One of the reason elections are conducted is to hold political leaders accountable.
If the electorate doesn’t like the job a representative is doing, the politician can be replaced at the ballot box.
But what if you’re between terms and you don’t agree with what a leader is doing?
That is when a recall election can be called — provided your political subdivision allows them.
Naturally, incumbents are often leery of approving passage of any measure calling for them to be kicked out of office before their term expires.
Taylor is seeing such a situation now. A review commission that recently evaluated the City Charter presented seven suggested updates to the Taylor City Council.
Commission members urged the council to place them on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
A suggestion that didn’t make the list would create a mechanism for a public petition to recall council members. According to original reporting in the Taylor Press, commission Vice Chairman Gary Gola’s suggestion failed by one vote, though a commission member “later said he misunderstood the action and would have supported it.”
“The issue of recall is so fundamental to public trust and voter confidence that it warrants consideration,” Gola told council members.
According to data from the Texas Municipal League, 93% of Texas homerule cities have recall provisions in their charters.
“Taylor is not being asked to consider (doing) something unusual or radical. We’re being asked to consider a tool that has become standard practice,” Gola told the members on the dais. “A recall provision is not about personalities. It is a safeguard that recognizes public office as a public trust.”
The council — whether during this election cycle or one in the future — should consider adding the power of recall to the rights of voters.
Some of the drive for a recall stems from public anger over the city’s support of the Blueprint Projects Data Center, a billion-dollar initiative on South Side land neighbors argue was intended for a park.
In various social-media posts, critics of the project have posted accounts from other cities where elections were overturned after council members supported such projects.
This post is not to advocate for or against a data center. On the other hand, giving voters the right to petition for a recall election should be a measure the council supports.
This seems quite appropriate, especially during the year when America celebrates an anniversary that allowed the people to have a greater voice in their government.
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