City charter provides for recall of mayor

At least 5,000 valid signatures are needed to recall the mayor.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- It turns out that city Democrats who want to kick George M. McKelvey out of the mayor's office because he crossed party lines to endorse President Bush can do just that.
But it's not going to be easy.
The city charter includes a mechanism for recalling the mayor, said John McNally IV, city law director.
At a press conference last week to blast McKelvey for his Bush endorsement, Lisa Antonini, Mahoning Democratic chairwoman, said there was no provision in the city charter to recall a mayor.
She mentioned that after saying that, she received numerous calls from city residents about recalling McKelvey.
It turns out Antonini was incorrect. "I was unaware of a provision for a mayor recall," she said Monday.
Rules under charter
The charter states recall petitions must include the valid signatures of at least 5,000 registered voters in the city.
For the recall to be placed on the ballot, the petitions must be submitted to the city clerk of council to verify the validity of the signatures, McNally said. Then the petitions have to be turned over to the Mahoning County Board of Elections for that body to also check the validity of the signatures, he said.
The signatures must be verified and the recall certified no later than 60 days before a general or primary election. That means at least 5,000 signatures must be collected and verified by Friday, which is 60 days before the Nov. 2 general election.
Not likely to happen
While getting 5,000 signatures by Friday is probably out of the question, it would be nearly impossible for the council clerk to validate the names in that short time frame, McNally said.
"The office would have to review them, and that's not a quick process," he said. "It's a longshot at best to get it done by that time."
Those wishing to recall McKelvey would have more time if they opted for the May 2005 primary, McNally said. If residents choose to recall McKelvey in May, he would be out of office after the elections board certified the results, which usually takes about two weeks. His term expires at the end of the year, and he cannot run for re-election because of the city's term limits law.
Antonini said she received about a dozen phone calls asking to recall McKelvey. Most of the calls came from people she didn't know.
Antonini said she wouldn't lead the charge to oust McKelvey.
"We are treating George McKelvey as a nonentity in our community and our party," she said. "I believe we should just proceed and not give George any due. But if a lot of people want to do it, I wouldn't discourage anyone from doing it. I wouldn't stand in their way."
The city charter requires the council clerk to provide the proper forms for recall. A Monday check by The Vindicator to the clerk's office showed that it didn't have specific mayoral recall forms. A clerk employee said a referendum or a initiative petition could be used.
McKelvey couldn't be reached to comment. He was on a family vacation to the Caribbean on Monday, and then flying to attend the Republican National Convention today in New York City.
skolnick@vindy.com