Recall: The Biggest Empty Threat

Every once in a while people that don't like the outcome of and election decide that they want to do a recall.

And I laugh every single time.

Why?

Because if these people were any good at winning elections, they wouldn't be pissed about the outcome of an election in the first place.

There is currently an effort to recall Mayor Dee Margo and a bunch of members of council. Its going to fail just like the last effort to recall Margo and all the other efforts to recall members of council in the past.

The only difference between this effort and the previous effort to recall Margo is that the previous effort at least started off strong. This one - which most of you reading this didn't even know was happening - started off weak and is going to end up not even being in the neighborhood of collecting enough signatures.

If you can't even collect that incredibly small number of signatures, you have no hope of actually winning a recall.

And guess what? Now you recall people are REALLY screwed because the way they determine the number of signatures necessary to force is recall is based on turnout from the previous election. Well now the municipal election are on a general election schedule. So if you fools couldn't collect the required signatures when it was the dismal turnout from May elections there's just no way its going to be done with the November turnout numbers.

Go check my homework if you don't believe me.

There simply just isn't the desire among the electorate to remove any of them from office. Seriously people, think it through. Its hard enough to get voters to care enough to show up to vote, you think you're going to get them to vote for an election that is going to cost them money and vote someone new into office?

But the gathering signatures part, frankly that part should be really easy if you know what you're doing. The reality is you are just trying to get people to sign a petition. You're not trying to get them out of their house and into a voting booth on a particular day or within a particular time period. You're just trying to get them to sign something. So the fact that recalls consistently fail is because they are almost always done for the wrong reasons.

Voters know that and that is why they just never gather enough signatures.

Recalls should be used for only the most egregious situations. You know, like a Gandara.

That was also the last time a recall was successful.

But people use them as some sort of threat to office holders. Vote this way or we'll recall you. Do this or we will take our petitions for a recall.

I really wish an elected would look those people in the face and reply, I fucking dare you to. 

Not only do they not work, but the premise is pretty arrogant when you think about it. You don't like how the game is going so you just decide to try to flip the board in the middle of the game?

Like I said, if you had the support of the electorate, you wouldn't be needing a recall.

The current effort is really about trying to get rid of the city manager. It is also meant to help someone's future (and futile) congressional bid. It won't, but that is what it is meant to do.

First, the voters - the people of El Paso - VOTED for a city manager.

Do I have criticisms of the current City Manager? Absolutely and I've written about them at length. I've been a vocal critic of his performance and pay.

But throwing out the baby with the bathwater, in this case completely getting rid of a the city manager form of government just because you don't like this particular city manager, is just fiscally irresponsible.

A lot of people don't like the superintendent of EPISD. That doesn't mean you eliminate the position. If you don't like the city manager, then when there is an election you vote out the people that support him. Guess what. We just had an election. They people spoke. They overwhelmingly re-elected the people that support him on council.

That ladies and gentlemen is called the will of the people. There have been several elections since City Manager Tommy Gonzalez was hired. If the people wanted him gone, they would've voted out the people that support him. They haven't.

Same deal for any administrator charged with executing policy for an elected body. Don't like the County Administrator? Vote out the commissioners that support the office. Don't like the Super at YISD, SISD, Canutillo ISD, or any of the other ISD's? Vote out the trustees that support them.

That is the process we have.

But not having a city manager is a really bad thing and that is why voters wanted to get away from a strong mayor form of government. Not having a city manager means there is no one individual in charge of getting the day-to-day activities of a political subdivision done. Someone has to make the trains run on time, and under the old system department heads answered to city council representatives. That means they do stuff for reps they like or fear and not for the other reps. Thats really bad government. It means that every decision, down to the most mundane, ends up being politicized.

Best case scenario is you end up with bad and inefficient government, worst case scenario is you end up with outright corruption.

Like I said, it is going to go down in flames and be a total flop - but the motive behind the recall is bad government and fiscally irresponsible.