City council recall, Leon Valley, Texas (2020)
| Leon Valley City Council recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Monica Alcocer |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| November 3, 2020 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2020 Recalls in Texas Texas recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort in Leon Valley, Texas, to recall Councilmembers Donna Charles and Monica Alcocer was initiated in September 2019. The recall election took place on November 3, 2020, and voters approved the recall of both Charles and Alocer.[1] The election was originally scheduled for May 2, 2020, but the city council voted to postpone all municipal elections, including the recall, to November 3, 2020, due to public health concerns created by the coronavirus pandemic.[2][3]
Recall vote
The recall election was on November 3, 2020, and Leon Valley voters approved the recall of both Charles and Alcocer. Charles was removed from office by a vote of 3,081 for the recall to 1,396 against—68.8% to 31.2%. Alcocer was removed by a vote of 2,993 in favor of the recall to 1,475 against—67.0% to 33.0%.[1]
Recall supporters
The recall effort was initiated in response to a 2-1 vote to remove Councilmember Benny Martinez on August 14, 2019. Charles and Alcocer were the two members to vote in favor of removing Martinez over allegations of sexual harassment as well as undermining Leon Valley's legal department, community development department, police department, and the city manager.[4]
In the recall petitions against Charles and Alcocer, supporters name six specific grounds for recall.[5][6] The petitions can be viewed below.
Donna Charles recall petition
Monica Alcocer recall petition
Recall opponents
Donna Charles responded to the allegations against her, saying many of the issues that resulted in Martinez's removal were outside of her control. She stated that she strove to be fair in studying all the facts of the case and that she would do the same thing over again.[7]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Texas
Petitioners were required to submit 500 valid signatures for each official to put the recalls on the ballot. More than 1,600 signatures were submitted for verification against Charles and Alcocer in November 2019.[8] Scheduling for the recall election was on the city council's agenda on January 21, 2020, but the matter wasn't taken up during that meeting. On January 24, 2020, five Leon Valley residents filed a lawsuit with the Fourth Court of Appeals to place the recall on the May 2 ballot.[2] On February 4, 2020, the Leon Valley City Council scheduled the recall election for May 2, 2020.[2] On March 25, 2020, the city council voted to reschedule the recall election for November 3, 2020, due to the public health concerns created by COVID-19.[3]
See also
- Recall campaigns in Texas
- Political recall efforts, 2020
- Political recall efforts, 2019
- City council recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Leon Valley, TX, "November 3, 2020, Summary Results Report," accessed November 19, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 KSAT, "Leon Valley recall election set for May 2," February 4, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Leon Valley, TX, "City Council Special Meeting," March 25, 2020
- ↑ News4SA, "Lingering Benny Martinez misconduct case taking its toll on Leon Valley," August 14, 2019
- ↑ The Change Leon Valley Project, "Monica Alcocer - Petition," accessed June 9, 2020
- ↑ The Change Leon Valley Project, "Donna Charles - Petition," accessed June 9, 2020
- ↑ San Antonio Express News, "Leon Valley council women to respond to recall petitions," January 14, 2020
- ↑ San Antonio Express-News, "Leon Valley verifying signatures for possible recall election," November 22, 2019
