Troy, Mich. Mayor Janice Daniels could be recalled next month -- an unusual political possibility for a part-time official in this upscale Metro Detroit community. But as the election approaches, her conservative backers are fighting to keep her in office.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Michigan tea party activists rallied this week to support Daniels, who has come under fire from Troy residents and outsiders for both her political decisions and homophobic statements, prompting a grassroots effort to remove her from Troy City Hall.
One activist told the paper liberal groups were trying to end the tea party movement with the recall.
"If we lose Janice, there's going to be national headlines all over the country -- tea party goes down," another said, according to the Free Press.
Daniels first received negative attention shortly after she was elected when an earlier Facebook status surfaced, which read, "I think I am going to throw away my I Love New York carrying bag now that queers can get married there."
Since, she's made other statements deemed homophobic, often in an attempt to explain her past assertions, like a comparison of the dangers of the "homosexual lifestyle" to smoking cigarettes.
The recall also points to Daniels' negative statements about other city employees and her vote against a proposed transit center backed by millions of federal funding.
Despite a last-minute challenge from the mayor herself, the Recall Janice Daniels group succeeded in their effort to place the recall on the Nov. 6 ballot, turning in more than 8,000 signatures in July.
According to the Free Press, Troy voters are split on whether they support Daniels, with a good portion undecided.
Daniels continues to draw negative attention to herself. At a City Council meeting earlier this week, she quibbled with former Councilwoman Mary Kerwin as she publicly honored her with Troy's 2012 Distinguished Citizen award. Daniels incorrectly said the award came from the "Democrat Club," despite Kerwin's vocal insistence that it was nonpartisan. But Daniels told Fox 2 she wasn't trying to insult the awardee.
"This is another example of the way every word that comes out of my mouth is being used by my political opponents to try to destroy me, and I think it's very unfortunate," she told the local news station.
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