A group of Tucson residents has begun an effort to recall Mayor Regina Romero.

After filing for the petition with the City Clerk’s Office on Monday, the individuals have 120 days to gather nearly 25,000 valid signatures. If the petition gets enough valid signatures by the deadline, the mayor would either have five days to resign or be automatically placed on the ballot for the recall election.

Initiated by residents Joseph Morgan, Dawn Polotto and Alexander McKenna, the petition is a result of what they are calling “Romero’s failure to fulfill her duties as the Mayor of Tucson.” Morgan, the lead organizer, is also the administrator of a social media group called RecallRegina2020.

The group is also responsible for several protests around Tucson over the past several months, including a “Blue Lives Matter” protest in support of law enforcement as well as a “Mask Less” protest in opposition of the city’s face mask mandate, which was held outside of Romero’s house.

On its website, the group identifies several complaints toward the mayor, which include her decision to remove Tucson police officers from election polls, her approval of a “Black Lives Matter” banner at city hall and her One Million Trees Initiative as well as her backing of a citywide mask mandate.

“Tucsonans can evaluate whether they believe masking up protects our community’s public health,” Romero said in a statement Tuesday. “I happen to disagree with this group, who gathered outside my personal residence earlier this year, that wearing masks is ‘tyrannical.’”

In a video on the group’s website, Morgan accused Romero of “lawless behavior” and a “Marxist agenda” and criticized her for promoting “things like climate change rather than taking care of our streets.”

On the group’s Facebook page, many members have expressed their support for President Trump as well as their opposition against the Black Lives Matter movement. The group has also openly opposed the sanctuary city initiative, saying “many (but not all) illegals are gang members, murderers, child traffickers, drug dealers, identity theft, and gun runners.”

The group has until Feb. 27, 2021, to collect 24,710 valid signatures for the recall petition.

The city clerk will then have 10 days to examine the petitions and the Pima County Recorder’s office will have 60 days to certify the number of valid signatures.

If the group’s effort is sufficient, the mayor will have the opportunity to resign or face a recall vote. After that, the mayor and city council will have no more than 30 days to call an election.

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Contact reporter Jasmine Demers at jdemers@tucson.com. On Twitter: @JasmineADemers.