A recall effort to oust South Tucson Mayor Ildefonso Green and three council members will go forward, likely in March.
Pima County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez confirmed her office has reviewed each of the 450 signatures on the recall forms and verified there are enough signatures to trigger a recall election for Green and councilmen Rufino Cantu, Robert Larribas and Carlos Romo.
The minimum to force a recall election for each position was only 60 valid signatures.
The South Tucson City Council will set a date for the recall election at its next meeting, with the election expected to be in March.
Green’s terms ends in November 2018, although the recall election could end his tenure early. The remainder of the councilmen challenged by the recall effort have all been recently elected and have years left in their terms.
The title of mayor is decided after an election, chosen by a council majority, rather than voters in the one-square-mile city.
Green became mayor of South Tucson shortly after the last recall election in 2015, when Larribas defeated then-Mayor Paul Diaz.
Leading the recall effort is Rita Rogers, a former write-in City Council candidate with close ties to the owner of the former Spanish Trail Motel, Dennis Luttrell.
Rogers has been openly critical of Green and the council majority in recent months, complaining the council reduced payments into the pension system, cut firefighter positions and zeroed out its reserve funds to address an anticipated $650,000 budget shortfall.
Rogers also blames Green for the firing of former Police Chief Michael Ford after the two openly clashed at a council meeting.
