KILLEEN, Texas — The petition to recall Killeen District 4 Councilmember Michael Boyd was denied at a Killeen City Council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 17.
A recall election will now happen on the first authorized uniform election date, which will be May 3.
"To say the situation is frustrating would be an understatement," Boyd shared at the council meeting. "More importantly, I wanted to communicate that the varying allegations remain vague, unfounded and unsubstantiated."
According to the City of Killeen, petition blanks were issued on Monday, July 29, 2024 and were returned to the CSO by Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. The recall petition was reportedly submitted on Aug. 28 with 341 signatures.
218 of the signatures were reportedly of qualified electors within the district, and 123 were unqualified. 202 signatures were required for the petition based on a voter turnout of 401 for the June 12, 2021 Second Election District 4, said the City.
Signatures must be from registered voters that are residents of the district to qualify. More than 50% of the voters in the district have to sign the petition for it to succeed, according to the city charter.
Melissa Brown submitted the petition. She said "the best thing about this petition was... the citizens got engaged".
Brown told 6 News Boyd "ignores citizens", "approves motions to take away citizens' right to speak" at city council meetings, ignored citizen petitions and "put his desire for luxury items before safety".
Brown mentioned a recent endorsement of a new city hall building, and said that funding should be going towards sidewalks, crosswalks, roads and traffic signs around the city.
At Tuesday's meeting, some people agreed with the petition to remove Boyd from the council, adding that more petitions would come for council members in the future.
On the other hand, over a dozen people, including the entire city council, disagreed with the petition and spoke to councilman Boyd's character.
"I knew I had a fight in my district," Councilwoman Jessica Gonzales explained. "I knew we had a lot of challenges, but council member Boyd, along with others, got with me and helped champion my efforts in district one."
6 News reached out to Councilmember Boyd about the recall. He emailed us this response:
“I acknowledge a recall petition has been initiated and duly signed by 218 citizens residing in District 4. I stand on my integrity and believe that at the end of the day my record will prevail. I have always and continue to have the best interest of the citizens of Killeen. I intend to work diligently to ensure that I overcome this. While my work is not yet complete, it remains my desire to be your public servant."
Boyd will also be re-running for Councilmember District 4 in May so that will be on the ballot as well.
If he is re-elected, the petition to remove him from city council will be nullified.
If you want to reach out to Boyd, his contact information can be found here.
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