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City council recall, Blue Lake, California (2025-2026)
| Blue Lake city council recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Elise Scafani Kat Napier |
| Recall status |
Did not go to a vote (Sawatzky & Napier) |
| Recall election date |
| January 6, 2026 (Scafani) |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in California California recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An election to recall Mayor Pro Tem Elise Scafani is scheduled for January 6, 2026, in Blue Lake, California. The election will be conducted by mail.[1][2]
An effort to recall Mayor John Sawatzky and City Councilor Kat Napier did not go to a vote after recall organizers did not collect sufficient signatures to trigger a recall election.[3]
In Blue Lake, the mayor and mayor pro tem are chosen annually by the city council from among the council's members.[4]
Recall vote
Elise Scafani recall, 2026
Elise Scafani is facing a recall election in the Blue Lake City Council At-large recall on January 6, 2026.
Recall Vote |
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Votes |
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Yes |
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No |
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Total Votes |
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Recall supporters
Blue Lake resident Elissa Rosado served Sawatzky, Scafani, and Napier with recall notices at the May 27, 2025, meeting of the Blue Lake City Council. While speaking at the meeting, Rosado said, "Through your actions, you have exposed the city to financial, legal, and operational jeopardy by one, your inability and your unwillingness to vote for and adopt a housing element. Two, separating the city manager, Mandy Mager, from her position without justifiable cause in the meeting, most likely violated the Ralph and Brown Act."[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
No specific grounds are required for recall in California. The recall process starts with a notice of intention to recall. The notice must be served to the officer whose recall is being sought as well as published in a newspaper of general circulation. The notice must then be filed with the relevant election office. Once the notice has been deemed sufficient by the election office, a petition must also be filed and approved by the election office. Once the petition is approved, it can be circulated. To get a recall on the ballot, supporters must collect signatures from registered voters in the jurisdiction. The number of signatures required is between 10% and 30% of registered voters in the jurisdiction, depending on the size of the jurisdiction. Jurisdictions with 1,000 registered voters or fewer require 30%, and jurisdictions with 100,000 or more registered voters require 10%. Charter cities can also set their own signature threshold. The amount of time allowed for the circulation of recall petitions also varies by the number of registered voters in a jurisdiction, between 40 and 160 days. Jurisdictions with fewer than 1,000 registered voters allow 40 days, and jurisdictions with more than 50,000 registered voters allow 160 days.[5]
Recall context
- See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2024 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.
See also
- Ballotpedia's Recall Report
- Blue Lake, California
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- City council recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 KRCR, "Blue Lake residents initiate recall effort of three city council members," June 4, 2025
- ↑ Times Standard, "Blue Lake sets recall election date," September 11, 2025
- ↑ Lost Cost Outpost, "Blue Lake Recall Effort Falls Short for Two Council Members, But Election Will Proceed for Scafani," August 7, 2025
- ↑ Blue Lake, California, "Blue Lake City Council," accessed June 12, 2025
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Recall Procedures Guide 2023," accessed October 16, 2023
