Washington, D.C., Councilman Charles Allen is facing a recall effort led by a former government worker, who cited that the representative of Ward 6 should be more focused on curbing crime.
Jennifer Squires, an ex-government worker who voted for Allen, told Axios she formed a recall committee last month and hopes to start fundraising for the effort soon.
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Squires has lived on Capitol Hill since 2001 and called the recent rise in crime in D.C. shocking. The city saw a 39% increase in violent crime in 2023, according to data published by its Metropolitan Police this week. Ward 6 is the largest in the district, spanning the neighborhoods of Downtown, Penn Quarter, Gallery Place, and Chinatown — all areas with increased crime rates.
Allen, the former chairman of the council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, guided new crime laws that were blocked by the Senate in March, the first time in over three decades that Congress overturned local D.C. legislation.
He defended the council’s proposed revised criminal code during a congressional hearing before the legislation was blocked, answering questions from House Republicans about the recent increase in crime.
Squires said she thinks the reform bill backed by Allen was “going in the wrong direction.”
In 2020, Allen supported a controversial police reform bill that was widely opposed by the D.C. Police Union, which blamed local lawmakers for a declining police force amid high crime rates.
“Who’s to blame for this crime wave? D.C. Council members Charles Allen and Phil Mendelson,” a 2022 ad stated. “Their laws let criminals run free and prevent police from keeping us safe.”
D.C. Police Union Chairman Gregg Pemberton told the outlet the “executive board will consider [fundraising for the recall] if the effort progresses.”
The emergency police and justice reform bill was passed in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and made permanent in December 2022. The bill banned the use of chokeholds by police officers and included improvements in access to police records.
House Republicans tried to overturn the bill but failed when President Joe Biden vetoed the effort.
An account on X, formerly known as Twitter, self-described as “the official Charles Allen Recall handle” has gathered around 900 followers since it was formed in February 2023.
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Organizers need to file a recall petition that includes 10% of the registered qualified electors of the ward of the elected official, according to the D.C. code. If enough signatures are gathered, the Board of Elections will hold a special election to determine if the official should be removed from office.
Allen, who chairs the Transportation and Environment Committee, said he does not “take the support of my neighbors for granted, but I also know I share their values and provide leadership they’re proud of.” He added that he “always puts constituent services and finding ways to build community first.”
