Goodman Opponents Get Go-Ahead for Recall Drive

A recall drive against Councilman Mark Goodman was cleared by City Hall this week, and supporters say they’ll waste no time gathering signatures.

“We’re working as we speak,” said Jim Tarvin, spokesman for Citizens Against Government Corruption, which has four months to collect 6,100 signatures to put the recall on the November ballot.

The campaign was sparked by a controversial October letter written by Councilman Eddie Rose on city stationery and sent to newspapers. In the letter, Rose discussed the O.J. Simpson verdict in language that many people said was racist.

The incident brought hundreds of calls to City Hall and also prompted a recall campaign against Rose.

Goodman’s opponents say he made the situation worse by calling a press conference to discuss with the issue.

“He made slanderous allegations that Councilman Rose was expressing racial sentiments,” Tarvin said. “What he has done, in effect, is create a polarization and divisiveness unparalleled since this city was incorporated.”

Tarvin also said that Goodman often loses his temper at council meetings and “interrupts the public. He doesn’t give them the opportunity to express their viewpoint.”

Said Goodman: “Eddie Rose lit the fire. He wrote the letter, he sent the letter, he passed it around town, and now I’m getting blamed.”

Recall proponents’ allegations “that I started the controversy are hilarious,” Goodman said.