Some residents in Harrison, AR, many of whom voted for Mayor Jeff Crockett just 18 months ago, are now signing a petition asking for a recall. They're asking for their vote back.
The people behind the petition say they've lost confidence in their mayor: he won't listen, he doesn't care, and they don't trust him.
The mayor says he's done everything he promised he would, including help end the county's liquor ban.
Rick Schoenberger is one of the leaders of the recall effort, handing out the petition when customers visit his furniture store. Schoenberger says he hears complaints all the time that people are afraid to question anything Crockett does because of his connections outside City Hall. He says the mayor is either someone's landlord or knows their landlord.
The recall discussion isn't something new, we reported Tea Party concerns with Crockett back in November, but the petition is new, and Schoenberger credits the mayor with the idea.
After all, he says, it was the mayor's petition that drew support to turn the county wet.
"If [Mayor] Jeff [Crockett]'s so secure that he'll pass with flying colors, I invite him to sign the petition and let the people make a decision if they want to deal with him for another two years and two months," Schoenberger told KSPR News. "It's not just what I'm saying, it's what the people have been telling me. I'm just the one who stepped forward to put the petition out there."
Schoenberger and others supporting the mayor's recall are holding a meeting Saturday for the public to read over the petition and share their thoughts.
It's a 7:00 p.m. at Harrison's Quality Inn Convention Center on Highway 62/65.
We met with Mayor Crockett and went through each complaint with him. Crockett says his record speaks for itself, and it's usually only the small few who complain.
"There's always a handfull a little more vocal than the other," Crockett quipped. "That always happens, and usually the majority is a little more silent for the most part."
Schoenberger says he has almost 400 signatures on the recall petition.
He'll need more than 2,000 for it to get a place on the November ballot.
