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Steve Blair recall, Prescott, Arizona (2010)
Background
The effort to recall Blair was motivated by remarks that Blair made about a mural painted on the exterior walls of Miller Valley Elementary School in Prescott. Among other subjects, the mural depicts an African-American. The mural was painted on the school to promote environmentally-conscious methods of transportation.[3]
In addition to serving on the Prescott city council, Blair hosted a talk show on KCYA AM 1490. He was fired from the show on June 4 for the comments he made about the mural. On his show, Blair said that the mural was "pathetic" and questioned why the mural included a depiction of "a black guy." He also said, "I disagree with the whole perspective that you would have a black guy painted on two sides of that building when the history of Prescott never had a culture issue."[4]
Former Prescott mayor Jack Wilson told the press that if Blair did not resign his seat on the city council within a week, he would initiate formal recall proceedings.[1]
Path to the ballot
Barbara Braswell filed the initial recall paperwork. Some 250 signatures were collected on the initial recall petition during the week of June 7, before it was discovered that the recall committee had not filled out all its paperwork correctly. As a result, the recall committee is tossing those 250 signatures and re-starting the clock on the recall signature collection effort after filing additional paperwork.[5]
Over 2,800 signatures would have been required to force a recall vote. In August 2010, it was not clear whether efforts to gather the signatures were on target.[6] Recall organizers did not end up submitting enough signatures to force a recall election. [2]
See also
- Recall campaigns in Arizona
- Political recall efforts, 2010
- Laws governing recall in Arizona
- City council recalls
External links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Arizona Family, "Steve Blair won't resign after comments about mural", June 8, 2010
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 PrescottNews.com, "Genuine Compliments to Former Mayor Jack Wilson ", January 14, 2011
- ↑ Arizona Family, "Hundreds protest school officials' decision to alter mural of kids in Prescott", June 5, 2010
- ↑ Arizona Family, "Prescott city council member fired from radio show over comments about mural", June 4, 2010
- ↑ Prescott Daily Courier, "Blair recall effort restarts this week", June 17, 2010
- ↑ Prescott News, "Efforts Continue on the Recall Steve Blair Campaign", August 16, 2010