Photo and article by Tanya Terry
The Genesee County Clerk said a special recall election will be held November 5, 2024, regarding the council seat of Flint City Councilman Quincy Murphy.
Enough valid petition signatures have been submitted to hold the recall election regarding the 3rd Ward city councilman, according to Genesee County Clerk Domonique Clemons.
770 signatures submitted ,with 533 being found to be valid. Only 513 were required for the recall election. 513 required signatures represents 25% of the votes cast in the 3rd ward during the last gubernatorial election.
Murphy has 30 days from June 5 to challenge individual signatures since June 5, 2024, was the date Political Activist Beverly Biggs-Leavy filed a petition.
The petition said Murphy should be recalled for taking a lawnmower donated by an official for Ashley Capital, the company that is redeveloping the old Buick City site. Murphy was among the council members that approved a $72-million tax capture Ashley Capital can use to prepare building sites in the Flint Commerce Center.
Murphy has said he suggested the lawnmower donation because of the overgrown lawns and vacant lots in his ward, and the fact he has been involved in mowing many of these properties.
Biggs-Leavy also successfully petitioned to recall former 9th Ward City Councilwoman Eva Worthington in 2023.
Biggs-Leavy previously said: “The people of the 3rd Ward deserve better representation than what Councilman Murphy has given them during his time in office. We are not powerless when our politicians refuse to do what’s best for the people they represent. I am proud to exercise my civic duty here and begin the push for change that improves the lives of the people of the 3rd Ward—and across the entire city of Flint.”
On June 12, 2024, Biggs-Leavy made the following statement regarding her intention to run for Murphy’s seat: “Now that the Genesee County Clerk’s Office has scheduled a recall election, the hard work begins. I’m looking forward to showing voters in the 3rd Ward that my decades of experience engaging with the City of Flint and its politicians make me the most qualified candidate to represent the hard-working people of the 3rd Ward in Flint City Council and to bring about desperately needed change.”
