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Lawrence Mayor Recall Effort Falls Short

The attempt to recall Lawrence Mayor William Lantigua has come up more than 800 signatures short.

The city's Board of Registrars has ruled recall organizers did not gather enough signatures from registered voters to trigger the recall process.

Backers of the effort to recall the controversial mayor said Friday that they will appeal the decision.

They have until Tuesday afternoon to prove the questionable signatures are indeed valid.

Wayne Hayes, an organizer of the recall effort, said starting Saturday, volunteers will spread across the city to verify those signatures.

"Get out there with door to door, meet them personally, have them sign the affidavit, we're going to get the numbers that will put Willie out on the street where he belongs," Hayes said.

Lantigua said the failure of the recall campaign confirms most residents support him.

Lantigua has come under fire in Lawrence for enacting broad cuts to the city's police force — cuts the mayor said were necessary due to large deficits he inherited upon taking office in 2010.  Federal and state authorities have also launched an investigation into allegations Lantigua used city businesses for personal profit.

With reporting from the WBUR Newsroom and The Associated Press

This program aired on August 13, 2011. The audio for this program is not available.

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