Nixa voters are going back to the polls after a petition triggered a recall vote of the city’s mayor.

Although the mask mandate expired over two months ago, a group called” Committee to Recall the Mayor or Nixa, Missouri” says the mandate was “an abuse of power.”

“Decision was made definitely for the health and safety of the residents of Nixa,” said Mayor Brian Steele, Nixa, Missouri. “That’s pretty much all I was thinking about at that point.”

In the actual petition, the group claims Mayor Brian Steele acted individually without regard to the citizens of Nixa or the City Council.

Mayor Steele says he simply did what was best for the community and Nixa’s economy was not “destroyed.”

“We’ve had incredible growth over the last two years, we had a record 15% increase in sales tax last year, during COVID, during the mask mandate, we had another 10% increase this year over last year, we’re on pace for another record this year,” said Steele.

Out of the 21,000 residents in Nixa, 67 signatures are needed to trigger a recall vote. This amount equals 10% of people who voted in the mayoral election.

The committee to recall Nixa’s Mayor declined an interview, but one of the committee members sent a personal statement saying he is a man with underlying conditions, got COVID-19 and recovered after three weeks. The power of government shouldn’t have been used this way.

Steele said he is “not overly worried” about the recall.

“I received much support, not only from my City Council but from community and business leaders,” said Steele. “Other elected officials in the region and voters in Nixa supported me, I hope that continues moving forward.”

The cost of the election is estimated to be 10 to $15,000.

(story by Francis Linn and Ivie Macy, Ozarks First)