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Jill Ravitch recall, Sonoma County, California (2020-2021)
| Sonoma County District Attorney recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| September 14, 2021 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2021 Recalls in California California recall laws County official recalls Recall reports |
A recall election seeking to remove Jill Ravitch from her position as the district attorney of Sonoma County, California, was on the ballot on September 14, 2021.[1] A majority of voters cast ballots against the recall, defeating the effort and keeping Ravitch in office.[2]
No regular candidates filed to run in the replacement race.[3] However, two write-in candidates—Omar Figueroa and Joey Castagnola—filed to run afterward.[4]
The recall effort began in October 2020. Recall supporters said Ravitch had ignored issues of inequality, injustice, and fire safety, failed to hold corporations accountable for environmental issues, prevented the release of police body camera recordings, disproportionately incarcerated minorities, and abused her powers to pursue personal vendettas.[5]
In response to the recall effort, Ravitch said the reasons for recall listed in the petition were “incorrect or incomprehensible.”[5] The Sonoma County Democratic Party announced it opposed the recall effort in March 2021.[6] All five members of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors also said they opposed the recall.[3]
Ravitch took office as district attorney in 2011 after winning election on June 8, 2010, with 54.2% of the vote against one other candidate. She won re-election against one opponent with 64% of the vote in 2014 and with 74.4% of the vote in 2018. Prior to the filing of the notice of intent to recall, Ravitch announced that she would not seek re-election in 2022.[5][7]
To get the recall on the ballot, recall supporters had to submit 30,056 signatures in 160 days. The county verified 32,128 signatures, which was sufficient to schedule a recall election.[5][8]
Recall vote
The recall election was on the ballot on September 14, 2021. Voters were asked two questions. The first asked if Ravitch should be recalled with the option to answer yes or no. The second question would normally list candidates who filed to run as Ravitch's replacement in the event that she was removed from office; however, no regular candidates filed to run for the replacement race. Two write-in candidates filed to run in the race, so voters were able to write in one of their names.[3][4]
Yes/no question
Jill Ravitch recall, 2021
Jill Ravitch won the Sonoma County District Attorney recall election on September 14, 2021.
Recall Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
Yes |
23.8
|
45,249 | |||
| ✔ | No |
76.2
|
144,519 | ||
Total Votes |
189,768 | ||||
|
|
Replacement question
General election
Special general election for Sonoma County District Attorney
No candidate won the special general election for Sonoma County District Attorney on September 14, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| Omar Figueroa (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | 76.8 | 1,514 | ||
| Joey Castagnola (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | 23.2 | 458 | ||
Vote totals may be incomplete for this race. | ||||
| Total votes: 1,972 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Recall supporters
The recall effort was started by Sonoma County developer Bill Gallaher and his daughter Molly Gallaher Flater. “We think District Attorney Ravitch has been horrible, and we feel the voters deserve a chance to decide whether she should complete her term,” Gallaher Flater said.[5]
Scroll in the box below to read the full recall petition.
Recall opponents
In response to the recall effort, Ravitch said, “I’m so proud of the work the District Attorney’s Office does, and it’s such an honor to lead a dedicated group of professionals who work hard every day to ensure justice [...] These allegations strike not just at me but the work my office does, and that’s unfortunate.”[5]
In reaction to the allegation that she had abused her powers to pursue personal vendettas, Ravitch said the opposite was true. She said she had made unpopular decisions based on facts and the pursuit of justice and that she had lost friendships because of those decisions. “I have to wonder whether or not that’s projecting on their part,” Ravitch said.[5]
Ravitch also questioned whether Gallaher and his daughter started the recall effort due to a $500,000 settlement that was reached in 2020 between the Oakmont Management Group, which ran senior care homes owned by Gallaher, and state and local prosecutors. The settlement ended a civil lawsuit filed by the California Attorney General along with local prosecutors following the 2017 Tubbs fire. The lawsuit alleged that the senior care homes had left infirm residents “with no means to evacuate themselves” and had not adequately trained staff on emergency evacuations.[5]
All five members of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors said they opposed the recall.[3] The Sonoma County Democratic Party also announced it opposed the recall. The party published the following statement on March 9, 2021:[6]
| “ |
Resolution Opposing the Recall of the Sonoma County District Attorney Whereas, the recall against District Attorney Jill Ravitch was filed in October 2020, less than one week after District Attorney Jill Ravitch publicly announced she would be retiring when her term expires at the end of 2022; and Whereas, the recall was filed by an individual who reportedly owns Oakmont Senior Living and two related companies that own or operate the care homes, Varenna and Villa Capri; and Whereas, the individual who owns Oakmont Senior Living reportedly paid $500,000 less than two months prior to filing the recall to settle a lawsuit filed by local and state prosecutors over the abandonment of care home residents of Varenna and Villa Capri during the 2017 Tubbs Fire; and Whereas, the individual filing the recall is currently the sole contributor of funds to the recall effort; and the amount of funds contributed to the recall effort by this individual have reportedly exceeded the legal limit under law by a factor of 88X; and Whereas, it is estimated that this recall may cost Sonoma County taxpayers between $500,000 to $800,000, if it were to be placed onto the ballot; and Whereas, if this recall were to be successful, it would decrease the term of Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch by approximately a year. Now, Therefore, Be it Resolved, that the Sonoma County Democratic Party opposes the recall of District Attorney Jill Ravitch; and be it, Further Resolved, that the Sonoma County Democratic Party urges that voters in Sonoma County DO NOT sign the petition recalling Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch; and be it, Further Resolved, should this recall be placed on the ballot, the Sonoma County Democratic Party will actively campaign to defeat the recall of Sonoma County District Attorney, Jill Ravitch.[9] |
” |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
The notice of intent to recall was filed with the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters on October 23, 2020. To get the recall on the ballot, recall supporters had to submit 30,056 signatures in 160 days. Recall supporters filed the petitions by the deadline, and Sonoma County election officials started the signature verification process in April 2021. On May 12, 2021, Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor-Registrar of Voters Deva Marie Proto announced the county had verified 32,128 signatures, which was sufficient to schedule a recall election. The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors had to issue an order to set the date of the recall election within 14 days. The election had to take place between 88 and 125 days after the order was issued.[5][8][10] Supervisors voted on May 25, 2021, to schedule the recall election for September 14, 2021.[1]
The candidate filing deadline for the recall election was July 1, 2021.[1] The write-in candidate deadline was 14 days before the election.[3]
See also
- Sonoma County, California
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2021
- Political recall efforts, 2020
- County official recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Sonoma County District Attorney
- Sonoma County Registrar of Voters
- Recall District Attorney Ravitch website
- Stop the Recall website
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 CBS SF Bay Area, "Sonoma County Supervisors Vote To Spend $900,000 On Recall Election Of DA Jill Ravitch," May 25, 2021
- ↑ Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor and Registrar of Voters, "California Gubernatorial Recall Election September 14, 2021," accessed September 15, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 The Press Democrat, "Past deadline for all but write-in candidates in Sonoma County District Attorney recall election," July 2, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sonoma County Registrar of Voters, "September 14, 2021: Qualified Write-Ins for District Attorney Recall," accessed September 1, 2021
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 The Press-Democrat, "Sonoma County developer Bill Gallaher launches recall campaign against District Attorney Jill Ravitch," October 25, 2020
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sonoma County Democratic Party, "SCDP Opposes Recall of Sonoma County District Attorney," March 9, 2021
- ↑ Sonoma County Registrar of Voters, "Elections," accessed June 1, 2021
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Office, "Recall Petition for District Attorney Found to Have Sufficient Signatures; Special Election to Take Place Later This Year," May 12, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Press Democrat, "PD Editorial: It’s recall-mania in California," April 28, 2021
