Ann Kitchen recall, Austin, Texas (2016)
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An effort in Austin, Texas, to recall City Councilmember Ann Kitchen from her position was initiated in January 2016. A group called Austin4All began circulating petitions for signature in the last week of January 2016. Petitioners submitted approximately 5,300 signatures to the city clerk on February 19, 2016.[1][2][3] The effort did not go to a vote because the city clerk rejected signatures on March 4, 2016, due to a lack of notary stamps for each page of the petition.[4]
Recall supporters
The petition seeking Kitchen's removal from the city council cited her efforts to regulate ride-sharing companies like Lyft and Uber. Kitchen advocated for the use of additional background checks on drivers working for these companies. The Austin Chronicle pointed to $4,000 in campaign contributions to Kitchen from Lone Star Cab during her 2014 campaign in an article about the recall effort.[1]
KVUE received the following statement from Austin4All:
| “ |
There have been accusations of secrecy on our part, however, we have not shied away from who we are and what we stand for. Councilmember Ann Kitchen clearly does not represent the majority of Austinites’ view that open access to ridesharing improves the quality of life for all Austinites, including riders and drivers, and the overwhelming success of our petition reflects that. But Austin4All is about more than just ridesharing; we’re interested in taking political action whenever necessary to bring pro-growth, pro-innovation, & pro-technology leaders and policies to Austin. The end goal is a more prosperous and innovative city. We need to celebrate what it is that makes Austin special- not regulate it out of existence. [5] |
” |
| —Austin4All (2016), [6] | ||
Recall opponents
Mayor Steve Adler and city councilmembers Gregorio Casar and Leslie Pool defended Kitchen's record after the recall effort was initiated. Adler made the following statement published by KVUE:
| “ |
To have a recall effort started because some people don't like views or opinions that a particular council member is expressing is absolutely the wrong reason to have a recall. [5] |
” |
| —Steve Adler, [6] | ||
On February 5, 2016, attorney Fred Lewis filed a complaint with city elections officials over Austin4All's failure to register as a political action committee (PAC). Lewis argued in the complaint that the group spent an estimated $10,000 on the recall effort, exceeding the $500 threshold for required filing. The group responded to the filing by noting that they filed necessary documents with the city.[7]
Response by Ann Kitchen
Kitchen issued the following response to the recall in the Austin American-Statesman:
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Of course the voters always have the right to petition...But this strikes me at this point as an effort by a corporation to recall a council member who is just trying to do her job, to protect the women and the public in general from being assaulted. [5] |
” |
| —Ann Kitchen (2016), [8] | ||
Representatives for Lyft and Uber denied any involvement in the effort when asked by the Austin American-Statesman.[8]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Texas
Recall supporters had to submit signatures equaling 10 percent of the registered voters in Austin's District 5. As the recall started, approximately 48,000 registered voters lived in the district. The minimum number of valid signatures to force a recall was 4,800. The city clerk needed to validate signatures before a recall election was scheduled.[1]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Ann Kitchen recall Austin. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Austin Chronicle, "News Roundup: Police Firings, Uber Conspirings," January 25, 2016
- ↑ KVUE, "Petition to recall city council member Ann Kitchen has been filed," February 19, 2016
- ↑ Austin Monitor, "Reporter’s Notebook: Drive crashes," February 15, 2016
- ↑ Austin Statesman, "Austin clerk rejects petition to recall Council Member Ann Kitchen," March 4, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 KVUE, "Council defends Ann Kitchen as recall effort moves forward," February 1, 2016
- ↑ KVUE, "Ethics complaint filed against PAC calling for Kitchen recall," February 5, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Austin American-Statesman, "Who’s trying to recall Austin City Council Member Ann Kitchen?" January 22, 2016
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