Recall Charles Allen Campaign fails to gather required signatures

WASHINGTON — Ward 6 Councilman, Charles Allen will finish out his term after residents fail to gather enough signatures needed to have him removed early. 

More than 5,500 Ward 6 residents petitioned to have Allen removed from his seat allegedly for his policies to defund the police and lenient criminal sentencing. Members of the group say that Allen's role as Chair of the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee led to years of him trying to denigrate the police department and turn funding off to the police department by reducing the size of the force.

On Monday the group announced that despite garnering 5,500 signatures calling for a recall ballot measure in November, they missed the needed number of 6,427. The recall committee is now asking the DC Board of Elections to approve a recall regardless. Stating that the reason they weren't able to get the necessary signatures was because of the BOE.

According to DC law, the BOE is required to provide a mobile app to help gather signatures but the group claims it failed to do so. The group is also blaming Allen's campaign manager, Tommy Wells for their loss. Alleging that Wells colluded with city officials to thwart the group's signature-gathering efforts through baseless complaints and hearings. 

In addition to requesting the recall ballot be added to November's ballot, the group is requesting the Board do a full investigation into: 

Following the release of this news, Allen issued a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter;

"Today, the recall campaign announced it failed to collect enough signatures to qualify for the November General Election ballot. The organizers' bad faith recall effort has now failed by every measure. They failed to meet each signature collection, filing, and field organizing goal they set. After six months, more than one hundred thousand dollars spent, and an open campaign finance investigation into their illegal coordination with the DC Republican Party and a SuperPAC, they're likely short the thousands of valid signatures needed to trigger a costly and wasteful recall election.

And despite publicly acknowledging the recall campaign failed, they've still decided to file their petitions with the Board of Elections, wasting time and taxpayer dollars yet again to have the Board count each signature to confirm. They've even gone so far as to tell the Board to violate the Home Rule Charter by putting a recall measure on the November ballot despite their failure to meet the filing requirements.

The recall campaign tried to convince Ward 6 residents that DC doesn't take public safety seriously, but this was soundly rejected when more than 90% of the Ward refused to sign their petitions. Public safety is my top priority and will continue to be. I've consistently led on smart solutions to crime and violence that focus both on accountability for harm and that also prevent it from happening in the first place.

Ultimately, the recall organizers failed to appreciate that Ward 6 residents are thoughtful people looking for real solutions to our toughest problems, and they don't respond to the fear and division we see play out every day on the national stage. My neighbors also know that real problem solvers roll up their sleeves, they lead boldly and by lifting others up, and they try to build community instead of dividing it. That's the Ward 6 I'm proud to call home and I'm honored to have represented for a decade."