Recall power vetoed by commission
A charter amendment that would have given Taylor residents the ability to recall a City Council member was voted down 5-4 at Monday’s Charter Review Commission meeting.
According to Vice-chairman Gary Gola, Taylor is one of few area towns that does not have the power to remove an elected official once he or she has taken office.
“A recall is just another tool citizens can utilize if they find out someone they elected isn’t who they thought they would be,” Gola said May 4.
Mayor-elect Jim Buzan, who is on the commission, did not support giving recall powers to the public. The new mayor, who won his bid May 2, expressed concerns about the effect on economic development if the city was in the middle of a recall.
Buzan said Monday’s meeting would be his last, since he is being sworn in as mayor May 12.
After discussions, a majority of the commission members decided against including the recall measure.
The commission has two more meetings to finalize recommended amendments to the charter, which will then go before the council for a vote.
The approved amendments will then be decided by voters during the Nov. 3 general election.
Council members can also vote to add their own amendments to the charter.
Gola led a successful petition drive in 2024 to amend the charter to set council compensation.
This time, the recall amendment he proposed would have required signatures from 25% of registered voters on a petition to place the measure on a ballot. Next, for the recall to be successful, 60% of people voting would have to agree to the recall.
Attorney Charles Zech, who is providing legal counsel to the commission, said the recall provision would be one of the most restrictive he has seen.
Zech said Texas does not have a state law regarding recall of city officials, though the state does limit any recall petition effort to 180 days before signatures become invalid.
The attorney voiced agreement with board members concerned that a recall petition would be troublesome for the city.
“It’s always a disruption in the community. It always creates a bad taste and bad feelings. It just always does,” Zech said.
The two members of the public who spoke during the public comment session were also divided.
Pam Harper worried about who would run for office if they knew the public could recall them, a sentiment echoed by some on the board.
“Allowing recall is dangerous,” she said. “It will be a recipe for disaster. We will be a laughingstock.”
Laura Baker spoke in support of the recall power, saying it was a tool for accountability. She added she believed it would only be used in extreme conditions.
“Just because we elect someone doesn’t mean they’re going to be accountable,” Baker said.
Commission member Christine Lopez was against adding a recall provision to the City Charter, saying it would lead to people trying to remove elected officials due to political differences and could be abused.
She, too, feared that knowing they could be recalled would make some potential candidates decide not to run for office.
“Instead of bringing out the pitchforks...if they are not happy with their representatives, you vote them out,” Lopez said.
Commission Chairman John McDonald agreed the ability to vote out a representative should be the public’s only solution for dissatisfaction with an elected official.
“Elections have ramifications. If somebody elected the wrong person, then shame on them. The whole city shouldn’t have to pay that price,” McDonald said.
Commission members were also concerned about the public successfully petitioning to remove several council members at once, a situation that happened in Copperas Cove and left the city unable to function for a time because the council did not have a quorum.
Other issues cited included the cost of elections and the potential for opposing political parties to “weaponize” the recall process.
In addition, Taylor does not have an ethics ordinance allowing the council to vote out a sitting member for bad behavior. Without the ethics ordinance or a recall petition, Gola likened winning a seat on the dais to getting a three-year contract and being untouchable.
On a local level, calls for supporting a recall have quietly picked up speed.
Critics of the council’s actions to allow Blueprint Data Centers to operate in Taylor have floated socialmedia posts about other cities where council members were recalled for approving such projects.
The next Charter Review Commission meeting is 6 p.m. May 20 in the Taylor Public Library meeting room, 801 Vance St.
“It’s always a disruption in the community.”
— Attorney Charles Zech
