Governing by recall bad idea

If you’re a registered voter in La Marque and someone asks you to sign a recall petition, don’t bother to ask, “Which one?” Just take a deep breath and politely say no.

Governing by recall is a bad idea.

Mayor Geraldine Sam and three council members — Deanie Barrett, Larry Mann and Connie Trube — have been fighting about a contract for City Manager Eric Gage.

We’ve already said we think that Sam was right to question the contract. We’ve also suggested that it’s the council’s role to question contracts like this — rather than to champion them.

In this case, the city attorney has said the contract violates a provision in the charter.

That claim surfaced before the council voted on the contract, and the three council members who supported the contract should have investigated the problem before voting yes.

We’d say that’s a mistake — but it’s not something worthy of your signature on a recall petition.

Similarly, the three council members’ supporters now have started a petition to recall Sam. That petition has even less merit.

Recall is a drastic measure that ought to be used only in cases of really bad behavior. It shouldn’t be used to punish routine political disagreements — meaning every contested vote that comes before the council.

Unfortunately, La Marque has a history of war by recall petition. In 2005, voters collected enough signatures to force an election to recall James Osteen, who was then on the council.

Another petition, which sought to recall Larry Crow, who was mayor, failed.

People were angry with Osteen because he voted against a tax increase.

People were angry with Crow because he voted for the tax increase.

There were no other options in that discussion.

In politics, there are winners and losers with every vote. It’s a bad idea to try to exile either group.

Democracy works best when people with different viewpoints work toward a compromise. It doesn’t work at all when one group tries to oust another. There are no differences on the table that couldn’t wait until the next election.