Filing gets City Hall recall under way

A City Hall critics this morning set into motion a recall targeting Colorado Springs Mayor Lionel Rivera and Vice Mayor Larry Small.

Patrick Ayers, a local homeless advocated, filed the necessary paperwork with the City Clerk, an office representative said.

Ayers, 59, announced his plan after a ballot initiative for a property tax increase was defeated at the polls last Tuesday.

He criticized Rivera and Small for their role pushing for the tax bump and arranging the city’s $42 million incentives package to keep the United States Olympic Center in Colorado Springs, among other actions.

According to procedures spelled out last week by City Clerk Kathryn Young, the city will now begin printing signature sheets.  Once they are delivered to Ayers, he and his supporters will have 60 days to gather just more than 14,300 signatures apiece to force a recall election, Young said.