Anti-Data Center Group Fails to Recall Councilman Joe Self

SAN ANGELO, TX — A recall petition targeting Single Member District 2 Councilmember Joe Self has been certified insufficient by the San Angelo City Clerk’s Office.

In an Aug. 26 letter to petition affidavit filer Shawndi Puroll, the clerk’s office determined the petition contained 272 valid signatures. Section 48 of the City Charter required 385 — 30% of the 1,282 votes cast in the May 2025 regular municipal election for the District 2 seat.

Circulators certified 401 signatures on the petition pages returned Aug. 3. Reviewers found 129 invalid. The clerk’s findings listed:

• Duplicate signatures: 6
• Not a resident of SMD 2: 18
• Incomplete or invalid information: 34
• Not registered to vote: 53
• Registered in another single-member district: 18

The office reviewed each line for required information (signature, printed name, residence address, date of birth and/or voter registration number, and date signed) and then checked voter registration status, District 2 residency, and duplicates.

The affidavit seeking Self’s recall was filed June 4. Official petition pages were issued and the completed petition was returned on the Aug. 3 deadline.

The effort was part of a broader campaign by the San Angelo Data Center Citizen Coalition over their claims of inadequate transparency, public process, and access to information tied to proposed data center development, including the Skybox by Emergent project. The same group’s earlier petition against Mayor Tom Thompson also failed certification.

A third petition, against District 3 Councilmember Harry Thomas, met the charter threshold and is headed to voters.

Thomas’s last regular municipal election was in May 2023, when he won as the incumbent in a race that drew 155 votes. Under the 30% rule in Section 48, organizers needed only 47 valid signatures from District 3 registered voters. The affidavit was filed May 29. Circulators submitted the petition July 15 with a certified total of 62 signatures on five pages. The City Clerk certified it sufficient, and the City Council later called a special recall election for Nov. 3.

In a June statement after the affidavits were filed, Thomas said he recognized residents’ right to question elected officials.

“I recognize and respect that residents have the right to question their elected officials and use the processes available to them,” Thomas said. “Public accountability is an important part of local government, and I take that responsibility seriously. My priority remains the same: to continue focusing on the issues before the city, to evaluate decisions based on facts and fairness, and to serve in a way that reflects the needs of the community as a whole.”

Thomas has served on the council more than 10 years. If a majority of District 3 voters vote to recall him Nov. 3, the seat would be vacated and filled under charter procedures.

Self won a June 2025 runoff after the May 2025 three-candidate race produced no majority. In his own June statement, Self said citizens have the right to use the recall process and that his focus remains on “facts, fairness and what is in the best interest of the entire community.”

The clerk’s letter on Self’s petition states the findings are supported by three exhibits: an administrative review dashboard, a page-by-page review log, and a rejection detail log. Questions about the determination may be directed to the City Clerk’s Office.