Apologia

In my last post, I said a possible recall would require 5,000 some registered voters' signatures on a limited time petition, a bar making a recall realistically impossible. Upon further reading, I was relying on the standard used in the liquor sales election, but that was a county, not city item.

Under Charter Section 48, it would require 30% of actual voters in the last election for the office in question rather than 10% of registered voters, or roughly, closer to 2,500-3,000 in a typical city-wide race to petition for an official's recall, and that is just step one. I stand by the position that this is nearly impossible in the 60 day time allowed. Still, I am embarrassed to admit I overlooked a significant item. Ordinances and resolutions are treated differently in Charter than are office-holders.

There is a good reason for that, "impeachment" or its equivalent of any elected official should be reserved for truly egregious offenses. Many years ago, Jack Cowan did his best to convince me such a course of action was foolish, but I was foolish, he was right, and I accomplished nothing save making myself look silly.

One thing I learned from that episode (Hemphill-Wells purchase): make my corrections and retractions at least as publically as I made the original assertion, and do it as quickly as the error is discovered.

I hold that nothing in this error changes the genuine reasons we need to change our method of selecting our Chief, but I cannot in good conscience call Councilman Morrison on a misapprehension of details without admitting my own. Mea culpa.