WASHINGTON — DC Councilmember Charles Allen has spoken about the recall effort against him for the first time since the Board of Elections issued the recall petition sheets against him last week.
WUSA caught up with Allen Thursday night in Northwest D.C. before a community meeting, where he took questions from the audience.
"Every minute you spend talking about the recall is a minute we're not trying to solve a problem in our city right now," Allen said.
DC crime is top of mind for residents right now and a group in Allen's Ward 6 believes he is to blame. The group has mobilized a petition drive to try and oust the councilman. Democrats in Ward 6 shared support for Allen Thursday, saying:
This recall attempt is a misguided effort designed to scapegoat Charles for a regional increase in crime. This campaign will be a waste of energy, attention, and taxpayer money that will not materially improve safety in our neighborhood or our city.
"We know that public safety is a complex issue between policing, prosecution and the courts," Allen explained. "We're going to make sure we stay focused on solving the problems."
The group behind the recall contends Allen is responsible for more criminals and fewer cops on the street. His supporters are now sharing the hashtag #DeclineToSign for anyone presented with the recall petition.
"Public safety is the number one priority for me and the entire city," Allen said. "Look at my record. My record is making sure MPD is funded. Making sure we're growing our police force. We grew our police cadet program from 50 a year to 150 a year.
This recall effort needs to gather more than 6,000 signatures by August 12 to force a recall election. The group's attempt has spawned a copycat effort that's in its infancy stages right now in Ward 1, where another group is looking to recall Councilmember Brianne Nadeau.
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