Tucson mayor recall effort falls short of signatures

A group seeking to oust Regina Romero, the city's first Latina mayor, misses mark by 500 signatures. Romero's camp says it's a fringe group seeking to overturn the will of the majority.

A fledgling movement to recall Tucson Mayor Regina Romero fell short of signatures needed to trigger a verification phase.

The group turned in 24,153 signatures but needed 24,710 to proceed, according to the City Clerk’s office.

The recall effort was started by a group that rallied around the belief the mayor did not support the city’s police force.

One of the recall's leaders, Joseph Morgan, a former Republican congressional candidate, said the movement is on hold – for now.

The mayor’s office put out a statement that said the recall movement was started by a fringe group seeking to overturn the will of the majority of city residents.

Romero was elected in 2019 and is the first Latina mayor of that city.