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Kevin de León recall, Los Angeles, California (2021-2023)
| Kevin de León recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2023 Recalls in California California recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Councilman Kevin de León did not qualify for the ballot in Los Angeles, California.[1]
Organizers filed a notice of intent to circulate a recall petition against de León in October 2022.[2] The Los Angeles City Clerk approved the recall petition for circulation on December 6, 2022.[3]
On March 30, 2023, recall organizer and Eagle Rock resident Pauline Adkins told the Los Angeles Times she had not collected the 21,006 signatures needed to trigger a recall election and would not submit anything to the Los Angeles City Clerk.[1]
Organizers, led by Adkins, had tried to recall de León unsuccessfully on three previous occasions. They filed notices of intent to recall de León in May 2022, February 2022, and July 2021.[2][4][5][6][7]
Voters elected de León to represent District 14 on the Los Angeles City Council in 2020. He earned 52.6% of the vote in the nonpartisan primary on March 3, 2020. He previously represented District 24 in the California State Senate.
Recall supporters
Eagle Rock resident Pauline Adkins led the recall efforts against de León. The fourth recall petition said that the ground for recall was de León's participation in a meeting in October 2021, with Councilwoman Nury Martinez, Councilman Gil Cedillo, and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera. A recording of the meeting was leaked in October 2022. In the recording, de León said that Councilman Mike Bonin, who is white, carried his son, who is Black, in the same way that Martinez carried designer handbags.[8]
In previous recall attempts, organizers cited de León's record on homelessness as the motivation for the campaign. In particular, organizers opposed an effort to build tiny homes to shelter unhoused people in the district.[7]
The text of the third recall petition, filed in May 2022, appears below.[5][9]
Recall opponents
In response to the fourth recall campaign, de León's spokesman, Pete Brown, said that de León did not intend to resign. “After three failed attempts, yet another recall that distorts his record will not distract the councilmember or his office from continuing to serve the people of Council District 14. ... He will keep moving forward important projects and issues that threaten the communities and the lives of his constituents.”[2]
After the recording of the October 2021 meeting was published, de León said that his comments were "wholly inappropriate" and that he had fallen "short of the expectations we set for our leaders."[8]
In response to the initial recall effort in 2021, de León gave the following statement: "From day one, I promised my constituents that I would partner with them to tackle our district's challenges with urgency, compassion, and common sense -- and that is exactly what we are doing. ... Nothing will derail our focus on saving lives as we fulfill our commitment to lift unhoused Angelenos off the streets and into housing as quickly as possible."[10]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
Organizers, led by Pauline Adkins, filed a notice of intent to circulate a recall petition on October 27, 2022. For a recall election to have been scheduled, organizers would have needed to collect signatures from about 21,006 registered voters from Los Angeles City Council District 14. That figure represents 15% of registered voters in the district.[11]
Organizers initiated previous recall campaigns against de León in July 2021, February 2022, and May 2022.[4][5][6][7][10]
See also
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2021
- Political recall efforts, 2022
- Political recall efforts, 2023
- City council recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Los Angeles Times, "L.A. on the Record: Effort to recall Councilmember Kevin de León fails," April 1, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Los Angeles Times, "Organizers launch bid to recall embattled L.A. City Councilmember Kevin de León," October 27, 2022
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Recall effort against L.A. Councilman Kevin de León is cleared to gather signatures," December 6, 2022
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Epoch Times, "Organizers Refile Petition to Recall Kevin de León," March 1, 2022
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 The Eastsider, "Organizers launch second recall against L.A. Councilman Kevin de Leon," May 11, 2022
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Daily News, "Effort to recall LA Councilman Kevin De Leon ends; one proponent says they’ll refile in January," November 15, 2021
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Los Angeles Times, "Another L.A. recall effort has sprung up. This one targets Councilman Kevin de León," July 20, 2021
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Los Angeles Times, "Racist remarks in leaked audio of L.A. council members spark outrage, disgust," October 9, 2022
- ↑ Facebook, "Pauline Adkins," May 10, 2022
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Patch, "Kevin de Leon Becomes Third LA Councilmember Facing Recall," July 21, 2021
- ↑ Daily Breeze, "Bid to recall de Leon filed as LA City Council furor continues," October 27, 2022
