Woodland Park Councilmember Carrol Harvey resigned Tuesday evening following news that a recall petition effort had succeeded that would have had her face a special election.

The petition contained 630 valid signatures and came about as a result of a schism between the city council and the Woodland Park School District over the council voting to remove a 1.09% sales tax that benefited the district. Before the removal, the council put a repeal of the tax on the ballot, which voters rejected.

Harvey, who was appointed by the council to fill a seat vacated from the 2022 election, supported  repealing the sales tax because the school district did not provide accurate reporting on how the tax would be used, according to previous Gazette reporting.

“I am very appreciative of the opportunity to serve the community … At this point in time, I believe all council members, including the latest appointee, are prepared to govern with confidence and care for our city,” Harvey said in her resignation statement.

Warren Dickerson, the spokesperson for the team responsible for the recall petition, said that he wished Harvey had resigned earlier like former Councilmember Teri Baldwin, who resigned in March.

“I’m happy that she’s resigned,” he said. “Given she’s only been appointed by city council, it doesn’t surprise me at all that she has decided not to face the election process,” he said.

According to a press release, the council will follow “the appropriate procedures outlined in the city charter to address the vacancy in the coming weeks.”

The city charter gives the council some options about how to fill a vacancy, including appointing someone, conducting an open application process or calling a special election. 

Dickerson said he hopes the council decides to run an election.

“We’ve earned an election, and I’m hoping that City Council honors that instead of appointing someone else,” he said.

This is the second time Harvey has resigned as a council member for Woodland Park. In 2019, she resigned after receiving death threats for spearheading a task force to control the mule deer population in the city, according to reporting from Gazette publication the Pikes Peak Courier.