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Critics looking to oust Albuquerque City Councilor Don Harris are getting close to the signatures they need to force a recall election.

But Harris is hoping to raise the number needed with a lawsuit filed Friday against the city clerk.

Harris and 14 of his District 9 constituents filed suit against City Clerk Millie Santillanes seeking to clarify the requirements for a recall election.

To recall a city official, petitioners need signatures from 25 percent of the number of people who voted in the last election, according to the City Charter.

What makes it confusing is that Harris was in two elections in 2005: a general election in October and a runoff with then-incumbent Tina Cummins the following month.

Harris said the City Charter doesn't make it clear if the number of signatures for a recall should be based on the runoff election, the general election or a combination of the two.

The City Clerk's Office is using the numbers from the runoff election in November 2005 as the basis of the recall petition. About 3,700 voters turned out, so only about 900 signatures are needed.

The group seeking to recall Harris had about 300 signatures and turned in about 400 more on Friday, Assistant City Clerk Kelly Fulgenzi said. The deadline for submitting signatures is late July.

Harris is asking a judge to order that the required number of signatures be based on the general election in October 2005, when roughly 8,400 people headed to the polls. Petitioners would then need 2,000 signatures to force a recall.

"People who seek to recall elected officials have rights," Harris said, though what those rights are needs to be clarified.

Santillanes declined to comment on the lawsuit.

James Church, a District 9 constituent, said he is joining Harris' lawsuit because he believes Harris should keep his seat on the City Council.

"I think Don Harris is a good councilman," Church said. "I think the people that are on this recall kick are doing it out of personal pique."

District 9 constituents have held Harris to the fire in the past couple of months. A group called New Mexicans for Democracy filed paperwork early June to support the recall. The group says he has no interest in the community and has wasted tax dollars with a study on speed humps in the Four Hills area.