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Recall is authorized in the case of a Mayor, Council member, or School Committee member who has been indicted or informed against for a felony, convicted of a misdemeanor, or against whom a finding of probable cause of violation of the code of ethics has been made by the ethics commission or who has committed a willful violation of any provision of the Charter as determined by a preponderance of the evidence by the ethics commission or a state court of competent jurisdiction. Recall shall not, however be instituted at any time during the last nine (9) months of an individual's term of office. Such a recall may be instituted by filing with the canvassing authority an application for issuance of a recall petition against said Mayor, Council member, or School Committee member which is signed by duly qualified electors equal to three percent (3%) of the total number of votes cast at the last preceding general election for that office.
The canvassing authority shall within seven (7) days from the date of the filing of such application examine it and shall from the voters registered determine the sufficiency thereof. If, upon verification by the canvassing authority the application is determined to contain signatures of the required number of electors, the canvassing authority shall, forthwith, issue a recall petition.
Within ninety (90) days of said issuance, a written petition demanding the removal of the Mayor, or a member of the City Council or a member of the School Committee shall be filed with the canvassing authority. When removal of the Mayor, or a member of the City Council at large or a member of the School Committee at large is sought said petition shall contain the signatures of duly qualified electors constituting twenty percent (20%) of the total number of votes cast in the last preceding general election for said office provided, however, when recall of the Mayor, a Council member at large or a School Committee member at large is sought no less than twenty percent (20%) of the total signatures required may be from any one ward. When removal of any other member of the City Council or School Committee member is sought, said petition shall contain the signatures of duly qualified electors constituting twenty percent (20%) of the total number of votes cast in the last preceding general election for said office of the ward from which such member was elected.
The signatures to the application and to the recall petition need not all be on one (1) sheet of paper, but each such application and petition must contain an identical statement naming the person to be recalled, the office held by said person, and the grounds for such recall set forth in a statement of one hundred (100) words or less approved by the canvassing authority. Each signatory must set forth his or her signature and printed name as it appears on the voting list, and his or her place of residence. The person witnessing the signatures of each elector on said petition must sign a statement under oath on said sheet attesting that the signatures thereon are genuine and were signed in his or her presence. If the requisite number of signatures are not obtained within said ninety (90) day period, the recall effort shall terminate.
The canvassing authority shall within ten (10) days from the date of the filing of such petition examine it and shall from the voters registered determine the sufficiency thereof and certify the results to the City Council forthwith.
If the examination shows that the petition contains the requisite number of signatures, the City Council shall order and fix, forthwith, a date for holding an election, which date shall not be less than sixty (60) nor more than ninety (90) days from the date that the canvassing authority certified the petition as sufficient.
Each ballot at such election shall have printed thereon the grounds for removing said office holder and the following question: "Shall (name of person) be removed from the office of (name of office)?" Immediately following such question, there shall be printed on the ballot the following two (2) propositions in this order: • "Yes"
• "No"
In any such election, if a majority of the votes cast on the question of removal is affirmative, the person whose removal is sought shall thereupon be deemed removed from office as of certification of the results by the canvassing authority.
At such time the office shall be immediately declared vacant and shall be filled in accordance with the Charter of the City. The person so removed shall not be eligible to fill the unexpired portion of the term of office.
The City Council may, through ordinance, make other and further regulations for carrying out the provisions of this section not inconsistent herewith.