Group turns in petition to recall Thompson at last minute

HOUSTON — With 40 minutes to spare and 14 extra signatures for good measure, two Houston Council members and others hoping to oust Mayor Virgie Thompson turned in a petition for her recall today just before the final deadline.

Claiming Thompson falsified her timesheet in November and was paid for hours she didn’t work, the petition needed only 50 signatures — or 25 percent of the number of votes she captured when she was elected to Council in October 2008.

State statute requires petitions to recall elected officials be submitted before their last 180 days of service. For Thompson, that is today, Friday.

Council members Lance Wilson and Ruth Blanchard, along with Planning Commissioner Ralph Buzard and nine other Houston residents, had submitted an application for the recall petition to the city clerk’s office April 6, thinking they had a lot of time to get it processed.

However, they discovered earlier this week that the recall petition wouldn’t be valid if it was turned in to City Hall within Thompson’s last 180 days in office. They thought they were out of time already and were lamenting the discovery Wednesday.

But when Deputy Clerk Sonya Dukes presented the group with the final draft of the petition Thursday evening, they were informed they had less than 24 hours to collect the required signatures by 5 p.m. today for it to be legal, Wilson said after Thursday’s City Council meeting.

“It shouldn’t be a problem getting that many people to sign it,” Wilson said before heading off to do just that.

Ever since Thompson was named mayor last October, the special education teacher has had an uphill battle against those who supported former Mayor Roger Purcell.

The city has been torn in two since Purcell’s resignation last summer on the eve of another recall effort after the shooting deaths of eight shelter animals and accusations he abused his power.

Last month, Houston Police Capt. Charley McAnally notified the Council that he is a witness in an alleged investigation of Thompson and City Treasurer Carolyn Grabowski by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for funds mismanagement.

Thompson and Grabowski have denied any wrongdoing and Grabowski filed a grievance against McAnally and the council Thursday night for defamation of character.

“I want you to know that I have spoken with a duty agent at the FBI office as well as their Media person. The FBI does NOT give permission to speak about ongoing investigations,” Grabowski’s April 12 grievance letter to Thompson states. “McAnally is a bold-faced liar. But that comes as no surprise.”

In the letter, Grabowski says Purcell is “like a deadly virus that infects the judgment of those who listen to him.”

Thompson said during a meeting with department heads Tuesday that the city’s financial problems and the constant infighting is making her sick.

“But I’m not walking away. I am not quitting,” she told them in a recording of the meeting supplied to the Frontiersman by Grabowski Thursday. “I don’t care what happens, I am not going to resign. I don’t care what anybody says, I’m going to fight to the end. And it’s going to take a helluva lot more than what’s going on right now to stop me.”

Contact K.T. McKee at kate.mckee@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.