Voters in Fate will decide several local races on the Nov. 3 general election ballot, along with midterm state and federal contests. They will choose a new City Council member for Place 1 to replace Codi Chinn, who lost a recall election in May. Three candidates are running for the seat: Joshua Martin, Randy Long and Stephanie Adams, listed in that order on the ballot.
Voters will also decide whether to recall Mayor Andrew Greenberg, Place 4 Council Member Richard Maneval, Place 5 Council Member Mark Hatley and Place 6 Council Member Martha Huffman. The recall effort followed disputes over the November firing of former public safety director Lyle Lombard, secret recordings of city officials, and how the city is governed. The city attorney has resigned, and seven formal ethics complaints have been filed against council members, mostly targeting Greenberg and Hatley.
The city agreed to pay Lombard $250,000, according to the story. Lombard had disputed the case against him and sought reinstatement or $440,000. Chinn said the recall effort was politically motivated. Chris Rains, husband of newly elected Council Member Ashley Rains, began gathering signatures for the recall. Greenberg defended a June proclamation celebrating the traditional nuclear family, which some critics called exclusionary.