Steve Forgey recall, Lake Dallas, Texas (2016)
| Lake Dallas City Council recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2016 Recalls in Texas Texas recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort in Lake Dallas, Texas, to recall City Council Member Steve Forgey from his position was launched in December 2015. An affidavit creating a recall committee against Forgey was submitted to the city secretary on December 11, 2015.[1] The effort failed to reach the ballot due to an insufficient number of valid signatures.[2]
Recall supporters
Lake Dallas Citizens for Change targeted Forgey over the employment of Nick Ristagno as city manager and police chief. The group argued that Ristagno's dual employment violated the city charter as the police chief is supervised by the city manager's office. At a council meeting on December 10, 2015, group spokesperson Ruby Benoit also indicated that the group wanted the resignations of fellow member April Estrada and Mayor Mike McCaleb for the same reasons.[1]
Recall opponents
On November 19, 2015, Forgey issued a letter to the council responding to criticisms of Ristagno's role as well as an ongoing lawsuit by former member Julie Mathews.[1]
| “ |
You and your group put your money where your mouth is, and I will resign my council seat. Send $100,000 to the city of Lake Dallas in certified funds in my name. This will hopefully cover the legal costs that Julie Mathews is causing the citizens of Lake Dallas and will help cover the cost of an unscheduled election. [3] |
” |
| —Steve Forgey (2015), [1] | ||
Mathews was removed from the council in June 2015 due to allegations that she violated the city charter.[1] She filed a lawsuit against the council members and mayor as well as a temporary restraining order on her removal. The order was granted, and Mathews returned to the council in August. When she dropped the lawsuit in December 2015, she left the council as the temporary restraining order was forfeited with the lawsuit.[4]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Texas
Recall supporters needed to collect 102 signatures to force a recall election. This threshold represented 25 percent of the qualified voters in Forgey's council district. The city secretary determined that only 66 signatures out of 153 signatures submitted were considered valid.[1][2]
Recent news
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Lake Cities Sun, "Local political group seeks to recall council member," December 11, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lake Cities Sun, "Political action group unable to acquire signatures," January 21, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Lake Cities Sun, "Lake Dallas Councilwoman Julie Mathews drops lawsuit," December 22, 2015
