Houston council to fill seat, set date for recall election

HOUSTON — It’s only been eight months since 756 voters elected two new faces to Houston City Council and the council, in turn, picked Virgie Thompson to serve as mayor.

The tiny, tumultuous town is now facing the possibility of Thompson being recalled and the possible return of former Mayor Rosemary Burnett to fill a seat left vacant by the resignation of Councilwoman Natasha Schachle.

Burnett, who currently serves on the Houston Planning Commission, and former council candidate Alma Hartley are the first to submit their applications for Schachle’s seat. City Clerk Michelle DeLong said Thursday other residents have picked up applications, as well.

Applicants have until 3 p.m., Tuesday to turn in their paperwork in order to be considered for Seat C during a special council meeting at 6 p.m., May 12. The term expires October 2012.

Schachle said she decided to step down because her priorities had changed. She said she’d rather spend her time this summer finishing her new home.

Burnett lost her longtime council seat last October to Paul Stout by 21 votes. Hartley, who works as an Emergency Medical Technician and runs Hartley Risk Management with her husband Christian, lost to Deputy Mayor Jim Johansen by 74 votes.

Hartley said Thursday she agreed with the council’s decision to fire police Capt. Charlie McAnally and that she hopes to help the city move forward if she’s chosen by the council to fill the vacancy during the special meeting.

“I just want to help people,” Hartley said. “That’s why I’m an EMT and deliver meals for the senior center. I love Houston. We’re building a house here and don’t want to live anywhere else. The stuff going on with the council now is not going to affect me.”

Burnett could not be reached for comment Thursday. This could be the first of two vacancies if efforts to recall Thompson are successful.

Councilwoman Ruth Blanchard and Planning Commissioner Ralph Buzard recently turned in a petition with 65 signatures to recall Thompson for allegedly falsifying her timesheet and being paid for work she allegedly didn’t do last November.

DeLong certified the petition this week, so the next step is for the council to set a date for a special recall election. Council is scheduled to do that at its regular meeting, also scheduled for May 12.

Thompson has served on the council since October 2008 and said Wednesday she’s just trying to hang in there the best she can amid controversies surrounding the firing of the police captain and claims by him of an FBI investigation of city finances.

“I’m not walking away. I am not quitting,” Thompson told her staff during an April 12 meeting. “I don’t care what happens, I am not going to resign.”

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