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Yusuf Shabazz recall, Chatham County, Georgia (2014)
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An effort to recall Commissioner Yusuf Shabazz in Chatham County, Georgia, from his position on the Board of Commissioners was proposed in September 2014.[1] The effort ultimately did not go to a vote.
Shabazz's opponents
On September 18, 2014, Charles Smith was arrested by police on outstanding warrants. Following, he was shot and killed by police. Commissioner Shabazz responded by calling for a boycott of the convenience store where Smith was arrested. Tom Barton, the editorial page editor for the Savannah Morning News, said:
| “ | Shabazz’s decision to blame an innocent business person for this shooting was out-of-bounds, even by Savannah’s normally low standards of political discourse. The fact that the store’s owner told a local TV reporter that he was afraid for his safety and his family’s safety shows that Shabazz crossed the line that separates free speech from intimidation. | ” |
| —Tom Barton[1] | ||
As of late September 2014, over 2,100 people had signed a petition calling for Commissioner Shabazz to be censured. Barton suggested that if the county government did not respond to the petition, then people should seek to recall Shabazz.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Georgia
Recall proponents needed to collect signatures from 100 registered voters who live in the county's 5th District and voted in the 2012 county commission election. In 2012, 2,688 people voted in the election.[1]
Following a successful signature collection, a judge would have decided if Shabazz broke one of the standards found in the Georgia Recall Act. The standards include: "malfeasance, violating the oath of office, misconduct, failure to perform duties as prescribed by law or misappropriating funds or property."
Lastly, additional signatures would have needed to be collected. At least 30 percent of registered voters in the 5th District would have been required to sign a recall petition.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Savannah Morning News, "Tom Barton: Shabazz recall: Voters have nothing to lose," September 30, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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