A local political activist filed a request today to recall the District’s mayor and the chair of the city council.
Frederick Butler cited “unethical behavior” in his letter to the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics as cause for seeking to hold a recall election to oust Mayor Vincent Gray, an alumnus, and D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown.
Gray and Brown received the paperwork today and have 10 days to file a response. To put a recall on the ballot, Butler would need to gather signatures from at least 10 percent of registered voters in the District – or more than 45,000 people – over the next 180 days.
Butler founded a website last June to lead recall efforts. The movement gained steam after Council member Harry Thomas Jr. resigned from his seat representing Ward 5 as he plead guilty to embezzling more than $350,000 in government funds and filing false tax returns.