Chattanooga Tea Party leader Mark West said his group is not the instigator of a recall of City Councilman Chris Anderson.
Mr. West said, "Recently there have been reports that Citizens for Government Accountability & Transparency and/or the Tea Party have been involved in or are leading an effort to recall District 7 city councilman Chris Anderson. There is no truth to this report.
"CGAT led the effort to halt the domestic partner ordinance that was passed by the Chattanooga City Council, forcing it to a referendum in August for the voters to decide. However, at no time has CGAT, the Tea Party or any of its officers or leaders been involved in or led the District 7 Recall.
"The president of CGAT was out of the country when the recall effort was organized and inexplicably CGAT’s name, address and email was affixed to an initial draft petition for the District 7 Recall. However, such use was never authorized or approved and as soon as CGAT became aware of this fact, CGAT made a request to the organizers of the recall to remove any reference to CGAT on their petition.
"CGAT firmly supports the lawful right of District 7 citizens to recall their city councilman if they deem that he has failed to represent them and the needs of their district adequately.
"Throughout 2014 though, CGAT’s focus remains twofold: 1) to complete the repeal of the domestic partner ordinance by concluding a successful referendum campaign, and 2) to engage in the local campaigns of candidates whose values and positions align with those of CGAT, namely that of promoting limited government, fiscal conservatism, and free markets."