The effort to recall Vice Mayor and Ward 4 Councilman Paul Riddick is off the table for now. According to the Norfolk Charter:
Sec. 29. Miscellaneous provisions.
No petition to recall any councilman shall be filed within one year after he assumes the duties of his office.
Several lawyers have interpreted this provision to mean that the one year starts with Riddick’s current term, which started July 1, 2006. Riddick was first elected to council in 1992.
The Virginian-Pilot editorial board weighed in on the recall effort today, saying it is “bad for Norfolk:”
But a recall would be terrible for Norfolk — socially, politically and even economically — for at least three reasons:
First, having a white sheriff trying to overturn a properly elected black official would create ill will that would take years to heal.
Second, the stereotyping it inescapably invites would bring unwelcome national attention that would distort life in Norfolk and wound its reputation.
Third, the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. Riddick is way out of bounds politically, insulting and offensive. But recalls ought to be reserved for conduct bordering on the criminal, or for abusing the office for personal gain.
I tried to find in the charter the grounds for a recall. I did not find it. But I agree with the Pilot’s assessment that such a recall should be reserved for more egregious behavior, and not simply because of Riddick’s words.
After being bombarded with letters to the editor in favor of ousting Riddick, there was one today that gets closer to my own thoughts:
Norfolk Vice Mayor Paul Riddick’s recent claims of institutional racism in the Norfolk Police Department don’t deserve to be dismissed as just another rant from an angry, race-baiting gadfly.Institutional racism is not based on individual bigotry or racial attitudes. It lies in an institution’s failure to adequately meet the needs of racial or ethnic groups. It’s not a conscious or malevolent action by anyone, but more likely the result of policies and procedures that have not kept pace with socio-racial evolution.
[…]
Norfolk’s public housing projects and predominately black neighborhoods are potential breeding grounds for institutional racism. It’s worth talking about. Condemn Riddick for his lack of political sensitivity, but give him credit for hanging on to this with the tenacity of a pit bull.
Yes, let’s talk about it.
Someone called me yesterday and suggested that Norfolk United Facing Race, which I posted about earlier, should take up the task of facilitating this conversation. I agree, especially since former the co-chair of NUFR is former Vice Mayor Daun Hester.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
An idea, start rotation on the Vice-Mayor position of 1 year or 2 year rotation, or have a city wide elected vice-mayor. in the Pilot today someone said wait until july of this year, if a recall is pushed foward a race war might break out can someone say L.A it is serious bus., “move on” no on recall.
The charter doesn’t specify grounds for a recall. It leaves that up to the persons initiating the petition, which must include “a statement of not more than two hundred words of the grounds of the recall” (§24, Recall procedure). In short, people who want to recall a council member can use any excuse they want for doing so. They just have to convince enough voters that it’s a good enough reason to get rid of the council member.