City Attorney Mike McMahanBY THE NUMBERS50: Percentage of voters in last mayoral election needed to spur a mayoral recall election under the City Charter15: Percentage of “registered voters” needed to force a recall election under state law
Chattanooga City Attorney Mike McMahan said this week he would like for the city to change its charter to match state law on recall elections.
“I think the best thing would be to follow the state law like everyone else,” he said.
The City Council is set to start discussing such a change in the upcoming weeks, after years of court battles by groups trying to oust Mayor Ron Littlefield.
But Jim Folkner, leader of Citizens to Recall Mayor Littlefield, said he thinks it would be premature to change the City Charter now. His group is awaiting a state Appeals Court decision on whether state law or the City Charter should control how many voter signatures it would take to trigger a recall. No hearing has been scheduled.