A group accuses the mayor of "incompetence." He says it's election-year politics.
An organized effort to remove the mayor of Phillipsburg from office is underway.
A group of residents has formed a committee to recall Stephen Ellis in a special election, citing "incompetence" and "gross misuse of office" among their reasons.
Ellis has called the effort a political stunt in an election year where three town council seats are up for grabs.
Town Clerk Victoria Kleiner last week approved a notice of intention from the three-person recall committee, kicking off a tightly regulated series of procedures and deadlines that will include 160 days for petitioners to collect signatures, potentially followed by a special election.
Read New Jersey's recall election law
The committee of Blaine Fehley, Constance Fuoco and Cecelia Guthmille included the following statement on their notice:
"We feel that Stephen Ellis has neglected his sworn duties, exhibited gross misuse of office, and has shown incompetence in the performance of his duties of mayor and has had an adverse effect upon the town and residents of Phillipsburg."
Ellis, who can have an official response appear on the petition, on Wednesday issued a statement on the recall effort:
"The recall process is a statutory right provided to citizens by our great state. I will just let the process proceed in its legal course. In the meantime, I have much work to do to make my beloved Phillipsburg a better place for my fellow citizens.
"It is abundantly clear that this is a political move in an election year. If you don't wish to be a part of the solution then you are part of the problem. I will not allow distractions such as this prevent our Town from moving forward in a positive direction. Over the last 18 months many good things have happened and there are many more to come. Onward Phillipsburg!"
Ellis was elected in 2015 with two fellow Democrats to town council, upsetting Republican incumbent Harry Wyant in his bid for a fifth term.
Fehley and the mayor have been at loggerheads before. Fehley recently accused Ellis of assault over a confrontation before a town meeting in which the mayor yelled at him over crudely manipulated photos of himself and other town officials.
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The recall process is intricate and involved. To go to a townwide special election, the recall committee in 160 days must collect signatures from the equivalent of 25 percent of town voters registered in the November election -- in this case 2,054 people, Kleiner said.
The clock will begin counting when prior procedural steps are completed. After the petition is done, the clerk's office must review them to make sure there are enough valid signatures.
The potential cost of a special election is still being tabulated, the clerk said.
A group in neighboring Lopatcong Township launched a recall effort against the mayor there in late 2015, but failed to acquire enough signatures to proceed.
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.