Janice Daniels, the elected mayor of Troy, Mich., made national headlines for statements that many deemed homophobic, and for a combative attitude that rubbed plenty of her constituents the wrong way.
Her naysayers took back power on Tuesday night, voting the realtor-turned-Tea-Party-pol out of office by 52 percent to 48 percent, with all precincts reporting, Troy Patch reports -- a rare event for this peaceful Detroit suburb.
Daniels first received negative attention shortly after she was elected when an earlier Facebook status surfaced, which read, "I think I am going to throw away my I Love New York carrying bag now that queers can get married there."
Since, she's made other statements deemed homophobic, often in an attempt to explain her past assertions, like a comparison of the dangers of the "homosexual lifestyle" to smoking cigarettes.
The recall campaign brought in over $18,000 in donations, attracted more than 100 volunteers and has received the support of community leaders, including three City Council members. Despite a last-minute challenge from the mayor herself, the Recall Janice Daniels group succeeded in their effort to place the recall on the Nov. 6 ballot, turning in almost 9,000 signatures in July.
Attorney John Kulesz, who helped spearhead the recall campaign, told The Huffington Post that the national attention Daniels garnered spurred them to take action. "We have a lot of work to do to make Troy's reputation what it was, I think, and the first step is removing the mayor," he said. "We want to stop the embarrassment of Troy."
The recall also points to Daniels' negative statements about other city employees and her vote against a proposed transit center backed by millions of federal funding.
For all of HuffPost Detroit's coverage of Michigan politics and election news, see the Detroit politics page.
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