A highly publicized effort to recall Arizona schools chief Diane Douglas is dead after the group behind the petition gathered less than 10 percent of the signatures realistically needed to force an election.
The petition drive launched in September needed about 450,000 signatures to ensure a margin of error to force a recall election. Only about 40,000 people signed.
Organizer Max Goshert said the failure of the recall is not the end of the story and vowed to keep watch on Douglas.
"If we can keep that spotlight on her, hold her accountable for every single thing that she does, and continue to push her to do things that don't just improve the power of her position but actually improve education in Arizona, that's what we need to do for the next three years," Goshert said.
He said that will help voters decide whether to reelect Douglas for another four-year term in 2018.
Dismay over Douglas' actions began early in her administration when she attempted to fire top employees at the state Board of Education-- a decision effectively overturned by Gov. Doug Ducey. Currently, two lawsuits are pending between Douglas and the board over who controls the board's employees.
Douglas also found herself in the news after claiming she was assaulted during an education board meeting by President Greg Miller. He said he was brushing away her microphone when she was speaking out of order but conceded he may have touched her. In the end, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery declined to prosecute, concluding that whatever Miller may have done did not rise to the level of assault.