The group trying to recall oversized novelty Mayor Mark Funkhouser announced today that they won't seek a lawsuit to force a recount of the recall petition signatures.
Here's a snip from spokesman Harris Wilder:
The simple fact is that the committee of the petitioners could notUpdated (4:09 p.m., Monday, June 15): Mayor Funkhouser is happy the recall is over. Here's his statement:raise the $10,000 necessary to pay for a lawsuit. While the petition
drive was truly a "revolt of the regular folks," based on sincere
outrage over the Mayor's consistent misconduct, it was accomplished
with very little money. The political, business and civic
establishment, who in private speak so negatively about this mayor,
were unwilling to help out. Now the City and its people will continue
to pay the steep price for the establishment's apathy and abrogation of
leadership.
We are pleased to have this behind us. I want to thank the City Clerk and the various election boards for doing an incredible job in a very difficult situation. These professionals should make our citizens proud.
To the many, many people who have called and e-mailed with words of support, my sincere thanks. Your kindness has been overwhelming and has helped us stay focused on the task at hand.
To those residents who signed the petition, I reiterate that I will do everything in my power to earn your trust. Our city has many hard tasks ahead, and we will tackle them head on so that the citizens of Kansas City are the ultimate winners.
Read the full news release from the pro-recall group after the jump.
Committee to Recall Mark Funkhouser Announces End of Effort to Secure Recount of Petition Signatures
The
Committee to Recall Mark Funkhouser announced this afternoon that it is
formally ending its effort to obtain a recount in the recent Petition
drive to Recall Mark Funkhouser.
Harris Wilder, spokesman for the pro-Recall group said,
"While we are very confident that there were sufficient errors in the
fist count of the petitions and that we would easily prevail in Court,
we have decided not to pursue a lawsuit to force a recount of the
recall petitions. Unfortunately, we must face the reality that the
Committee simply doesn't have the financial resources to fund the type
of legal action required to secure a fair and just recount.
We
are deeply disappointed that a majority of the city council has chosen
not to support the 17,000 people of Kansas City that signed up for a
change in direction in our obviously dysfunctional city government.
The
simple fact is that the committee of the petitioners could not raise
the $10,000 necessary to pay for a lawsuit. While the petition drive
was truly a "revolt of the regular folks," based on sincere outrage
over the Mayor's consistent misconduct, it was accomplished with very
little money. The political, business and civic establishment, who in
private speak so negatively about this mayor, were unwilling to help
out. Now the City and its people will continue to pay the steep price
for the establishment's apathy and abrogation of leadership.
The
reality is this: not only would the Committee have to fight the power
of city government in a lawsuit, it was anticipated that the Mayor
would once again receive the help from a free pro bono attorney as he
has in other legal actions he has taken against the people of Kansas
City. This means that the request for a recount might be tied up in
court for months and, even after getting a favorable outcome, the
election to replace this mayor could be as late next spring. At that
point the regular 2011 election would be less than one year away. We
have done all we can do. It will be up to the Voters who are so
dissatisfied with Mark Funkhouser to replace him whenever that
opportunity now comes."
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