The Arizona Supreme Court has upheld the decision of a lower court to stop the recall election of District 7 Councilman Michael Nowakowski.
“I thank God for his blessings and am grateful for the continued ability to serve the residents of District 7,” Nowakowski wrote in a statement. “In the spirit of ‘Team Phoenix,’ I invite those who were working on the recall effort to meet so we can begin to work together to find ways to make Phoenix and particularly District 7 an even better place to live and have a business.”
The Court ruled the Urban Phoenix PAC, the organization leading the recall effort, did not follow technical requirements while gathering signatures. These technical requirements included attaching official city documents to each petition sheet circulated alongside a serial number and time-and-date stamp.
Nowakowski’s sister Rosa Maria Morales spearheaded the lawsuit earlier in January, but Nowakowski said he was not involved.
In a community discussion forum on Facebook, Sean Sweat, the president of the PAC, only responded to the news of the court’s decision with, “I’m sorry, everyone.”
Former state lawmaker Mark Cardenas, the first declared challenger for the canceled recall election, must now wait for his chance at the council seat. Cardenas’ campaign manager Ellie Perez explained before the most recent court decision that Cardenas will still run for the open seat after Nowakowski’s term expires in 2020.
“Mark is going to be running for City Council District 7,” Perez explained. “If anything, it gives us more time to build support and to explain why Mark is the best candidate.”
The recall effort began in the summer of 2018 led by the PAC, which prioritizes what they call an “urbanist” agenda. That December, the PAC submitted 2,361 signatures to City Hall in order for the measure be added to the ballot in 2019, exceeding the roughly 1,300 signatures needed. These signatures were approved by the city.
The recall effort was based on a number of grievances the PAC had with Nowakowski.
“Some council members have failed to uphold not just the most basic urban principles, but even ethical principles,” Sean Sweat, chair of the Urban Phoenix Project PAC, said at the time. “He deserves to be removed.”
The PAC claimed the councilman neglected his duties to his constituents, citing the appointment of the councilman’s former chief of staff as an interim city council member for District 8 and controversial anti-LGBT comments Nowakowski made in 2016.
Recap all of the reasons behind the recall below:
[timeline src=”https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nO4nVac6gqvqrk_0tY0ylMo1tSM65KexTRSxDtRt66s/edit?usp=sharing” width=”120%” height=”750″ font=”Default” lang=”en” version=”timeline3″ ]
Contact the reporter at Rebecca.Spiess@asu.edu.
