Parkersburg Mayor recall
Officeholders
Bob Newell
Recall status
Did not go to a vote
See also
Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2011 Recalls in West Virginia West Virginia recall laws Mayoral recalls Recall reports

An effort torecall Bob Newell from his elected position asmayor of Parkersburg,West Virginia, was launched in January 2011.^[1] The recall effort did not result in a recall election.^[2]

Sandy Staats, president of the Parkersburg Tea Party, was a leader in the recall effort.^[1] Joe Backus was also involved in the recall campaign.^[2]

The reason behind the recall effort was Newell's vote to impose a $2.50-a-week user fee or per-head tax, on Parkersburg residents.^[3] Everyone who lives in Parkersburg must pay the fee.^[4] The user fee/tax was imposed by the city council in January 2011 on a 5-4 vote.^[3]

Path to the ballot

Signatures that equal 20% of the approximately 19,000 registered voters in Parkersburg, or about 3,790 signatures, would have needed to be submitted in order to force a special recall election.^[3]

There was a legal dispute about how many days are allowed to collect the signatures.^[5]

The recall attempt ultimately failed to force a recall election.^[2]

Footnotes