Resident announces recall campaign against mayor; critics and supporters speak at council

A member of the public used the Aug. 5 council meeting’s public-comment period to announce the start of a recall campaign targeting Mayor Jason Beck and to criticize the council’s priorities. The speaker, John Forsyth, described the effort as a citizens’ grassroots response to what he characterized as council actions inconsistent with residents’ desires and urged council members to consider resigning.

Forsyth cited constitutional and historical language about government deriving authority from citizens and said the recall paperwork would be filed the following week. He named one council member (John Edwards) as someone he would not seek to recall.

Other public speakers defended the council’s work. Joe Clore, a Mesquite District resident, said he supported the council’s economic-development efforts and urged patience with the multi-year process. Several council members and the city manager also responded during agenda discussion and in remarks stressing outreach and willingness to meet with constituents; no official council action was taken on the recall announcement during the meeting.

The recall announcement was a public-comment item only; state law prevents council from discussing or taking action on matters raised during public comment within that meeting, and the council did not take action on the recall topic.