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Jim Dear recall, Carson, California (2016)
| Carson City Clerk recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| February 23, 2016 |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2016 Recalls in California California recall laws City official recalls Recall reports |
An effort in Carson, California, to recall City Clerk Jim Dear from his position was launched in June 2015.[1] Recall organizers submitted enough valid signatures to force a recall election on February 23, 2016. The recall effort was approved in the election with Donesia Gause selected to replace Dear.[1]
Recall vote
A recall election was held on February 23, 2016. Voters decided whether to recall Dear from office. A second ballot question asked if voters approved Donesia Gause as city clerk following Dear's removal.[1][2]
| Shall Jim Dear be recalled (removed) from the office of City Clerk? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Recall | 4710 | 53.82% | ||
| Retain | 4041 | 46.18% | ||
| City Clerk to Succeed Jim Dear | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Donesia Gause | 4627 | 100% | ||
| Election results via: City of Carson accessed February 23, 2016 | ||||
Recall supporters
Dear was targeted for recall over what petitioners called "erratic behavior." Dear delayed his counting of votes cast in a June 2015 election and fought the council when they tried to appoint a temporary elections official. When the council then tried to appoint the winner to the seat during a meeting instead, Dear argued against the move, calling them "corrupt and evil." There were also accusations of intentional disenfranchisement over Dear changing two polling locations.[1] Dear was also targeted because of his support for a statue of former Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.[1]
Dear, who became city clerk in March 2015, served as mayor and city councilman for 14 years and survived a recall attempt in 2008.[1] The Carson City Council voted 4-1 in February 2016 to request an investigation into Dear's move from the mayor's office to the clerk's office. The majority who voted for the investigation by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office argued that Dear only sought to hold the clerk's office for a year to increase his pension. They also argued that Dear had not pursued any reforms of the clerk's office brought up during his 2015 election campaign. Councilmember Elito Santarina was the only dissenter on the council, citing widespread impacts on pensions received by public officials from pursuing the case.[3]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
A minimum of 800 valid signatures was required to force a recall election against Dear. Supporters submitted 12,000 signatures and Dear submitted 1,600 withdrawal signatures for petition signees who recanted their support for the recall. The Carson City Clerk approved enough signatures to require a recall election.[1]
See also
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2015
- Political recall efforts, 2016
- City official recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Daily Breeze, "Carson residents launch effort to recall City Clerk Jim Dear after erratic behavior," June 17, 2015 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "recall" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ KPCC, "Carson city clerk subject of recall election," February 18, 2016
- ↑ Daily Breeze, "Carson City Council moves for criminal investigation of Clerk Jim Dear," February 3, 2016
