The Portsmouth City Council is asking state lawmakers to approve new criteria for recalling an elected city official.
The city’s charter doesn’t require anyone who wants to recall a council member or Constitutional officer to give a reason — they just need a petition with signatures greater than or equal to 30% of the voters in the most recent gubernatorial election.
On Tuesday, the council unanimously said a recall effort should be based on one of four scenarios.
The proposed change states that elected officials may be recalled for neglect of duty, misuse of office, incompetence or conviction of a misdemeanor that has a “material adverse effect upon the conduct of the office.” It also calls for a Circuit Court judge to rule on the sufficiency of the petition, and removes the rule that prevent a recall from happening within one year of an official taking office.
Any changes to the city charter require approval from the General Assembly.
Previously, the council discussed raising the amount of signatures necessary for a recall petition, but Interim City Attorney Burle Stromberg said members did not ask him to include a higher threshold in the current proposal.
Portsmouth has a well-documented history with recall elections. Former Mayor James Holley was recalled in 1987 and 2010, and is believed to be the first politician in the United States to be recalled from office twice. Former Mayor Kenny Wright faced a recall attempt in 2016, but the city’s registrar found numerous petition signatures were invalid. A few months later, Wright lost his bid for re-election.
Some residents of state Sen. Louise Lucas’ district, which includes Portsmouth, also attempted to recall her, but a judge dismissed the case. The recall of state legislators falls under the state’s Constitution, and potential changes to the city charter would only affect city officials.
Councilman Mark Whitaker, who initially asked Stromberg to research requirements for recalls, listed these recall attempts and noted that Holley, Wright and Lucas are African American.
“That’s the only time you have seen that particular section used in recent history,” he said. He felt the changes would bring objectivity to the recall process and help ensure attempts to remove officials were based on specific reasons rather than emotion.
Four people spoke against a change at Tuesday’s meeting, saying it would help officials protect their seats. Two suggested that requesting the change should be a referendum rather than a council decision because the change directly affects their positions. Two also called for lowering the amount of signatures necessary for a recall petition.
The new recall rules are one of two requests the council will make to the General Assembly regarding removing officials from office.
In July, the council voted to ask state lawmakers to reduce the penalty for “interfering” with city employees. The city charter forbids council members from giving orders to employees of the city manager or directing the city manager to appoint, hire or fire employees. Council members found guilty of interference would receive a fine of up to $500 and be convicted with a misdemeanor, which would force the official to lose their seat.
Portsmouth’s proposal would change the offense from a misdemeanor to a civil penalty. If a majority of the council thinks one of its members improperly interfered with city hiring or firing employees, that member would receive a public censure and a fine of up to $100.
Last year, a resident brought forth criminal charges to remove Lisa Lucas-Burke from the council for comments about former Police Chief Angela Greene. A judge ultimately tossed those charges out. Lucas-Burke said the interference provision was used to “discriminate against council members at their leisure.”
Josh Reyes, 757-247-4692, joreyes@dailypress.com
