KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Protesters rallied Wednesday, calling for the recall of Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas.
They’ve filed the necessary paperwork with the city clerk and are now hoping to gather the necessary 10,000 signatures that, if certified, could lead to a recall vote.
The group is particularly critical of Lucas’ handling of the COVID-19 handling and the protests over police brutality.
The group, most of whom were not wearing masks, said the mask mandate hurts businesses.
“I talk to a lot of small businesses, and they are just not happy with what’s going on,” said Billy Ballard who supports the recall. “They don’t want to be policing their own customers. They don’t get paid for it.”
They also argue the mayor shouldn’t have walked with protesters at the Plaza after the police shooting of George Floyd or allowed city leaders to drop municipal charges.
“We don’t want BLM to be able to destroy things. We don’t want it being rewarded,” Ballard said. “This is not a racist thing. This is a thing to do with the law.”
The petition needs all its signatures within 30 days the paperwork was filed. If the signatures are certified, the mayor would have five days to resign, according to the city charter. If Lucas chose not to resign, it would fall on the city council to call for a recall election, according to the city charter.
The decision would then be left up to voters. If most voters are in favor of the recall, Lucas would be removed from office.
When asked for a comment on the recall effort, a spokesperson for the mayor said he won’t be distracted by divisive anti-mask, partisan politics.
