The Nation - News from April 14, 1988

A drive to recall Denver Mayor Federico Pena failed when an elections official announced that petitions submitted fell more than 2,000 names short of the number required by law. Felicia Muftic, president of the Denver Election Commission, said that even without checking for validity, the number of signatures was only 36,960 whereas 39,091 signatures were required, or 25% of the number of votes cast in the last mayoral election. Pena, 41, one of the first Latinos to be mayor of a major U.S. city, reacted with pleasure. At a news conference, he said: “The time for negativism and doubt is behind us.” The Metropolitan Action Committee began the recall drive three months ago, claiming Pena had mismanaged city funds and provided poor leadership. Of particular concern to the group was the city’s failure to clear streets after a Dec. 27 snowstorm while Pena was vacationing in Mexico.