PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WVEC) -- A judge has rejected a petition to recall Portsmouth Mayor Kenny Wright, saying it did not gather enough signatures for it to be put on the ballot.
The City's registrar checked 8,530 signatures on the petition, even though it only needed just a little more than 7,700 for the recall to be put to the public for a vote.
However, those signatures were still not enough, as only 6,012 could be verified. Many signatures were deemed invalid, because some of voters weren't qualified to sign. Additionally, some signatures were duplicated, other voters couldn't be identified, and some petition paperwork was lacking.
"This was the battle, it wasn't the war, we still want responsible government here in Portsmouth, we are disappointed that we didn't have the requisite number for force this recall vote," said Robert Marcus, who organized the petition.
Marcus started the petition over 14 months ago to force a recall election.
Following the petition's submission, Mayor Wright told 13News Now, “I love this city and all of its people! In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 'We shall overcome!'"
Mayor Wright is running for re-election against five challengers in November.
After the petition was rejected, Mayor Wright said that he is confident that he will be re elected again.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.