Effort to recall Mayor Correia hitting roadblocks

FALL RIVER, Mass. (WLNE) — The effort to recall Fall River’s mayor is running into some problems. The people behind the effort tell us the city is trying to slow down the process by rejecting their paperwork.

The first step is getting 10 signatures on an affidavit. The group has tried 3 times and it still hasn’t been accepted by the city clerk. She told ABC 6 News it’s an easy fix but the group is starting to think someone else is interfering to slow down the process.

The effort to recall Mayor Jasiel Correia is hitting a few roadblocks.

“We’re feeling at this point it’s just a stall tactic,” says Joseph Pereira. He’s 1 of 10 people who signed paperwork to begin the process of recalling Correia.

He says even with help from a lawyer, in the last week they’ve had to re–do it 3 times. This morning the clerk accepted the paperwork but later said a few things had to be changed.

“Somewhere along the line and I’m unclear as to why, corporation council Joe Macy looked at it and said well, I think the language should be a little bit different. We feel that he casts doubt on her at this time,” says Pereira.

On the phone, Macy told ABC 6 he couldn’t get into details of what needed to be fixed and that information has to come from the city clerk.

The clerk, Alison Bouchard, says she has final say and if the group makes the changes she told them to, they should be fine.

Pereira thinks they’re getting the run around.

“If anyone inside this building thinks they can dissuade us by cheap obstructionist tactics, they’re wrong,” he says.

There is a city council meeting tonight. On the agenda, taking a vote of no confidence and asking the mayor to step down.

© WLNE/ABC 6 2018