Chattanooga City Councilman Manny Rico on Tuesday sent an open letter blasting efforts to recall him and telling voters he will run for re-election if he is recalled.
The group Chattanooga Organized for Action has for weeks been trying to recall Rico, Councilman Jack Benson and Mayor Ron Littlefield. The group, along with Citizens to Recall Mayor Littlefield and the Chattanooga Tea Party, have been working on a recall effort for Littlefield.
Rico said many of the people trying to recall him do not live in his district, District 7, or the city.
“The residents of District 7 have spoken loud and clear,” Rico wrote. “They will not be bullied into signing petitions under false pretenses and chased about their neighborhoods by Georgia residents and teenagers hired to walk aimlessly around town searching for those who will believe their misleading facts.
“I will not shy away from the lies, and superficial near-supremacist actions of this small, volatile minority of citizens who seek to impose their views on the masses by widespread assimilation of illegitimate facts and lies.”
By law, any official recalled from office can run in the special election to fill the seat. Last week, Rico said he would not run for re-election if recalled but he changed his mind.
“I have experienced a tremendous ground swell of support from personal visits and phone calls to emails, cards, and letters,” he wrote in the letter
For complete details, see tomorrow’s Times Free Press.