UPDATE! (August 4): The petition was filed on July 25. We are awaiting the City Secretary's decision on whether the petition is certified or not for the ballot. We'll let you know as soon as we hear something. (Note: It is too late for you to remove your signature. As indicated below, you had to do that before the petition was filed. If you did file to remove your signature, please call us at 512.697.8809 or email us at info@indytexasn.org. Thank you!)
NOTICE! Petition signers have the right, under Texas law, to remove their signatures from the petition to recall Bastrop Mayor Lyle Nelson before petitions are filed.
IF YOU WISH TO REMOVE YOUR SIGNATURE FROM THE RECALL PETITION:
STEP ONE: Use THIS FORM.
STEP TWO: Take it to City Hall AND ask them to time stamp it and make a copy for you.
STEP THREE: Let us know you have done this. We're tracking removals to watchdog this process.
SAVE THE DATE for the evening of August 8th for an open government pow-wow. Thank y'all. Linda Curtis, Independent Texans PAC
FULL ARTICLE:
Over 40 years of petition drives involving approximately 1 million signatures, I have petitioned to recall only two officials. One was an Austin mayor who supported placing tolls on roads already paid for. We caused such a fuss, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison passed legislation to end tolls on previously funded roads. The other petition was here in Bastrop. A former Mayor tried to officiate meetings while under the influence of alcohol. He got the message and no recall election was held.
The recall Bastrop Mayor Lyle Nelson petition is NOT based on any principle for taxpayers and voters, like those mentioned above. Quite the contrary.
In my humble opinion, this recall petition is a deceitful witch hunt conducted by at least two sitting City Council Members – John Kirkland and Kevin Plunkett – to override the City Council itself with a three-person voting block. This block is, from time to time, joined by Council Member Cynthia Meyer. It's clear to me they serve a small cabal of interests who just lost on the Gateway Project behind Buc’cees and lost their man on City Council, Jimmy Crouch.
Just today, I received this Advocacy Alert circulating around town by Councilwoman Kerry Fossler, with a transcript from the July 9th City Council Meeting. Fossler documents her claim that:
"3 out of 5 Council Members are currently discussing city business outside of meetings.”
Here’s why signers might consider removing
their signatures before the petition is filed.
Read the language on their “removal” petition. Besides the small-town gossip, it uses only innuendo that there was misuse of public funds. But after spending over $144,000 on audits, investigations and attorney fees, there was no evidence found of ANY misuse of funds by ANYONE. To boot, the petition did not alert signers of the petition that the petition could result in an election that could cost the small City of Bastrop $25,000:
The Bastrop Board of Ethics has unanimously determined that Mayor Lyle Nelson has violated Bastrop’s Ethics Ordinance for Abuse of Position, Interference and been formally reprimanded for interfering in an investigation into misuse of public funds by his girlfriend. The demonstrated lying and other interference have violated the public trust. The undersigned demand the removal of Mayor Lyle Nelson.
Truth is, Recalling the Recallers of Lyle Nelson is important for open government.
Lyle Nelson had an affair and was unwilling to talk about it because he thought it was his and his family’s business. I happen to agree. He has apologized to the Bastrop community, including the City Council, twice in public. His lovely wife, Jennifer, is standing by him.
Lyle has repeatedly rejected involvement in any misuse whatsoever of any public funds. And guess what? Should we repeat -- ad nauseam -- there is NO evidence or any finding of ANY misuse of public funds by ANYONE after nearly a year of these unfounded allegations!
Meanwhile, Kirkland and Plunkett are out knocking on doors, even city employees’ doors, in their quest to deride, humiliate, and strip the Mayor of his already limited authority.
What's this recall petition really about? It's about three out of five members of the City Council running the city themselves, out of the public eye.
Here’s what you can do:
Come to the City Council meeting this Tuesday at 6:30 at Bastrop City Hall to show your support for open government. Read this recent LIV News article about the Open Government Amendment to the Bastrop City Charter that we -- and many others -- are urging be placed on the November ballot for a public vote.
We can provide you with copies of an affidavit to share with folks who may wish to remove their signature from the recall petition. It will be posted here shortly. We'll bring copies on Tuesday night.
Save the date for the evening of August 8th to attend a meeting with Lyle, his friends, and a very special surprise speaker to learn why open government is so important for good government.
Important information will be released at an August 8th event that has yet to be made public.
Addendum:
This blog post in April about this recall went viral: Bastrop recall, mob rule or Keystone cops? Crouch spills beans on NextDoor.
Don't miss this LIV news post from last week about open government because this really is at the core of this dispute: Don't BOG Transparency Down Bastrop!
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