Regina Romero recall, Tucson, Arizona (2021)
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| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2021 Recalls in Arizona Arizona recall laws Mayoral recalls Recall reports |
An effort in Tucson, Arizona, to recall Mayor Regina Romero was initiated in October 2020.[1] Recall organizers submitted signatures in February 2021, but the city clerk found that not enough signatures were valid.[2][3]
To read about other recall efforts related to the coronavirus and government responses to the pandemic, click here.
Recall supporters
The recall effort was organized by a group called Recall Regina 2020 in response to Romero's approval of a Black Lives Matter banner in city hall, her disavowal of painting a thin blue line outside of the Tucson Police Department headquarters, her support of mask mandates, and the removal of police officers from election polling sites.[4][5][6]
Recall opponents
In a statement after the recall began, Romero said, "Tucsonans can be the judge of whether they believe masking up protects our community’s public health. I happen to disagree with this group, who gathered outside my personal residence earlier this year, that wearing masks is ‘tyrannical."[4]
After the city clerk announced that the recall didn't get enough signatures to move forward, Romero's office said in a statement that she "answers to all of the residents of Tucson, who have elected her with strong majorities in every city election she has run in. This recall effort was no more than a fringe group with unvalidated signatures attempting to overturn the will of the majority of Tucsonans. Nevertheless, she will continue her tireless work to build a more strong, sustainable, and resilient city for all Tucsonans, regardless of whether they voted for her or not."[7]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Arizona
The number of signatures required to qualify a recall attempt for the ballot is 25 percent of the number of votes cast in the last election for that office.
Recall organizers filed for petitions on October 26, 2020. Petitioners were required to submit 24,710 valid signatures within 120 days to put the recall election on the ballot.[1] There were 24,153 signatures submitted to the city clerk, with about 1,500 being found invalid.[2]
Ballotpedia covered 35 coronavirus-related recall efforts against 94 officials in 2022, accounting for 13% of recalls that year. This is a decrease from both 2020 and 2021. COVID-related recalls accounted for 37% of all recall efforts in both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, there were 87 COVID-related recalls against 89 officials, and in 2021, there were 131 against 214 officials.
The chart below compares coronavirus-related recalls to recalls for all other reasons in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
See also
- Recall campaigns in Arizona
- Political recall efforts, 2020
- Political recall efforts, 2021
- Mayoral recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tucson, "Group begins effort to recall Tucson Mayor Regina Romero; needs 25,000 valid signatures," October 29, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 KVOA, "Effort to recall Mayor Romero fails after failing to collect enough signatures," March 1, 2021
- ↑ KGUN, "Tucson group turns in petition signatures to recall Mayor Regina Romero," February 27, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Fox 10 Phoenix, "Group seeks 25K signatures for Tucson mayor recall effort," October 28, 2020
- ↑ KVOA, "“Recall Romero” rally sparks on Tucson’s east side," August 9, 2020
- ↑ KOLD, "Tucson Mayor Regina Romero accuses organizers of pro-law enforcement event of being white supremacists," July 2, 2020
- ↑ KGUN, "Effort to recall Mayor Romero fails," March 1, 2021
