Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
John Kelly recall, Sonoma Valley Unified School District, California (2023)
| Sonoma Valley Unified School District recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2023 Recalls in California California recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall John Kelly from his position representing Trustee Area 3 on the Sonoma Valley Unified School District board of trustees in California did not go to a vote in 2023. Recall supporters did not filed petition signatures by the deadline on July 15, 2023.[1]
The recall effort began in April 2023.[2] To get the recall on the ballot, supporters would have had to collect 1,049 signatures.[3]
Kelly was re-elected to a four-year term on the five-member board in 2020. He ran unopposed in that election.[4][5]
Recall supporters
Rachael Hairston filed the recall petition with the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters. The reasons for recall on the petition included public records violations, conflict of interest in school district construction contracts, neglecting student welfare, unethical behavior, and acts of deception and dishonesty, according to the Sonoma Valley Sun.[2]
The petition also said that Kelly had ignored the terms of his censure.[2] He was censured by the board on March 7, 2022. The censure vote came after an independent investigation found that he had "abused his position of authority" while serving as president of the board.[6]
Recall opponents
Kelly said that the recall effort felt like a personal grudge. “The highly inflammatory and deceitfully-crafted text is riddled with half-truths and innuendo. It expresses personal opinion as fact and promotes conflicts that have long been both publicly and satisfactorily resolved or refuted,” Kelly said about the recall petition.[2]
Kelly also said, “This recall attempt feels disrespectful of our entire team’s courage, fortitude, and collective effort. It promotes divisiveness and does nothing to address the challenges we face. I would have hoped for productive engagement, rather than a costly distraction we can ill-afford.”[2]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
The Sonoma County Registrar of Voters approved the recall petition against Kelly for circulation on May 16, 2023.[3] To get the recall on the ballot, supporters would have had to collect 1,049 signatures in 60 days. The signatures were equal to 25% of the registered voters in the school district's Trustee Area 3.[7]
2023 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 48 school board recall efforts against 97 board members in 2023. Sixteen of those board members faced recall elections. The recall elections were held on January 10, 2023, August 1, 2023, August 8, 2023, August 29, 2023, November 7, 2023, and December 12, 2023. The school board recall success rate was 13.4%.
The chart below details the status of 2023 recall efforts by individual school board member.
See also
- Sonoma Valley Unified School District, California
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2023
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Troy Kennedy, Sonoma County Registrar of Voters," July 17, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Sonoma Valley Sun, "School Board recall, Earth Day salute, and more," May 2, 2023
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Sonoma Index-Tribune, "Group petitions to recall Sonoma Valley school board trustee John Kelly," May 15, 2023
- ↑ Sonoma Index-Tribune, "Sonoma school trustee John Kelly’s behavior slammed in investigative report," February 7, 2022
- ↑ Sonoma Valley Unified School District, "SVUSD Board of Trustees," accessed May 4, 2023
- ↑ Northern California Public Media, "Sonoma Valley school district censures trustee for multiple ethical violations," March 9, 2022
- ↑ The Sonoma Index-Tribune, "Group seeks to create ballot measure to recall Sonoma Valley school board trustee John Kelly," May 15, 2023
 |
State of California Sacramento (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
