Kollin Kosmicki and Ignacio Velazquez recall, San Benito County, California (2025)
| Kollin Kosmicki and Ignacio Velazquez recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Ignacio Velazquez |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
1833 (Velazquez)[1] |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in California California recall laws County commission recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall San Benito County Supervisors Kollin Kosmicki and Ignacio Velazquez is underway in California. Recall organizers must collect 1,736 signatures for Kosmicki and 1,833 signatures for Velazquez in order to get the recall on the ballot.[1]
In September 2025, organizers submitted 2,256 signatures toward Velazquez’s recall petition. Election officials had until November 3, 2025, to verify whether the petition contains enough valid signatures to move the recall forward.[2] On October 29, 2025, the San Benito County Clerk-Recorder announced that 1,842 of the 2,256 submitted signatures were valid. The San Benito County Board of Supervisors is responsible for scheduling the recall election date within 14 days.[3]
Recall supporters
In the recall petition against Kosmicki, organizers submitted the following reasons for recall:[4]
| “ |
Supervisor Kosmicki has abused his position by promoting a divisive agenda that prioritizes political control over public safety. He has refused to collaborate with Hollister to renew a proven, cost-effective fire services contract. He ignored public calls for openness, transparency and collaboration, instead negotiating behind closed doors and excluding key stakeholders like the Fire Chief, and spreading false narratives about department costs and firefighter compensation. Despite claims the County cannot afford to pay its share for Hollister fire services, he is attempting to unilaterally replace those services by building a new County Fire Department which will cost taxpayers millions more than the contract with Hollister Fire, and result in reduced fire protection for residents and unsafe working conditions for firefighters. Furthermore, his continued pattern of disrespect toward firefighters, colleagues and residents who disagree with him has fostered a toxic political environment. This recall is necessary to restore integrity, transparency, and respectful leadership to San Benito County. [5] |
” |
In the recall petition against Velazquez, organizers submitted the following reasons for recall:[6]
| “ |
Supervisor Ignacio Velazquez has abused his position and put our community at risk. He worked in secret with select officials, shut out the public, ignored the Fire Chief, and attempted to push one-sided contract terms through to force Hollister to continue paying the majority of cost for county fire service, When Hollister said no and asked to sit down openly and negotiate, he flat-out refused. He has ignored calls by the public for transparency and cooperation. After claiming the County can't pay its share of the fire contract, he's pushing to build a new County fire department — a move that will cost taxpayers millions more than the Hollister Fire Contract, reduce fire protection for residents, and put firefighters in unsafe working conditions. His behavior during public meetings has been unprofessional and disrespectful, especially towards our firefighters and members of the public. He has demonstrated a long-time pattern in the community of bullying and spreading misinformation that erodes public trust. Our county deserves leadership that listens, respects, and acts with transparency. This recall seeks to remove an official who no longer represents the values or interests of our residents. [5] |
” |
Recall opponents
Kosmicki responded to the recall petition as follows:[4]
| “ |
Those behind this dishonest effort claim it's about stalled fire contract negotiations. It turns out I helped to negotiate the newly approved fire protection contract ensuring high-level public safety for years to come throughout San Benito County. This is a big victory for our community. But this was never about fire protection. This is driven by a small group of constantly negative people trying to spread misinformation and line the pockets of developers. They are desperate to remove me as a bold leader who is constantly standing up for responsible housing growth and prioritizing road improvements. This is an effort to fool the public and help special interests gain control of our community. This effort to intimidate me involves former Hollister Councilman Rick Perez. It comes after 1 openly opposed his and others’ push to expand Hollister's boundaries by 3,000 acres to allow uncontrolled housing growth on prime farmland. We defeated their effort together, but Perez and his friends aren't giving up. Now, they are abusing the recall process as a political tactic. This will not deter me from staying transparent, fighting for our community's best interests and representing everyday residents. [5] |
” |
Velazquez responded to the recall petition as follows:[6]
| “ |
FACTS ARE FACTS: This Sham Recall is from people that want more Housing Developments approved and not about a Fire Contract that has already been approved and extended for 5 years. Developers want you to pay Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars for another election so they can remove Slow Growth Supervisors, such as myself and install Pro Growth Supervisors to approve their projects. This Recall is being organized by Former Mayor Mia Casey and Former Council Member Rick Perez. They were both kicked out of office by voters tired of their attempts to develop over 3000 acres of Farmland. Currently, there are over a Dozen Housing Developments that DO NOT have the support to move forward! This is why Developers are once again working with Former Mayor Mia Casey and Rick Perez to help them get their projects approved. We CANNOT let Developers take over our County again! We finally have a Slow Growth Majority at the County Board of Supervisors and Hollister Clty Council. We can’t afford to go back to the old ways of rubber stamping projects for developers. SAY NO TO DEVELOPERS BY SAYING NO TO THIS SHAM RECALL [5] |
” |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
No specific grounds are required for recall in California. The recall process starts with a notice of intention to recall. The notice must be served to the officer whose recall is being sought as well as published in a newspaper of general circulation. The notice must then be filed with the relevant election office. Once the notice has been deemed sufficient by the election office, a petition must also be filed and approved by the election office. Once the petition is approved, it can be circulated. To get a recall on the ballot, supporters must collect signatures from registered voters in the jurisdiction. The number of signatures required is between 10% and 30% of registered voters in the jurisdiction, depending on the size of the jurisdiction. Jurisdictions with 1,000 registered voters or fewer require 30%, and jurisdictions with 100,000 or more registered voters require 10%. Charter cities can also set their own signature threshold. The amount of time allowed for the circulation of recall petitions also varies by the number of registered voters in a jurisdiction, between 40 and 160 days. Jurisdictions with fewer than 1,000 registered voters allow 40 days, and jurisdictions with more than 50,000 registered voters allow 160 days.[7]
Recall context
- See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2024 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.
See also
- Ballotpedia's Recall Report
- San Benito County, California
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- County commission recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Recall Elections Blog, "California: Petitions taken out against two San Benito County Supervisors," June 13, 2025
- ↑ SanBenito.com, "Group submits petition for election to recall San Benito County supervisor," October 1, 2025
- ↑ BenitoLink, "Effort to recall Velazquez gathers just enough signatures," November 4, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 San Benito County, "Recall Attempt, County Supervisor, District 2," accessed June 30, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 San Benito County, "Recall Attempt, County Supervisor, District 2," accessed June 30, 2025
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Recall Procedures Guide 2023," accessed October 16, 2023
