Seattle attorney Lincoln Beauregard says his open records lawsuit has given him ammunition to seek and fund a recall campaign against Seattle City Council president Bruce Harrell.

Beauregard's recall petition claims Harrell violated the state Open Public Meetings Act in orchestrating the city council's response to sexual abuse allegations against former mayor Ed Murray.

Beauregard says Harrell worked with other council members behind the scenes and made conflicting statements about his efforts.

Harrell said he can't comment because Beauregard's claims are related to pending litigation.

“We know for sure Bruce Harrell needs to be recalled based on some of the things that he’s done," Beauregard said. "And we’re going to be taking his deposition next week to see if he basically said some things under oath that weren’t true."

The state’s Open Public Meetings Act requires that legislators conduct their business in public, prohibiting a majority of council members from coordinating behind closed doors. Beauregard’s lawsuit claims that Mayor Jenny Durkan and members of the city council violated the law as they planned to repeal the city’s head tax last May.