Donald Banning is seeking a political comeback in the tiny town of Troy. Seven months after voters recalled Banning, the ousted mayor has announced he will run again in November.
In February 2012, city councilor Fran McCully filed a petition to recall Banning, alleging that the mayor abused his power. A special election was held in May with 190 people voting for the recall and 123 voting against it.
A year later, Banning maintains that the recall was illegal.
“I’m innocent of all the crap they accused me of and I can prove it,” Banning said. “I’ve got to get back into the thrill of things.”
Banning was first seated on Troy’s city council in 2000 and was elected mayor in 2009. McCully, who was also elected in 2009, said she had even campaigned for Banning, believing the two shared similar visions for Troy and that they could work together. But once the job of governing began, McCully said the mayor changed.
“After the first month in office we saw that the mayor had developed an attitude and that he wanted to run the whole show,” she told the Beacon last year.
In January 2012, McCully began circulating a petition to recall Banning. Among the reasons she gave were that Banning had tried to fire then-City Attorney Charles Evans without consent from the city council; that in March 2011 the mayor cashed a check to cover travel expenses that were never approved; that Banning had gone ahead with the construction of a picnic area at a local park and never consulted the council; and that Banning had gone forward with the codification of city ordinances but never told anyone. Banning has maintained that he was only doing his job and that McCully was trying to grab more power for herself.
After election officials accepted the petition, Banning filed a temporary injunction and restraining order against the recall. On March 14, the two sides met in court to argue their cases for and against the recall effort. A week later, Judge Jim Wheelis deemed the recall effort legitimate and election officials then moved forward with putting together a special election. Ballots were sent to voters on April 30 and were due back by May 24. Banning lost by 67 votes. On June 8, the council selected Tony Brown, who served as mayor during the 1970s, to finish out Banning’s term.
Since then, Banning has been “doing chores around the house” and taking care of some medical issues. But now, he says, he’s ready to return to the mayor’s office.
“I wanted to announce early so people would have plenty of time to think about it,” Banning said. “The city is in dire need of a mayor who can do the job.”
Even though the election is still 10 months away, Banning can already count on the support of a few voters, including councilor Joe Arts. Elected in 2011, Arts was a fierce supporter of Banning during the recall election.
“He can use my front yard and put up signs as big as he wants, so yeah, you bet I support him,” Arts said.