Tony Vang recall, Fresno Unified School Board, California (2012)

An effort to recall Tony Vang from his position on the school board of the Fresno Unified School District in California was launched in June 2012. Vang resigned on September 17, 2012.

Reasons for recall

The Fresno Teachers Association (FTA) supported the recall effort, which was organized by a group called Community United for Education Justice. The recall effort was initiated after documents surfaced that showed Vang both lived and voted outside of the district. The California Education Code and Government Code mandates school board members live within the district they serve. Fresno Unified School District has an additional residency mandate that requires trustees to live within the portion of the district they represent. A recent traffic ticket as well as voting records show that Vang lives in Clovis. Records show that from 2007 to 2010, Vang registered to vote at a home not only outside of his area, but also outside of the entire district. For his part, Vang says, "I am in full compliance with the requirements for my board position and will not be forced to resign due to an unfounded recall campaign."

Path to the ballot

Greg Gaddams, president of the Fresno Teachers Association, said that the FTA would announce official plans for a recall in late June 2012, and that recall supporters planned to spend the summer gathering signatures. In early August 2012, recall organizers officially kicked off the recall campaign. Recall organizers were required to serve Vang with a notice of intention to recall, containing the signatures of ten voters. The next step would be to gather 4,725 signatures, representing 20% of registered voters in the district, within 120 days. However, recall organizers did not need to submit any signatures, since Vang resigned from the school board on September 17, 2012.

See also

• Recall campaigns in California
• Laws governing recall in California
• School board recalls