Brendan Calling

TOTAL RECALL IN PHILLY

California voters kicked out Gray Davis. Philadelphians can do the same with the Mayor.

well, well, well! Here’s an interesting little chapter of the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter:

Article IX.
REMOVAL OF ELECTIVE AND APPOINTIVE OFFICERS

CHAPTER 1
Recall of Mayor and Other Elective Officers
[snip]

CHAPTER 1
Recall of Mayor and Other Elective Officers
Section 9-100
Officers Subject to Recall.
Any person holding any elective office of the City, whether by election, succession, or appointment to fill a vacancy, shall be subject to removal from office at a recall election in the manner provided in this chapter.

ANNOTATION

* Sources: See Charter of the City of Los Angeles (Annot. Ed., 1948) Section 290.

* Purposes:
1. The power is vested in the electorate to recall officials elected by them so that such officials may be directly responsible for their behavior in office to the electorate. The Charter vests responsibilities of great magnitude in the Mayor, the City Controller and Councilmen. The electorate is entitled to expect the proper discharge of those responsibilities and in accordance with promises made when office was sought, barring changes in circumstances which justify other courses of action. The power of the electorate to recall should serve as a spur to elected officials to be faithful to this trust. It is also intended to serve as an expeditious and effective means for removing from office an elected official who has failed to sustain such trust. Cf. the impeachment procedure under the Act of June 25, 1919, P.L. 581, Article IV, Section 9 and the experience thereunder.
2. While no charges are required to be lodged formally against an elected official to subject him to a recall election it is anticipated on the basis of experience in other jurisdictions having the recall, that the electorate will exercise its power to recall wisely, for good reasons and in accordance with the purpose and spirit of the recall.
3. Elected officials subject to recall are the Mayor, the City Controller, the City Treasurer and Councilmen.
4. Officials holding an elective office are subject to recall regardless of the manner in which they were designated to hold office.

Section 9-101
Recall Procedure.

1. A recall of an incumbent of an elective office shall be initiated upon petition signed by registered electors. In the case of an elective office to which a candidate is elected from the City at large, the petition shall contain signatures equal in number to at least twenty-five percent of the vote cast for the office of Mayor at the last preceding mayoralty election but signatures from any one ward in excess of one-fifth of the total number required on a petition shall not be counted. In the case of an elective office to which a candidate is elected from a district of the City, the petition shall contain signatures of registered electors in the district equal in number to at least twenty-five percent of the vote cast for the office at the last election. Every recall petition shall name the officer against whom it is directed.

That’s right: if Mayor Literacy pisses off enough people with his false choices of rats or libraries, we can recall the sonuvabitch. Mayor Nutter won his office with 222,583 votes: if i’m doing my math right, that’s around 56,000 signatures to recall him. Think you can find that many disgruntled Philadelphians? Just over 46,000 voted for the Republican: you bring up the libraries, the pools, and the fire engines, and I’ll bet you get to that 25% quicker than you can say “Rappers Delight”.

But then what? Let’s see what the Charter says:

Section 9-102
Notice to Incumbent.
As soon as the board having jurisdiction over elections in the City has accepted a recall petition for filing, the chairman of the board shall notify the incumbent named in the petition that the petition has been filed. Upon receipt of such notice the incumbent may resign from his office and thereupon the recall proceedings shall terminate.
[snip]

Section 9-103
Recall Elections.

1. If the incumbent against whom a recall petition is directed does not resign from his office within ten days after notice of the filing of such petition shall have been given to him, the board having jurisdiction over elections in the City shall arrange a recall election. If a regular or special election is to be held not less than thirty days nor more than ninety days after the ten days have expired, the recall question shall be placed before the electors at such an election. Otherwise a special recall election shall be fixed for a date not earlier than thirty days nor later than ninety days after the ten days have expired. The incumbent against whom a recall petition is directed may resign at any time prior to the recall election and thereupon the election shall not be held.

2. The following question shall be presented to each elector in a recall election: – “Shall (name of officer) be recalled and removed from the office of (name of office)?” The above question shall appear as to every officer whose recall is to be voted upon and provision shall be made for the elector to vote “Yes” or “No” on the question.

3. If a majority of the registered electors who vote on the question at a recall election shall vote “Yes”, the incumbent shall be deemed recalled and removed from office, but if a majority of the registered electors shall vote “No”, he shall remain in office.

He gets ten days to get gone or get right with the voters. And if he loses the recall election (or resigns) he has to STAY GONE for two years.

If the Mayor doesn’t listen to his constituents, maybe his constituents should start talking about replacing him.

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