Recall effort targets Purcell

HOUSTON — Controversy surrounding the mayor of Houston is coming to a head, as an application for a recall petition was filed with the city earlier this week. Six specific violations the application alleges Mayor Roger Purcell committed are as follows:

• Traveling to Fairbanks in a police vehicle without council approval.

• Purchasing an airline ticket without prior council approval.

• Exceeding the $700 amount the council approved for a travel expenditure.

• Authorizing the city clerk to file a complaint with the Alaska Public Offices Commission knowing it included a false complaint.

• Using unauthorized blue flashing lights while making a traffic stop.

• Participating in executive sessions without stating the specific topic to be discussed.

As required by state statute, the application for the recall petition includes the name and address of two registered Houston voters as the contact person and an alternate. It also includes the required 10 voters’ signatures in support of the petition.

It is now up to City Clerk Steven Cunningham to determine if the reasons for recall cited in the application are particular to misconduct in office, incompetence or failure to perform proscribed duties.

Cunningham said the state statutes are vague about what constitutes “particularity,” but previous recall attempts around the state have created case law on the matter. As such, Cunningham said he will turn the application over to the city’s attorney for review.

If the attorney finds the statement for the grounds for recall not particular enough, the recall attempt is dead. If the application gets approval, Cunningham will prepare the official petition to give to the contact person on the application. The contact then has 60 days to gather the 73 signatures necessary to take the recall question to the voters.

Since the application is still under review, Purcell said there is no reason to comment yet. He faced two applications for recall when he was a councilman in 2008, both of which were rejected.

The contact who submitted the application is Wayne Oliver. He filed the application because “based on observation, research and facts, I think the mayor has been dishonest with the citizens of Houston and am taking the steps necessary to try and do something about it, with the help of my neighbors.”

Oliver said his concerns about the mayor’s actions became serious when the city filed the complaint to APOC about an ad that ran in the Frontiersman before last October’s city election.

Oliver said the city’s complaint was against four people, one of whom was Councilwoman Vergie Thompson. The complaint said the city received written notices from four members of the council asking the city to file the complaint. However, when Oliver asked for the notices, he said he only received three, none of which named Thompson in the complaint. Oliver said the one notice he did not receive was from Purcell, and he believes Purcell had the clerk file the complaint citing his nonexistent complaint and adding Thompson to the list of names.

This started Oliver doing more research through the Houston Municipal Code, council meeting minutes and agendas and state statutes. He said he never found any indication of the council approving Purcell’s trip to Fairbanks to hand deliver a grant application. He said the council only heard of a recent plane ticket to Juneau after it was purchased. This is despite the resolution passed at the beginning of 2009 requiring council approval for all travel expenditures before they are made.

Oliver said he found two instances of the council going into executive session last October without the proper notification of what was being discussed. Additionally, after coming out of executive session, the council acted on two issues that were not indicated in the little description that was given.

Both executive sessions were entered to discuss “legal matters.” After the first, the council accepted the resignation of Houston Police Officer Aaron Parker. After the second, the council approved a resolution to enter into a contract with the Alaska State Troopers for law enforcement services within the city.

Oliver said the council approved $700 for Purcell to use on airfare when going to pick up a new heavy rescue truck for the city. However, Oliver said Purcell found another truck he thought would work better for the city and bought tickets to that destination. When he came back to the city council, Purcell had spent more than double of what was originally allocated, Oliver said.

Lastly, everyone is familiar with the incident in which Purcell used the blue flashing lights installed on his personal car to make a traffic stop, Oliver said. Oliver said Purcell claimed to have authority to authorize the use of emergency lights, but Oliver said the state fire marshal issued a letter saying he was the only one with that authority and he never gave that authority to Purcell.

If confirmed, of these alleged incidents are infractions of either Houston Municipal Code or Alaska state statute. Oliver said everything except the letter from the state fire marshal is public record, but it took him countless hours to go through everything and piece together the charges he is alleging.

For her part, Councilwoman Thompson — often a critic of Purcell — confirmed the alleged infractions. Now, it is up to the city’s attorney to make his determination. City Clerk Cunningham said he will give the application to the attorney as soon as he is done preparing the documentation he expects the attorney will ask for.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.