HAZELWOOD â Robertson Fire Protection District officials and the chiefâs daughter asked a judge this week to stop a recall vote for all three district board members.
They say more than 140 people who signed onto the recall petition didnât understand what it meant and wanted to withdraw, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday. If the court allows them to opt out, the petitioners wonât have enough signatures to cause a vote.
But recall supporters called the suit a âtaxpayer-paid campaign stuntâ to distract from corruption in a district that serves parts of Hazelwood and Bridgeton. Theyâve argued for years against its spending policies and said its costly contract with Hazelwood has nearly bankrupted the city.
One of the suitâs plaintiffs is Gabriella Phillips â the daughter of fire Chief Todd Phillips â who is representing herself and other registered voters in the district.
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Todd Phillips said his daughter initially signed the document because the people seeking signatures told her the petition was about supporting fire trucks and ambulances. But that wasnât true, he said.
âÁńÁ«ÊÓÆ” went to the wrong house and lied to her about it,â Todd Phillips said.
Jennifer Guyton, who leads the group Citizens to Save Hazelwood & Fire Services, denied any wrongdoing. She accused the boardâs supporters of lying about the purpose of the petition when asking people to withdraw their signatures.
âThis is what you do when youâre too corrupt and too cowardly to let it go to an election: You sue to try to cancel the election,â Guyton said.
A hearing has not yet been set in the case.
