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Mayor and city council recall, Keene, Texas (2023)
| Keene mayor and city council recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Gwen Beeson James Belz Ray Johnson |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2023 Recalls in Texas Texas recall laws City council recalls Mayoral recalls Recall reports |
Efforts to recall Mayor Lisa Parrish, City Councilmembers Gwen Beeson, James Belz, and Ray Johnson did not go to a vote in Keene, Texas. Recall organizers did not submit signatures by the filing deadline.[1][2]
Recall supporters
Jen Baggett filed the paperwork for the recall effort against Beeson, Belz, and Johnson. Baggett has said the recall effort was Parrish's idea, which Parrish has denied. Parrish has said that Baggett initiated the recall effort due to Parrish's dismissal as interim city manager and "other behavior that she has seen by the council toward me, some other bullying and harassment behavior." Parrish has alleged that the city council violated the Texas Open Meetings Act in an effort to force her to resign as interim city manager.[1]
Samantha Gillan helped organize the recall effort against Parrish.[1]
Recall opponents
Baggett chose not to turn in signatures for the effort to recall Beeson, Belz, and Johnson. She said, “We wholeheartedly believed in our mayor, we were friends for years,” and "All we ever wanted for Keene was its betterment. But unfortunately, that was far overshadowed by the negativity that spewed across the social media pages. This needs to stop. We no longer have any respect for [Parrish].”[1]
Parrish said the recall effort against her was retaliatory.[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Texas
According to Keene's city charter, a recall effort is initiated when 20 registered voters file an affidavit with the city secretary indicating that they will form the petitioners committee. After the affidavit has been filed, signature collection can begin. Recall organizers need to collect, "the signatures of registered voters equal in number to thirty (30) percent of the total number of the qualified voters of the City that voted in the last regular municipal election, but in no event less than two hundred (200) signatures of registered voters," and file them with the city secretary within 30 days of the affidavit being filed. The city secretary determines whether the petition is sufficient and, if so, presents it to the city council for verification. A recall election is then scheduled.[3]
Organizers had until September 2, 2023, to file signatures with the city secretary for the recall effort against Parrish.[4]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Cleburne Times-Review, "Keene residents call for unity amidst council division," July 21, 2023
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff, "Phone communication with the office of the Keene City Secretary," September 28, 2023
- ↑ Keene, Texas - Code of Ordinances, "ARTICLE X. - INITIATIVE, REFERENDUM, AND RECALL," accessed August 7, 2023
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff, "Email communication with City Secretary Tabatha Mansell," August 7, 2023
