Jessie Lopez and Thai Viet Phan recall, Santa Ana, California (2023)
| Jessie Lopez and Thai Viet Phan recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Thai Viet Phan |
| Recall status |
Did not go to a vote (Phan) |
| Recall election date |
| November 14, 2023 (Lopez) |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2023 Recalls in California California recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An election to recall City Councilmember Jessie Lopez was scheduled for November 14, 2023, in Santa Ana, California. Voters retained Lopez.[1][2][3]
An effort to recall City Councilmember Thai Viet Phan did not go to a vote after signatures were not turned in by the August 7, 2023, deadline.[2]
Recall vote
Jessie Lopez recall, 2023
Jessie Lopez won the Santa Ana City Council Ward 3 recall election on November 14, 2023.
Recall Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
Yes |
43.6
|
2,993 | |||
| ✔ | No |
56.4
|
3,867 | ||
Total Votes |
6,860 | ||||
|
|
Recall supporters
Gerry Serrano, the president of the police officers' union in Santa Ana, was among the supporters of the recall campaign.[1]
In an editorial in The Orange County Register, the recall committee's chairman, Tim Rush, explained the grounds for the campaign, writing:[4]
| “ |
We are seeking to recall Lopez and Phan for their part in advancing extreme policies that [are] harmful to our neighborhoods and undermine the strides Santa Ana has been making in improving our quality of life. Their palpable hostility to law enforcement is one aspect of their destructive record—but there is more. Lopez and Phan provided the votes to enact a badly crafted rent control ordinance that goes far beyond existing state law. It is the most radical city rent control measure in California. This measure is like a neon sign to housing providers warning them not to invest in Santa Ana and building more affordable housing. Data and studies have proven over and over that in reality, rent control ultimately leads to higher rents, disinvestment in rental housing stock and higher levels of crime. ... Their hostility to enterprise is matched by hostility toward policing that threatens to undo hard-won gains in the fight against crime. For example, they voted to repeal to city's 30-year old ban on street cruising, impeding our police department's ability to combat the associated criminal activity. Lopez and Phan opposed an ordinance to cite the spectators who throng to and encourage street take-overs and street racing. They want to stop our police from enforcing 'minor' offense. Turning a blind eye to 'minor' law breaking encourages greater law breaking.[5] |
” |
Recall opponents
Response from Phan and Lopez
Phan said that Serrano initiated the recall "to ensure ... he can have someone on that dais who will do what he wants." Likewise, Lopez said, "Mr. Serrano refuses to be logical, and he has made it very clear that he is looking to have a council that will do whatever he wants at whatever costs he wants."[1]
Both Phan and Lopez denied that they had voted in favor of defunding the police. Phan said, "As a crime survivor with family who are active duty officers, ... I have voted yes on every item that ensures officer welfare, expands community policing and builds trust with our community, so their allegation is patently false."[1]
Lopez added, "I have been part of a council that approved hiring more police officers, approved hiring bonuses and approved safety equipment for our officers. The gang enforcement unit is fully funded and I’m proud to have a good working relationship with our police chief, David Valentin.”[1]
The Orange County Register Editorial Board
In an editorial opposing the recall, the Editorial Board of The Orange County Register wrote:[6]
| “ |
Now Serrano's union is taking its scorched-earth policy to the next level. City Council recently approved a 3 percent pay raise for officers. The biggest indignity, perhaps: The council is forcing Serrano to spend time on police work—and not just union business as part of his half-million-dollar package. So the union took steps toward recalling councilmembers Jessie Lopez and Thai Viet Phan. True to form, the union accuses them of backing 'harmful housing development measures' and 'defunding the police.' We oppose many of Lopez's and Phan's housing policies, but this attempted recall of these two Democrats has no more to do with housing policy than it did with their recall of Republican Iglesias. By the way, no council member supports defunding the police. This is about the union trying to force council members to kiss Serrano's ring. Sana Ana voters need to employee the only tactic that ever works with bullies: pushing back.[5] |
” |
Other recall opponents
Opponents of the recall also included Ward 5 Councilman Johnathan Ryan Hernandez and Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento.[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
The number of valid signatures required to put a local recall question on the ballot varies by the number of registered voters in the jurisdiction. For the officials of a city, county, school district, county board of education, or any resident voting district, signatures from the following percentage of registered voters are required:[7]
- 30% in jurisdictions with 0 - 1,000 registered voters
- 25% in jurisdictions with 1,000 - 10,000 registered voters
- 20% in jurisdictions with 10,000 - 50,000 registered voters
- 15% in jurisdictions with 50,000 - 100,000 registered voters
- 10% in jurisdictions with 100,000 or more registered voters
Recall organizers submitted a petition to recall Lopez on June 12, 2023, which was found sufficient. Organizers had until August 7, 2023, to submit a petition to recall Phan, but the petition was not submitted.[2][8][9]
On October 30, 2023, Orange County Registrar Bob Page rescinded his certification of the signatures on the recall petition for Lopez. When calculating the number of signatures needed to trigger the recall effort, current voter data was used rather than voter data from when Lopez was elected in 2020. Since Lopez's election, the city has undergone redistricting, which changed the number of voters in Ward 3 and the ward boundaries. Page said that, based on voter data from 2020, the signatures recall organizers collected would not have been sufficient to trigger a recall election. He also said that some voters who were in Lopez's district when she was elected would not be able to vote in the recall election, while other voters who weren't in her district would be able to vote.[10]
The Santa Ana City Council met on October 30, 2023. A motion to take no action regarding the recall election failed after three council members voted for it and three voted against it. A motion that would have resulted in the recall election being canceled also failed after three council members voted for it and three voted against it. Lopez abstained from voting in both cases. The recall election remained scheduled for November 14, 2023.[11]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 The Orange County Register, "Santa Ana police union moves to recall 2 councilmembers," January 30, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Orange County Register, "Recall election of Santa Ana Councilmember Jessie Lopez set for Nov. 14," August 17, 2023
- ↑ City of Santa Ana, "Notice of Special Election," accessed August 18, 2023
- ↑ The Orange County Register, "Tim Rush: Here’s why Santa Ana Councilmembers Lopez and Phan should be recalled," February 4, 2023
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Orange County Register, "Santa Ana's Police Union Tries to Bully the Santa Ana City Council," February 2, 2023
- ↑ Orange County, "Handbook on the Procedures for Recalling Local Officials," accessed February 9, 2023
- ↑ Voice of OC, "Will Two Santa Ana Council Members Be Recalled Over Rent Control, Police Policies?" June 14, 2023
- ↑ Voice of OC, "Recall of Santa Ana Council Member Over Rent Control, Policing Headed to Voters," July 25, 2023
- ↑ LAist, "Santa Ana Moves Ahead With Controversial Recall Election," October 31, 2023
- ↑ YouTube, "Santa Ana Special Council Meeting Oct. 30, 2023-English," October 30, 2023
