Austin City Council Member Ann Kitchen speaks at a neighborhood forum Jan. 26.[/caption]

An effort to remove Council Member Ann Kitchen from the Austin City Council failed in March.

Local political action committee Austin4All submitted a recall petition to the city of Austin Office of the City Clerk on Feb. 18. The petition stated Kitchen “has purposefully hurt businesses that employ citizens of Austin.”

The office rejected that petition in March, according to Alicia Dean, senior public information specialist.To succeed, the petition would have needed signatures from about 10 percent of qualified voters in District 5, a statement explaining the grounds for a recall and an affidavit.

The petition had enough signatures and the statement, but the affidavit did not meet city requirements, according to a March 4 memo from City Clerk Jannette Goodall to the mayor and council.

Austin4All Co-Director Rachel Kania said the PAC plans to contest the petition rejection in court.

The way the recall effort was conducted subverted the 10-1 City Council system, Kitchen said.

“You’ve got large amounts of money coming in from outside the district [for the PAC], which is a concern to a district’s ability to elect their own individual,” Kitchen said.

Some District 5 residents, including some in the Barton Hills, Cherry Creek and Onion Creek neighborhoods, said they opposed the petition.