Mayor Must Resign Or Face Recall Vote

The Eagle city clerk informed Mayor Chuck Bower by certified letter on Saturday that he had five days to resign or face a May 27 recall election.

City Clerk Sharon Smith counted 948 legal signatures on petitions she received from recall organizers Tuesday. The total was 201 more than the minimum number required to force a recall vote.

Although the petitions included the names of 1,100 people, 152 of them either did not vote in the last city election or do not live within the city limits.

City Council members contend what they consider Bower’s confrontational management style has prompted a dozen city employees to resign during his first 13 months as mayor. That turnover has impaired the city’s ability to keep up with growth, they said.

But Bower disputes the claims, contending the council’s campaign to recall him is a culmination of more than a year’s worth of futile efforts to rein him in.

If the issue goes to a recall election, a simple majority vote will be required to oust Bower.