Lawrence City Council considers no confidence vote for embattled Mayor DePeña, residents pursue recall election

City councilors in Lawrence, Massachusetts, are considering a vote of no confidence in embattled Mayor Brian DePeña as he faces a lengthy list of criminal charges in state and federal court, while a separate group of residents works to launch a recall effort to remove him from office.

DePeña was indicted in federal court in August on wire fraud and money laundering charges. At the state level, he is accused of wiretapping and witness intimidation.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and in the meantime has said he does not plan on resigning.

"We cannot normalize this type of situation. Twenty-six different charges, two different courts, two different systems are saying this person has done something wrong," Lawrence City Council President Jeovanny Rodriguez told WBZ-TV.

Rodriguez acknowledged it will ultimately be up to the courts to determine whether DePeña committed any crimes, but said councilors believe they need to respond to the situation in the meantime. At their meeting on Tuesday, they could move forward with a vote of no confidence.

"A no confidence vote, we believe is appropriate to let the mayor know that what he has done is unacceptable and the people need a level of confidence towards his job and what he's doing," Rodriguez added.

The vote would not remove DePeña from office, but residents pursuing a recall election believe it could strengthen their new effort to oust him later this year.

Lawrence resident Sarah Perez said organizers have already collected nearly 400 signatures as part of the first step in the process.

If and when the affidavit paperwork is approved and returned, Perez said organizers will have 30 days to collect 7,078 valid signatures. Their goal is to collect 10,000.

"It's going to take a lot of signatures, a lot of effort. Nobody can ask him to resign, nobody can force him out and nobody can fire him," Perez explained, adding the criminal cases surrounding DePeña have become a distraction for the city.

"A human being cannot be focused on being a mayor of the city and having all these distractions, all those charges. He's looking maybe many, many years in jail," Perez said.

"And it's just not good for us. And every time we become a viral sensation is for something bad is happening, bad news. And we are not like that. We at this point, we need a change. We need normalcy back."

Perez said organizers hope to receive the recall paperwork back by Oct. 19 and return the required signatures by Nov. 16, with the goal of holding an election within a couple of months.

DePeña was working at his office in Lawrence City Hall on Tuesday ahead of the city council meeting. He declined to comment.