Recall Election Of Plano Councilman Cancelled
PLANO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Tom Harrison, the Plano City Councilman who was facing a recall election after sharing an anti-Islamic post on his Facebook page, will get to stay on the council.
The City of Plano said a petition effort did not have enough signatures to force the recall election of the District 7 council member, after announcing in April it did have enough valid signatures and the recall election would happen in November.
State District Judge Mark Rusch ruled Tuesday the number of signatures on petitions calling for the recall are not enough.
The city explained in a news release, "At the center of the hearing were two different versions of the Plano City Charter, approved by the council in 1961. In July, the City discovered the existence of two original and slightly different charters each marked with the official City seal. One charter called for the signatures of 30% of those who voted in the "last" City election. A second version of the same document did not contain the word "last." When the petition was certified, the city secretary based the 30% total on the number of people who voted in the 2015 election when Harrison was elected.
After hearing evidence presented by attorneys from the City and Harrison, Judge Rusch said he is convinced the original charter did contain the word "last." That means the petitions did not have the appropriate number needed for a recall election."
The City went to Rusch's court requesting a decision to resolve the dispute between the two versions of the charter.