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When petitioners gathered the required signatures to force a recall election for then-City Councilor Richard Chapman in 1989, he saw it as an opportunity to reacquaint himself with his district.

"I relived the attitude of campaigning," Chapman said Friday. "I went out and said hello to my constituents. I knocked on tons of doors and talked to people."

It worked for Chapman. District 8 voters refused to boot him from office.

Chapman, who represented the district from 1987 to 1991, was the only city official ever to face a recall election. But that soon may change.

Critics of City Councilor Don Harris have gathered enough signatures to force a recall election, the City Clerk's Office said Friday.

The Clerk's Office accepted 993 signatures from the group New Mexicans for Democracy, about 70 more than required, said Kelli Fulgenzi, assistant city clerk.

Campaign organizer James Lowe said district residents want Harris out because he has failed to attend meetings and listen to his constituents in District 9, which includes parts of the Northeast and Southeast Heights and the Four Hills neighborhood.

"It reflects the general mood of District 9," Lowe said. "When we talked to people, they were very unhappy."

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.

Lowe said the group is continuing to go door-to-door to collect signatures in District 9, because Harris has a pending lawsuit in state District Court that seeks to clarify the requirements for a recall election and could require substantially more voters' names.

Harris contends that the number of signatures set by the City Clerk's Office is unfair because it is based on a runoff election in November 2005.

Harris is asking a judge to order that the required number of signatures be based on the general election in October 2005, which had a higher turnout. Petitioners would then need 2,000 signatures to force a recall.

Harris said Friday he expects a decision on the lawsuit by Wednesday.

The deadline for soliciting signatures for a recall election is Aug. 3.

Depending on the judge's decision Wednesday, the recall vote could go on the October ballot or to a special election. It could cost the city up to $100,000 for a special election, City Clerk Millie Santillanes said.

Chapman, who was challenged because of his support of a smoking ordinance, said the special election for his recall cost $30,000, which he considered a waste of taxpayer money.

Councilor Sally Mayer almost faced a recall election in July 2006 when opponents of her HEART Ordinance, an animal welfare bill, wanted her out. The group seeking her ouster failed to gather the necessary signatures.

Mayer said it was still stressful. She even left the city for two weeks so she could visit her grandson in Chicago and think about her position on the animal ordinance, she said.

"It's a time to look inward," she said. "In some ways, I had to re-examine what I was doing, and I felt pretty good about myself. I thought, `If they recall me, so be it.' "

Harris, a lawyer, said Friday that the recall effort has been a strain on him.

"It's been hurting my business," he said. "It's been hurting my family. It's been a constant attack."

Chapman said it's tough going through a recall. A consultant at the time, Chapman said he would work at his business during the day, head to City Hall to work on City Council projects, then walked through his district with his family during the evening. In the end, it made him stronger, he said.

"You can't change the fact that you're going to have a recall election," Chapman said. "You have to seize the opportunity to talk to your constituents and seek their support."