The movement to recall Greensboro City Councilwoman Dianne Bellamy-Small is moving ahead of schedule, a spokesman for the group heading the effort says.
Jonathan Wagstaff, spokesman for the Recall Small campaign, said the group has collected more than 800 signatures on a petition calling for an election that would allow District 1 voters to decide whether Bellamy-Small should continue to serve on the City Council.
The recall petition is now with the Guilford County Board of Elections, which should finish verifying the signatures as early as this week, Director George Gilbert said.
Bellamy-Small, who has a turbulent relationship with local media, did not return phone calls seeking comment. She has been at the center of controversy in Greensboro politics for quite some time. Many think Bellamy-Small leaked a confidential city report investigating former Police Chief David Wray after a forensics expert identified the leaked copy as “consistent” with Bellamy-Small’s copy.
In January, she ruffled the feathers of fellow City Council members when she demanded the corner council office, refusing to draw lots. In February, the News & Record of Greensboro reported that Bellamy-Small allegedly intimidated a police officer who pulled her over for speeding by threatening to take the matter up with Police Chief Tim Bellamy.
Once signatures are verified by the Board of Elections, the petition will return to Greensboro, where the city clerk will present it to the council after further certification. Once a recall election is set, the process will have to be reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice, which would take at least 60 days.
Timing is crucial, however. State law prevents any referendum from being conducted 30 days before or 30 days after a scheduled election, Gilbert said. City Council elections are scheduled for Nov. 6, and a primary is set for Oct. 9. So the latest date a recall vote could be conducted is Sept. 4, which is the day after Labor Day.
Wagstaff said he’s pleased with the work of city and county officials and is confident the process will continue to move quickly. He said he thinks a recall election could possibly take place in three months.
“They’re moving along quicker than they’ve needed to,” Wagstaff said.
Fellow Greensboro City Council members have been relatively silent on Bellamy-Small’s behavior. The exception has been at-large representative Florence Gatten, who called for Bellamy-Small’s resignation at a press conference in February.
“Why do we have this rogue City Council member? Why do we have someone that is obviously spinning out of control?” Gatten asked.
Bellamy-Small’s alleged transgressions certainly are reason enough for a recall, Wagstaff said. But for him, the main reason is Bellamy-Small’s lack of constituent service. Wagstaff does not live in Bellamy-Small’s district, but owns a business there. He said he talks to her constituents every day and Bellamy-Small’s unresponsiveness is a major issue.
“I deal with hundreds of her constituents on a daily basis. I have a unique opportunity to talk with them about what’s good in their lives and bad in their lives, and when the subject comes up, you find that she is very unresponsive to their needs. She’s not doing any thing for them,” Wagstaff said.
So why not just campaign against her for the upcoming election?
“It’s a statement from people in her district,” Wagstaff said. “We realize the timing is not practical. However, the people of the district have the right to speak out throughout the whole term. They have the right to remove you at any time, not just every two years or four years. This is just a tool for the people to use for their voice to be heard, and it sends a statement to all the other local officials that this could happen to you if you’re unresponsive to your constituents.”
Should the recall effort fail, Wagstaff said an aggressive campaign will be mounted against Bellamy-Small in the upcoming election. Recall Small has organized as a political-action committee and is raising money. No candidate has come forward to officially oppose Bellamy-Small, but names that have been mentioned are Olga Morgan-Wright, who mounted an unsuccessful state House campaign against Rep. Alma Adams, and Luther Falls, who lost the city’s 2005 District 1 race by 50 votes.
Sam A. Hieb is a contributing editor of Carolina Journal.