McKINNEY — City Council members are one step closer to making it easier for voters to remove elected leaders from office.

No action was taken during Tuesday night’s meeting, where council members held an at-times heated discussion about altering the recall election process. But the council could vote in the coming weeks to put a charter amendment on the May ballot.

The discussion followed the arrest this month of council member La’Shadion Shemwell on a felony charge of continuous violence against the family.

Questions about the current recall process — requirements for which some say are practically impossible to meet — began swirling on social media after the arrest.

Shemwell said he was interested in how the discussion made it onto the agenda and said that opponents during his council campaign threatened to remove him from office if he won.

"What happens in our personal lives has no bearing on the decisions that we make as a city council member, however embarrassing that may be," he said.

This was the second arrest of Shemwell to draw public attention this year. But residents and city leaders have said the recall discussion isn’t focused on removing him from office.

1 / 2Jimmy Teeling addresses the McKinney City Council during Tuesday's meeting, where council members discussed possible city charter amendments to adopt a less imposing process for voters to recall an elected official.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor) 2 / 2McKinney Mayor George Fuller (farleft) and Mayor Pro Tem Tracy Rath (far right) listen to speaker Jimmy Teeling as he addresses the City Council during discussiona bout the city's procedures for recall elections.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor)

"I'm not up here talking about the actions of one City Council member. That's not what I'm up here to do," said resident Jimmy Teeling. "I'm up here to discuss a flawed system."

The arrests

A woman called police Nov. 27 to report that Shemwell had assaulted her, according to an affidavit. He was arrested Dec. 6 and released from jail after posting bond.

Court documents in the case outline a history of alleged abuse by Shemwell, with allegations that three times this year he assaulted a woman he was dating and with whom he had children.

Shemwell also was arrested in May after he refused to sign citations by an officer who reported clocking him driving 55 mph in a 35-mph zone. The officer also cited him for having an outdated address on his driver's license.

1 / 2La'Shadion Shemwell (right) addresses the council during Tuesday's meeting as council member Chuck Branch (left) listens.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor) 2 / 2T.J. Lane speaks to the council. McKinney's petition requirements are stricter than those in most North Texas cities.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor)

Shemwell accused the officer of pulling him over for "being black with dreadlocks" but brought forward a motion two weeks later to censure himself for his conduct.

In a Facebook post the day before his arrest this month, Shemwell wrote that he took a plea deal after he was falsely accused of a crime at age 19. The conviction has been used against him since, he wrote. In the post, he challenged people that if they wanted his seat, they should run for it.

Shemwell said his fellow council members shot down his request earlier this year for a charter amendment election to alter council members’ pay. During a February work session, he said the council’s current pay of $50 per meeting creates a “form of discrimination against a population of people.”

“I’m not perfect, but if we’re changing the rules -- and we can change the rules -- then we might as well make it whites only,” said Shemwell, who was elected in 2017 and only the second African-American elected in city history.

“I’m going to stop you there,” McKinney Mayor George Fuller said, later threatening to turn off Shemwell’s microphone when he didn’t back down.

The recall process

According to the city charter, a recall petition must be filed within 30 days of notifying the city secretary of petition plans and must include signatures from 25 percent people who voted in the last municipal election. The petition also much be signed by 15 percent of the city's total number of qualified voters.

At Tuesday's meeting, Fuller suggested -- with the consensus of most council members -- altering the petition requirement to include signatures only from 30 percent of the number of people who voted in the last municipal election and extending the gathering period to 45 days.

As of Dec. 7, McKinney had over 105,000 registered voters, according to the city. That means under the current process signatures from more than 15,000 people are needed for a recall election. Over 11,000 people voted in last year's municipal election.

1 / 2Jolie Williams is seen on a television screen as she addresses council members.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor) 2 / 2Williams had a purple ribbon — symbolizing domestic violence awareness — on the back of her head at the meeting.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor)

McKinney’s petition requirements aren’t in line with those of other North Texas cities.

In Plano, for example, a petition must include signatures from 30 percent of voters in the last municipal election or 150 signatures — whichever is greater. Allen requires signatures from 10 percent of voters registered at the time of the last municipal election.

Frisco requires that a petition have 150 signature or be signed by 30 percent of voters in the last regular mayoral election — whichever is greater.

Fuller said he had been inundated with messages from people concerned about the city’s high bar for recall elections.

"It should be something that's very difficult, but it should not be unachievable," he said. Right now, he said, it's "virtually impossible."

"I don't want you to get too stuck in the weeds and then maybe not even get this on the ballot," McKinney resident Bridgette Wallis said.