Updated June 6 at 7:15 p.m. to reflect Cafe Lago is neutral and impartial in the efforts to recall Mayor Joe Bain.
Updated June 6 at 11:45 a.m. to include current status of petition circulation.
Updated June 5 at 5:25 p.m. to include the cost for Lakeway's May 6 election and Anthony Dell'Abate's statement clarifying who he is working with regarding the recall petition.
Posted June 5 at 3:21 p.m.
At 8 a.m. this morning, a group of residents began collecting signatures on a recall petition to remove Lakeway Mayor Joe Bain from office, Lakeway citizen Anthony Dell’Abate said.
Dell’Abate said he is working in conjunction with former Lakeway City Council candidate Tiffany McMillan but that he “is spearheading the recall.” He said he wanted to clarify that he is working with "the people who supported Tiffany McMillan."
“We’re tired of being run by one small group that has bottlenecked the government of Lakeway for the past three administrations,” he said. “We find that Mayor Joe Bain has been deceitful, dishonest and immoral.”
The grounds provided for the recall as stated in the petition forwarded by Dell’Abate to Community Impact Newspaper via email this afternoon include that “Joe Bain used a fake name (“John Smart”) to deceitfully try to influence the [May 6] election.”
The petition states the mayor’s actions may have deceived enough voters to result in the passage of Proposition 1, a $23 million bond to fund a new police station. The measure passed by only nine votes.
The Lakeway charter requires Dell’Abate to amass petition signatures from 10 percent of the total 11,432 registered voters in Lakeway during the last election—1,143 signatures—to file the petition with the city and start the official process for recall.
“We are doing this petition to hold an election,” Dell’Abate said. “Hopefully there will be a new outcome. Hopefully, more people will get out to vote. This is what happens when people don’t vote.”
The cost for Lakeway's May 6 election was $36,726.98, City Secretary JoAnn Touchstone said.
He was at Cafe Lago, 1200 Lakeway Drive, Lakeway, this morning collecting signatures and other captains of his committee will also be gathering signatures for the petition this week. Cafe Lago remains neutral and is not affiliated with any efforts regarding Mayor Joe Bain's recall petition, the owners said.
“I think we can get 500-800 signatures pretty quickly,” Dell’Abate said. “The other signatures depend on how upset people are in town.”
The City of Lakeway has not received any petitions for a recall of Mayor Joe Bain and no inquiries regarding a recall petition have been received by City Secretary Jo Ann Touchstone, Lakeway Communications Coordinator Devin Monk said.
