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Devon Conley recall, Mountain View Whisman School District, California (2025)
| Mountain View Whisman School District recall |
|---|
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in California California recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Devon Conley from her position on the Mountain View Whisman School District board of trustees in California began in June 2025.[1]
The recall effort started after the California Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) signed an agreement with the Santa Clara County Office of Education in November 2024 to conduct an extraordinary audit of the Mountain View Whisman School District. That type of audit looks for "potential fraud, misappropriation of funds or other illegal fiscal activity," according to the Mountain View Voice.[2] The audit, published in August 2025, resulted in no findings.[3] You can read the full audit here.
Conley was elected to the board in 2018 and won re-election unopposed to a four-year term in 2022. She served as president of the school board in 2024.[1]
Recall supporters
The notice of intention to recall said that Conley "failed in her duty to safeguard public funds and act in the best interests of students and families." It also said that Conley "enabled and approved excessive, wasteful spending" by former Superintendent Ayindé Rudolph.[1] Rudolph resigned on November 1, 2024.[4]
“This action is the result of serious and sustained concerns about your leadership, accountability and the decisions you’d made that we believe have harmed the trust and wellbeing of families and students in this district,” Quintin Riis, member of the group seeking the recall, said while serving Conley a notice of intent to recall at a board meeting on June 12, 2025. “You were elected to serve the public and now the public is exercising its right to hold you accountable.”[1]
Recall opponents
Conley had not publicly commented on the recall effort as of June 13, 2025.[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]
To get the recall against Conley on the ballot, recall supporters will have to collect approximately 7,400 signatures in 120 days. The number of signatures is equal to 20% of registered voters in the school district.[4]
2025 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia has tracked 22 school board recall efforts against 40 board members in 2025. Recall elections against three board members were approved by voters on April 22, 2025, and June 10, 2025, removing all three from office. Recall elections against two other members are being held on November 4, 2025. Recall elections against three other members are being held on November 18, 2025.
The chart below details the status of 2025 recall efforts by individual school board member.
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
- Mountain View Whisman School District, California
- Mountain View Whisman School District, California, elections
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Mountain View Whisman School District
- Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters
- Recall Devon Conley website
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Mountain View Voice, "Mountain View Whisman school board member Devon Conley faces recall attempt," June 13, 2025
- ↑ Moutain View Voice, "Amid public scrutiny, state will audit Mountain View Whisman’s finances," November 15, 2024
- ↑ Mountain View Whisman School District, "FCMAT Audit Report," accessed September 9, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Palo Alto Daily Post, "Parents seek recall of Mountain View Whisman school board member," June 13, 2025
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Recall Procedures Guide 2023," accessed October 16, 2023
