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Ben Cantu recall, Manteca, California (2021)
| Manteca Mayoral recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2021 Recalls in California California recall laws Mayoral recalls Recall reports |
An effort in Manteca, California, to recall Mayor Ben Cantu was initiated in October 2021. Cantu received a notice of intent to recall on October 27, 2021. Recall organizers did not submit the first round of signatures by the deadline on November 3, 2021.[1]
Recall supporters
The recall effort was organized by a group called Mantecans4Change.[1] Petitions cited the following as grounds for a recall:[2]
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Inexcusable Neglect. On 7/15/2021, the 2020-2021 San Joaquin County Grand Jury (GJ) released its report (GJR) of its investigation of the City. The GJ found that after Mayor Benjamin Cantu (Mayor) was elected in 11/2018, he got rid of department heads and replaced them with executives who “lacked the experience, qualifications, and financial acumen” necessary to competently do their jobs. This created a dysfunctional administration that failed to effectively manage City operations. This inexcusable neglect and incompetence have led to chaos and complete turmoil in the administration of the City. Investigations/Settlement of Employee Lawsuits. The GJR also stated that “the loss of personnel and the haphazard execution of administrative leaves was the catalyst for several lawsuits resulting in investigations (costing $40k to $60k each), paid leave, severance packages and settlements that cost the City more than $1M over the last 2 years. Since the date of the GJR, the City has also paid additional settlement monies just short of $500k. Failure to Enforce Laws. Three long years after taking office, the Mayor has intentionally failed to enforce laws and address the growing homeless encampments in the City, and specifically within City parks enjoyed by all citizens. The failure to address these issues has created a public safety issue and is detrimental to the citizens of Manteca and our quality of life.[3] |
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Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
Recalls of local officials in California start with notices of intent to targeted officials. Each notice requires signatures from 10 city residents, the name of the targeted official, and reasoning for the recall that cannot exceed 200 words. A copy of the notice is delivered to the city clerk, who publishes the notice in at least three public places. Targeted officials have seven days following receipt of their notices to issue statements of defense. A recall petition can be circulated against each targeted official once the notice of intent is published.
Cantu received the notice of intent to recall on October 27, 2021. Recall organizers had until November 3, 2021, to submit 20 signatures. A second round of signatures, amounting to about 8,000 signatures, would have been required to put the recall election on the ballot.[1]
See also
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Government website of Manteca, California
- Mantecans4Change official website
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Manteca Bulletin, "Mayor Cantu recall backers miss deadline," November 5, 2021
- ↑ Mantecans4Change, "NOTICE OF INTENTION TO CIRCULATE RECALL PETITION," accessed November 29, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
