Recall Petition Submitted for San Angelo Councilmember Thomas

SAN ANGELO, TX — The San Angelo Data Center Citizen Coalition submitted a petition Wednesday to recall City Councilmember Harry Thomas, saying it collected substantially more than the required number of signatures. 

The anti-data center group filed the petition with the San Angelo City Clerk on July 15. It contains substantially more than the 47 signatures needed, and the coalition said the signatures were pre-verified against current voter registration records from the Tom Green County Voter Registrar’s Office. 

The filing came almost two weeks before the July 28 deadline. The required signatures represent 30% of the votes cast in the last regular municipal election for the seat. Thomas won his single-member District 3 seat in May 2023 in a race with 155 total votes cast. 

The petition is part of the group’s broader recall efforts against city officials over concerns about transparency, public process and access to information related to the proposed Skybox data center project. On May 29, the coalition also submitted an affidavit for the recall of District 2 Councilmember Joe Self. 

A previous attempt to recall Mayor Tom Thompson fell short of the 2,971 valid signatures required. 

Under Section 48 of the city Code of Ordinances, the city clerk has 30 days to certify the validity and sufficiency of the signatures. The clerk must then submit the petition to the City Council and notify Thomas. 

Thomas has 15 days after notice to decide whether to resign. If he does not resign, the City Council must order a recall election to be held no less than 30 days and no more than 90 days after the petition is submitted to the council. 

If a majority of votes cast favor recalling Thomas, he would be removed from office. If the majority opposes the recall, he would remain in office. His term expires in May 2027, and no official may face more than one recall election during a term. 

If the recall passes but not every council seat is vacated, the remaining council members must meet within five days to canvass the results, declare the outcome and order a special election to fill any vacancies. That election must also occur no less than 30 days and no more than 90 days after it is ordered.