WHITNEY, Texas (KXXV) — One month after Whitney's general election, a petition is circulating calling for Mayor Janice Sanders to resign from office.
The petition, which has gained support from some voters, asks Sanders to publicly apologize and step down from her position.
"There's a lot of unrest right now," said Amy Teal, a newly elected council member.
The document specifically denounces what petitioners describe as an "abuse of power" by Sanders, alleging she harassed a resident at their home while using her official title.
"I'm hoping that with a petition being actively circulated, plus the turnout of this election that it might give her some pause and how she decides to proceed in her role as mayor," Teal said.
While the petition represents growing public dissatisfaction, it carries no legal weight since Whitney operates under Texas General Law, which doesn't provide for recall elections through a petition.
Despite this limitation, Teal believes the petition serves an important purpose in community engagement.
"Information is powerful. Learning the process is powerful. If you want to be involved, you have to know what you need to do to be involved. If you want to fire a gun, you need to know how to load it and how to hit the target, and then you have to practice doing all that," Teal said.
The petition effort comes shortly after Sanders was sworn in following a recount that confirmed her election victory. The mayor has not responded to requests for comment on the petition.
Teal indicated she would like to see changes at the state level regarding the ability to recall elected officials.
"What I would like to see is the state adopt recall ability for any elected official in the state," Teal said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
