Bluff City should say no to recall

Our View:

Bluff City voters are being asked to lend their support to efforts to oust three sitting town aldermen from office.

They should politely refuse. A recall election won’t end the tiny Sullivan County town’s political turmoil; it will exacerbate it.

For an example of the divisive, damaging impact of a recall election, Bluff City residents need look no further than Bristol Tennessee. A 2004 recall election led to the ouster of one Bristol Tennessee city councilman; two others held onto their seats, but not without serious effort.

Meanwhile, the poisonous atmosphere created by the Bristol recall hasn’t entirely dissipated. It has discouraged some from seeking public office and left others with hard feelings.

As was the case in Bristol, the Bluff City recall movement appears to be a political power struggle. There are no allegations of malfeasance in office or the sort of gross mismanagement that should motivate such a serious endeavor.

Instead, the Bluff City movement looks like a blatant attempt to circumvent the people’s will and undo the results of the most recent election. The recall drive leaders include two former aldermen, Lon Gene Leonard and Jim Embree, who were defeated at the polls in May.

Two of the recall targets, Todd Malone and J.C. Gentry, were the top vote-getters in last year’s six-candidate battle for three at-large seats on the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. The third target of the recall, Don Weaver, was not on last year’s ballot.

Malone, a local businessman, and Gentry, an Air Force veteran and lineman for the Johnson City Power Board, are newcomers to Bluff City politics. Voters hungry for change put their trust in them, rejecting Leonard and Embree who have been part of town government for decades.

Viewed in this context, the recall drive looks like a case of sour grapes. The next regular election is set for 2009; if Leonard and Embree want to get back into town politics they should make their case to the people at that time.

Bluff City recall organizers have offered only vague reasons for their effort to void the election results. Leonard has expressed frustration with the current board and has said he is upset about the resignation of Mayor Bob Thomas, a longtime office holder who stepped down earlier this month.

"The city’s not moving forward," Leonard said. "We don’t like the way its finances are being spent."

Those sorts of vague gripes aren’t a solid foundation on which to base a recall drive. Voters should view the drive with skepticism and decline to sign the petitions.