OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A petition being circulated in Oakland, Calif., seeks the recall of Mayor Jean Quan for failing to reduce crime and create jobs, critics of the mayor said.
The petition, which was certified Wednesday, was launched by Gene Hazzard, a newspaper photographer who has been active in the black community, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday.
Quan has been criticized on a number of issues, including her handling of the Occupy Oakland protests. Hazzard told the Oakland Tribune he decided to start the petition after Quan, the city's first Asian-American and female mayor, attempted to remove environmental activist Margaret Gordon from the Port Commission.
Quan said she has been in office for less than a year and won't give up without a fight, the Tribune said.
A second group of residents has submitted their own recall petition for certification, saying Hazzard was being too controlling, the Chronicle reported. A third group has agreed to circulate Hazzard's petition.
Hazzard has 160 days to collect about 20,000 valid signatures from registered Oakland voters.
