Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz faces accusations of being anti-business in efforts to recall him.

Madison Citizens for Responsible Government has spearheaded the charge for the mayoral recall. To be successful, the group will have to gather 35,000 signatures on a recall petition in a 30-day period. According to Heather Mees, head of MCRG, the recall will be officially filed in the near future.

"I'd like to begin the process Friday," Mees said. "But if I have to wait a week, that's fine. We have 30 days from the start of the process to collect all the signatures. I just want to make sure we're organized before we begin."

Mees said the group brought the effort as a response to the smoking ban and other policies that have passed during the mayor's time in office that have hurt Madison businesses.

"There've been a lot of things that have passed that I've looked at and said, 'Wow, that sucks,'" Mees said.

However, Ald. Brenda Konkel, District 2, said Cieslewicz has been pro-business during his time in office.

"I think the mayor does too good a job of trying to please businesses," Konkel said, indicating that by helping businesses, the mayor has ignored other issues like poverty. "The mayor listens hard to businesses and tries to make compromises."

The mayor is comfortable with his stance on the smoking ban and other business-related decisions, according to George Twigg, communications director for the mayor.

"The primary issue of the recall effort has been the smoking ban," Twigg said. "But over 70 percent of citizens are in favor of the smoking ban."

Twigg said the mayor is aware he cannot please everyone with the tough decisions he is sometimes forced to make.

"It's a part of the mayor's job," Twigg said. "The mayor stands by his record, but some people are going to disagree with his decisions."

Twigg said a successful recall would be a difficult task and is a "tall order" because more than a thousand signatures a day would need to be gathered.

"But that's the way recalls are designed," Twigg said. "They're only supposed to be successful in extreme circumstances."

Konkel said she doubts the MCRG can accomplish its goal because the recall process is only for egregious mayoral practices.

"I don't think they have a chance to get 35,000 signatures," Konkel said, adding the mayor would have to do something "awful" in order to get that number of signatures.

According to Mees, business owners need to call out the mayor, even if their efforts are not entirely successful.

"I think we can get 35,000 signatures," Mees said. "However, if we miss the goal of 35,000 signatures, I hope that we can at least encourage other people who are angry with the mayor to vote in 2007. I think we need to wake this sleeping giant. The majority of people who work 40 hours a week don't vote."

Twigg said that, with regard to Cieslewicz being removed from office, the mayor will focus on his reelection instead of this effort for his recall.

"If the citizens of Madison have a problem with the way the mayor has done things, they can express their opinion when they vote in the fall of 2007," Twigg said.