Vote NO On Recall - November 2nd

In June 2021 the 5 members of the committee to recall submitted 73 signatures on a petition to recall Mayor Steele. That petition triggered a special election that will occur on November 2nd, 2021. The petition stated they wanted the Mayor recalled "for individually and without regard to the citizens of Nixa, nor the vote of city council, enacting a mask mandate, and taking other actions detrimental to the city of Nixa, its economy and the health and welfare of the community in general." When confronted with the truth, they created a series of other "offenses" committed by the Mayor. Each of those items is also untrue, drastically exaggerated or what should be considered proper and normal actions in the course of business.

Individually and without regard...

The City council passed Ordinance 2110 and 2112 unanimously, providing the emergency powers used for the masking requirement. After consultation with all members of council and city staff, along with the Mayor of Ozark, the Christian County Health Department and other regional health experts, the requirement was put into place. In later statements they contradict themselves by first saying the Mayor single handedly made the decision, but then accuse him of just following what Ozark and Springfield did.

Economy and the health and welfare...

Nixa sales tax, a number directly related to our economy was up more than 14% last year, and is up more that 12% this year - even though masking was in effect most of that time. Many businesses had their best year ever in 2020, despite the pandemic. Prior to the end of the mask ordinance we were down to less than 10 cases a week in Christian County. That number has increased since the order was removed. Few businesses in Nixa closed during the entire Pandemic and those that did never related their closure to masking.

False Claims by the Committee to Recall

Below are false "claims" by the committee to recall, followed by factual statements and references to the Missouri State Constitution, State Statutes and the Nixa Home Rule Charter.

In July of 2020, the City Council voted down a mask mandate ordinance. Mayor Steele refused to have the city council hold another vote and enacted a mandate on his own violating the Nixa home-charter rule.

FALSE

Section 4.4 (k) of the Home Rule Charter assigns the Mayor "Other Duties. The Mayor shall exercise such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by this Charter, by ORDINANCE or by law." Council voted UNANIMOUSLY to provide emergency powers to the Mayor via ordinance, which they later extended and reaffirmed UNANIMOUSLY. All decisions were made in coordination with the City Council and Council had the option, at any time, to repeal any of the Mayor's emergency orders by a simple majority vote. No council member EVER requested that to occur.

In October 2020, The Mayor, in an attempt to silence dissent and disagreement, moved the citizen's comment section to the end of the City Council Meetings. He moved it back to the beginning in April 2021

TRUE - Kind of...

This was done AT REQUEST OF MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE TO RECALL! In September 2020 Mr. Sanders requested that council move the visitor section to the end of the meeting so that he could comment on discussion items that did not have public hearing sections on the agenda. Mayor and the council moved that section based on this request in October. The Mayor moved it back in April 2021 due to the undo hardship it was putting on citizens with small children who wished to speak to council. The Mayor also added public hearings to additional agenda items so that there were more opportunities for the public to speak.

In July, the Chamber of Commerce surveyed city owners. The survey showed business owners overwhelmingly rejected the idea of mandating mask wear. The survey was lawfully presented to the Nixa City Council and the mandate was rejected.

Mayor Steele admitted to having private meetings with Steve Edwards of Cox Health and the Mayor of Ozark and based his decision on those meetings while ignoring the testimony of citizens who are healthcare professionals working in local hospitals.

After closed-door meetings, Mayor Steele, without publishing or communicating the contents of those meetings took actions that violated the Nixa Home Charter. (ref) During several additional meetings, both public and private, Mayor Steel explained that he had to follow the actions of neighboring cities, instead of following the vote of the City Council and the will of registered voters.

FALSE

Nixa is a part of the Springfield Metro area and Nixa does work with Ozark, Springfield, Christian County, Greene County and other communities on a host of issues including the response to the pandemic. Nixa does not have health department and relies on information and recommendations from local health departments and medical experts. Actions regarding the pandemic were done IN COOPERATION with Ozark and Christian County to make sure there was a single set of information being provided throughout the community.

The Nixa Home Charter specifies the duties and powers of the mayor during emergencies. (ref)The home charter does not give the mayor the power to enact mandates, and it does not empower the city council to bestow lawmaking power upon the mayor.

FALSE

The Home Rule Charter is actually silent on declaring a state of emergency, except that it grants the Mayor powers as assigned by the charter, ordinance or law. It does provide that "the City shall have all powers the General Assembly of the State of Missouri has authority to confer upon any City, provided such powers are consistent with the Constitution of this State and are not limited or denied either by this Charter or by Statute. The City shall, in addition to its home rule powers, have all powers conferred by law." (Section 2:1) State law provides a wide range of powers to local governments, including the ability to declare a state of emergency. Under Missouri State statues the Mayor as the defined Executive has the power to unilaterally declare a state of emergency. In our case the Mayor was unanimously given that authority - twice - by the City Council.

Regardless of what ordinances the city council passed, the Nixa Home Charter defines mayoral power and authority, even in an emergency. Making rules of governance, compliance, and laws are not legally part of his position.

FALSE

Under the Missouri Constitution (article VI, section 19(a)) a Home Rule Charter is not power granting document it is a power limiting document. This states that cities “shall have all powers which the general assembly of the state of Missouri has authority to confer upon any city, provided such powers are consistent with the constitution of this state and are not limited or denied with by the charter so adopted or by statute.”

This is confirmed in the Nixa Home Rule Charter that states "the City shall have all powers the General Assembly of the State of Missouri has authority to confer upon any City, provided such powers are consistent with the Constitution of this State and are not limited or denied either by this Charter or by Statute. The City shall, in addition to its home rule powers, have all powers conferred by law." (Section 2:1)

Instead of abiding by Christian County and State health orders, Mayor Steele signed ordinances at the city level to determine what businesses and workers were essential and non-essential.

Mayor Steele signed the city ordinance that gave him the power to close businesses. Mayor Steele used that power to close many businesses in our city.

FALSE

The City Council unanimously passed a State of Emergency that outlined the elements included in the state wide stay at home orders in March/April of 2020. Nixa was one of the first cities in the region to remove these restrictions in May of 2020. The "recall committee" will also often say these orders were not necessary due to the State and County orders. Those orders specifically excluded cities, creating the necessity of having local orders.

Have more questions? Please get in touch and let us know.

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"Never could we have imagined that such a small number of disgruntled citizens angry about a mask mandate would be alboue to force a Recall Election of an uncontested leadership position"

Mark Hartsock - Home Rule Charter Committee

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"I have known Mayor Brian Steele for several years. We have seen the Mayor make decisions for the good of all the citizens of Nixa. He has made our City a prosperous, safe, and welcoming environment to live in for all of us. We have seen him attend many special events involving veterans and senior citizens."

Glen Smith - Commander Nixa American Legion