑ WAVY, "Group turns in petition to recall Portsmouth mayor," July 12, 2016
- ↑ The Virginian-Pilot, "Portsmouth Mayor Kenny Wright is running on his record; 5 rivals say it's not enough," June 18, 2016
- ↑ The Virginian-Pilot, "Petition to recall Portsmouth Mayor Kenny Wright fails," August 9, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Hampton Roads, "With interest lagging, it's time to end attempt to recall Portsmouth mayor," August 11, 2015
- ↑ The Virginian-Pilot, "Effort to recall Portsmouth Mayor Kenny Wright gets court date," July 19, 2016
