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The Recall Regina 2020 Committee that officially began its recall effort in October, needed 24,710 signatures by Feb. 27 to proceed to the verification phase of the petition process. After the initial tabulation, the number of signatures submitted by the committee was 24,153.

“This does not meet the requirements to proceed to the verification phase and therefore, pursuant to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Code 12-167, the city clerk has issued the committee a Receipt of Insufficiency, which ends this recall petition,â€� city officials said.

Initiated by residents Joseph Morgan, Dawn Polotto and Alexander McKenna, the petition was a result of what they called “Romero’s failure to fulfill her duties as the Mayor of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.â€�

Morgan, the lead organizer, was also in attendance during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, calling it a “great day in America.�

The group was responsible for several protests around ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ over the past several months, including a protest in support of funding for law enforcement as well as a “Mask Lessâ€� protest in opposition of the city’s face mask mandate, which was held outside of Romero’s house.

“Mayor Romero answers to all of the residents of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, who have elected her with strong majorities in every city election she has run in,â€� said a statement from the mayor’s office.

“This recall effort was no more than a fringe group with unvalidated signatures attempting to overturn the will of the majority of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ans. Nevertheless, she will continue her tireless work to build a more strong, sustainable, and resilient city for all ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ans, regardless of whether they voted for her or not.â€�

In reaction to the petition failure, Morgan said this in a Facebook post Saturday:

“We may have come up short of this goal, but our voice was heard and will continue to be heard. We have only just begun.�