Something incomprehensible happened Wednesday. News outlets began reporting that a political action committee named Our Town Austin had formed with the intent to recall Mayor Steve Adler and the five City Council members up for reelection in 2022. Its founder and treasurer, Sharon Blythe, apparently garners so much contempt for City Council that she expects, through petition and the 2020 election, to replace the entire council with what I would assume would be a slate of candidates that meets her standards of approval.

That in and of itself wasn’t the incomprehensible part. The incomprehensible part was that, at a time in Austin when petitions have become the norm during election season, Blythe might succeed. A recall effort that would normally be met with laughter instead made me recoil at the thought that it might succeed.

From loosening ridehailing regulations, to last year’s Proposition K demanding an efficiency audit, to Proposition J’s attempt to co-opt state law to change land development codes, Austin has been no stranger to these petition-led initiatives and referendums. While none of these met with electoral success, the message has been sent to the voting contingent of the perpetually dissatisfied that with the signatures of as little as 2% of the entire Austin population, they can attempt to force their will on the rest of us.

The actual language dictating the petition process is “5% of qualified voters, or 20,000 people, whichever is smaller.” But with a population nearing the 1 million mark, those 20,000 are just 2% of Austin residents. Two percent is all it takes to throw a wrench into any city policy.

In recall petitions the threshold is higher: 10% of qualified voters. That’s close to 60,000 signatures to force a recall election of the mayor, who is elected citywide. About 5,000 signatures of District 5 voters would be needed to force a recall election of Council Member Ann Kitchen, for instance.

It’s clear that those of a petition-driven mindset have become so brazen that they feel they can overrule all but the most inconsequential of policy decisions, and now even throw out the democratically-elected representatives of our city.

I have had some fundamental disagreements on policy positions with my council representative, Kathie Tovo. But I respect her as a person. I respect the process that got her elected. Not once have I thought to myself that I needed to try and co-opt an election because she put me in a foul mood on a few occasions. She and the other members on that dais are duly elected representatives. Without a monumental error in judgment, outrageous break in character or downright criminality, their removal before the next election should not be this easy to attempt.

When petitions seek to undo democratic processes, it is blatantly clear that the threshold for the petition to succeed is entirely too low. This has become a tactic now employed far too often and with subject matter that is now far outside the bounds of normalcy. It’s time to signal to our leaders that many people disagree with this nonsense.

Council members, lawmakers, administrators and whoever else needs to hear this: The threshold of needed signatures for a successful petition needs to be raised. And yes, fully aware of the irony, there’s a growing number of people willing to start a petition to that effect if needed.

Enough. This has gone from juvenile to dangerous. It’s time that it stops.

Cecil is a resident of District 9 in Central Austin.