Recall fever infects District - Washington Blade: Gay and Lesbian News, Entertainment, Politics and Opinion

NOVEMBER 22, 2009


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D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams

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Recall process
Under the city’s election law, backers of a citywide recall must obtain valid signatures of 10 percent of the city’s registered voters within a period of 180 days after the board approves and releases petitions for the recall. Election board officials have said 10 percent of the electorate represents more than 34,310 voters.

If recall backers succeed in obtaining the required signatures, the board would schedule an election for Nov. 2, which would be limited to the question of whether or not Williams should be recalled.

If voters approve the recall, Williams would be forced out of office immediately and D.C. Council Chair Linda Cropp (D-At-Large) would become acting mayor until another election is held in February or March of 2005 to choose a new mayor.

Williams would be eligible to run in the election.

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Recall fever infects District
Critics initiate petitions to remove mayor, gay Council membe

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Jan 30, 2004 | By: LOU CHIBBARO JR. | COMMENTS

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D.C. gay Democrats. He called the recall effort against Williams “totally unwarranted” and said he expects the club would entertain proposals to formally oppose it at its February meeting.

Kurt Vorndran, a former Stein Club president, said gay Democrats met informally this week to begin organizing a group of gays against the recall. Vorndran said the group would likely campaign on the mayor’s behalf if recall backers succeed in placing a recall on the November ballot.

“Among other things, we will be urging people not to sign the recall petitions,” Vorndran said.

Bob Summersgill, former president of the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance, said GLAA would take “no position” on the recall. Veteran D.C. gay activist Frank Kameny, an active member of both GLAA and the Stein Club, said he strongly opposes a mayoral recall and would urge gays not to take part in such an endeavor.

“I feel these efforts are extremely destructive,” Kameny said.

D.C. gay Republican activist Carl Schmid said he sees no support for a recall of Williams among local gay Republicans or the city’s Log Cabin Republicans group. According to Schmid, the D.C. Republican Committee, which backed Republican D.C. Council member Carol Schwartz in her race against Williams in the 2002 election, also has no plans to support a recall.

A separate recall effort targeting gay Council membertrong> Jim Graham is not expected to succeed, officials said.

Schwartz told Fox 5 News last week that she opposes a recall, saying Williams beat her “fair and square” in separate elections in 2002 and 1998.

Gay Democratic activist Phil Pannell, the former chair of the Ward 8 Democratic Committee and member of the D.C. Coalition of Black Gays & Lesbians, said he sees little support for a mayoral recall among most politically active African-American gays. However, Pannell said some black gays would likely join their heterosexual counterparts in backing the recall in Ward 8, where Pannell said “recall fever is running very high.”

Pannell has been a critic of Williams in the past and recently spoke out against the mayor’s support for the Salvation Army, which has pushed anti-gay policies for a proposed faith-based initiative by the Bush administration. Although he is sometimes at odds with Williams on various policy issues, Pannell said political differences should be addressed in regularly scheduled elections rather than through a recall.

Cornelius Baker, executive director<

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