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Mayor Recall Effort Fails, What Was Gained And Lost?

100 views · Published 17 September 2012 · 2:35 · Indexed 25 October 2026
Channel: WTVC NewsChannel 9 · 2012 · News & Politics
by John Pless  The fight to recall Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield appears to be lost after two long years in court.So how much did this cost? And what, if anything, came out of it all?At the core of our society is the right for people to petition the government and challenge elected officials. That's what a group of people did. Despite losing the battle they believe their cause was just.The key question that kept coming up in court -- how many valid petition signatures are enough to for a recall election? In the end the Tennessee Court of Appeals decided, for a second time, there are not enough."Obviously we're not excited we didn't get a recall election," Jim Folkner said.Folker and others organizing the recall effort do not like Mayor Ron Littlefield's policies nor do they like the hike in property taxes and storm water fees. That's the reason for their recall effort. While they accept the court's ruling they stand by their relentless effort to keep challenging the recall issue in courtroom after courtroom. "I think all the groups that were involved in this, whether it be COER, the Chattanooga Tea Party, they all felt that citizen action was important to petition for the redress of grievances, going with the First Article of the Constitution which says the power is vested in the people," Folkner said. "All these are important to hold these elected officials accountable."Mayor Littlefield said Friday he is glad the ordeal appears to be settled."It's been very annoying, at times it was just like gnats flying around your face where you swat them away and they just keep coming back," Mayor Littlefield said.The ruling says the City Charter prevails in the number of petition signatures needed, instead of the higher state standard. Mayor Littlefield said whatever standard was used no one met that number. He blames the petitioners and the Election Commission for dragging the issue on for as long as it went."So if the Election Commission had done then what they always had done in the past, in my experience, which is stick to the law, this would have never happened," Mayor Littlefield said.Election Commission legal fees and staff time handling the petition cost about 0,000, according to Administrator Charlotte Mullis-Morgan. No city funds were used but the personal legal fees for Mayor Littlefield are over 00,000. A trust was set up for donations to help the mayor pay the fees.The end result is a referendum on the November ballot asking voters if the threshold for the number of signatures needed for a recall should be raised to the state standard."I guess it's a little discouraging to us that some members of the City Council want to raise the standard for recall," Folkner said.Folkner and company can file an appeal with the Tennessee Supreme Court. But since Mayor Littlefield's second term ends in seven months time is not on their side.
Mayor Recall Effort Fails, What Was Gained And Lost?

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