WHITEHALL, Ohio -- A Whitehall city councilmember is facing an uprising from residents who say they want her out. Councilwoman Jackie Thompson is the target of a recall effort to remove her from office two years before her term expires.
C.J. Thompson is the lead organizer of the recall campaign. No relation to Jackie, C.J. says she and others have passed the halfway point in athering the necessary signatures to place the recall question in front of voters this November.
Jackie Thompson has attracted attention for her efforts to ban pit bulls, to remove a nativity scene from in front of Whitehall City Hall, and to promote Darwin Days in support of evolutionist Charles Darwin.
Thompson later attempted to expand the concept into "Science month."
The petition circulating accuses Thompson of being disruptive at meetings, harassing city employees, embarrassing the city, and using her position of influence to get an outspoken critic fired from their
private sector job.
"We can't go to council meetings without fear of retribution. A woman lost her job because Jackie retaliated against her for speaking out," C.J. Thompson said. "It's been a year-and-a-half of nothing but
embarrassment. Every time she proposes something, she won't let it go when the people say no. Enough is enough. She's got to go."
Thompson did not want to speak on camera, but told NBC 4 she would fight the recall effort, which she blasted as a political tactic from those who oppose her efforts to ban pit bulls in Whitehall. The pit bull issue has turned Whitehall resident Pat Morgan into a recall advocate.
"My grandson's got a pit bull and it's the sweetest dog there ever was and there's all kinds of little kids around them and everything," Morgan said.
But even some pit bull supporters say a recall goes too far, including Whitehall resident Rhonda Litostansky.
"I don't agree with maybe doing a recall, but maybe trying to change her thinking," Litostansky said. "If you're doing a recall you're saying that she's incompetent to do her job. If you just don't like her, that's what voting is for, to vote her out."
Thompson is adamant that a recall is needed. She plans to collect signatures on Saturday using a drive-through approach at Bishop Park.
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