A recall petition shall comply with the provisions of the Charter and the City Election Code. The following shall apply to all recall petitions:
(a) To qualify for presentation to the City Council, a recall petition shall be signed by registered voters equal in number to at least 15% of the registered voters eligible to vote for the office, the incumbent of which is sought to be removed. The 15% shall be computed upon the number of registered voters on the date of filing with the City Clerk of the Notice of Intention to circulate the petition described in subsection (b) of this section. If the recall petition concerns removal of a member of Council, or member of the Board of Education, the 15% shall be computed upon the total number of registered voters within the Council district or Board district from which the Council member, or member of the Board of Education was elected. Only signatures of registered voters living within the Council district or Board district, as the case may be, shall be counted in computing the 15%, and only voters residing within the district shall be entitled to vote at the election. All names signed to a petition must have been secured within the time period described in subsection (d), and any signature affixed outside of this time period shall not be counted in determining the sufficiency of the petition.
(b) Before submitting a recall petition for signatures, its proponents shall publish a Notice of Intention and a Statement of Reasons (Statement) for the proposed recall. No such notice shall be effective if published: (1) before the officer has held his or her current term of office for three months, or (2) within six months of the expiration of the current term of office, or (3) within six months after a recall election at which the officer was retained in office. The Statement shall be served on the officer to be recalled and on the City Clerk, and shall otherwise comply with requirements of the City Election Code. The sufficiency of the Statement shall not be subject to review by the Council; however, the petition, when circulated, shall have attached to it an affidavit of one or more of the proponents that all of the facts contained in the Statement are true.
(c) The officer whose recall is sought, or anyone acting upon his or her behalf, may publish an Answer to the Statement (Answer) in accordance with the requirements of the City Election Code. If an Answer is published, it shall be served on the proponent of the recall and on the City Clerk, and shall otherwise comply with requirements of the City Election Code. The Statement and Answer are intended solely for the information of the voters and no insufficiency in their form or substance shall affect in any manner the validity of the proceedings taken under the Charter.
(d) Within the time after the publication and service of the Statement as provided in the City Election Code, the petition demanding the recall of the officer may be circulated for signatures. The petition shall contain a copy of the Statement and any Answer, and shall otherwise be in a form prescribed by the City Election Code. Signatures shall be secured and the petition filed within 120 days from the first day to circulate.
(e) Except as otherwise provided, the provisions of this Article relating to the form and to the mode of signing initiative petitions, and to the filing, examining, certifying, supplementing, presenting to the Council and the retaining thereof, shall apply to any petition filed with the City Clerk under this section. The sufficiency or insufficiency of any recall petition shall not be subject to review by the Council.