James Watts and Jane Long recall, Rockwood, Tennessee (2011)

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Rockwood Board recall
Officeholders
James Watts Jane Long
Recall status
Did not go to a vote
See also
Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2011 Recalls in Tennessee Tennessee recall laws City official recalls Recall reports

An effort to recall James Watts and Jane Long from their elected positions in Rockwood, Tennessee was abandoned in December 2011. The effort was launched in September 2011. Watts serves as mayor of Rockwood and Long serves on the city council.

Reasons for recall

Recall organizer Stephen Rose accused Watts and Long of having counter-productive zoning policies. He said, "They refused to allow a company to come in here and put jobs in the marketplace in Rockwood." In August, the city council voted to reject a rezoning request from an Illinois company that wanted to build its headquarters in Rockwood. The recall petition accused the recall targets of "malfeasance and general failure in duties," as well as failure to "provide proper oversight, guidance and leadership to the city and its departments and employees." Rockwood Vice Mayor Peggy Evans was a supporter of the recall effort.

Path to the ballot

Rose submitted his petition to the Roane County Election Commission in September. 478 signatures, representing 15% of Rockwood's 3,184 registered voters, would have been needed to force a recall election. The signature deadline was December 31st, 2011. If enough signatures would have been gathered, a recall election would have taken place on August 2nd, 2012.

In late December 2011, recall John Evans announced that the recall effort was being abandoned, saying "We're just not getting the response that we anticipated or hoped for."

See also

• Recall campaigns in Tennessee
• Political recall efforts, 2011
• Laws governing recall in Tennessee