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Leroy Garcia recall, Colorado State Senate (2019)
| Colorado State Senate recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2019 Recalls in Colorado Colorado recall laws State legislative recalls Recall reports |
Two efforts to recall Leroy Garcia, a member of the Democratic Party, from his elected position representing District 3 in the Colorado State Senate were launched in 2019.
The first recall was launched on April 10, 2019. As of October 24, 2019, the first recall had not been submitted to the state for approval and was considered as abandoned.
- The first recall, which was supported by the chairman of the Pueblo County Republican Party, criticized Garcia over his position on an oil and gas regulation bill and a gun bill.[1]
A second recall effort by a different group was approved for circulation on August 19.[2] Supporters had until October 18, 2019, to collect 13,506 signatures to force a recall election.[3][4] Recall supporters submitted four signatures on October 18 which ended the recall effort.[5]
- The second recall criticized Garcia because he voted for legislation related to oil and gas regulation. The oil and gas bill gives local governments more control over regulating the industry and also mandates that the state emphasize safety over promoting oil and gas production. The bill was signed by Gov. Jared Polis (D) in April 2019.[6] The recall also argued that Garcia had been involved with multiple lawsuits that have cost taxpayers thousands of dollars.[7]
In response to the first recall petition, Sen. Garcia issued a statement in response.
To read more on the recall efforts against the Colorado governor and other state legislative members in 2019, click here.
Garcia was elected to District 3 in the state Senate in 2014. He won re-election in 2018 with 74% percent of the vote. In the 2014 election, Garcia defeated incumbent George Rivera (R) with 54.9% of the vote. Rivera was elected to the chamber in the 2013 recall election to replace Angela Giron (D).
Recall supporters
First recall effort (not approved for circulation)
The recall against Garcia was filed by Marjorie and Tammy Klein. Marla Reichert, chairman of the Pueblo County Republican Party, told The Pueblo Chieftain that the Kleins filed the official paperwork on the behalf of local recall supporters. The Kleins also filed a recall petition against Rep. Bri Buentello (D).[1] As of October 18, 2019, the recall effort had not been submitted to the state for approval and was considered as abandoned.
Reichert said that Garcia and Rep. Buentello were targeted for recall because they both voted "for or against legislation opposed by Republicans in the Legislature."[1] Recall supporters did not like Garcia's support of an oil and gas regulation bill that was signed by Gov. Polis (D) in April 2019. Reichert also pointed to a gun bill signed by Polis in April 2019 for the recall. Supporters said that Garcia only voted against the gun legislation because he was afraid of a recall. The gun bill would temporarily remove guns from people who are deemed a threat to themselves or others.[8]
Second recall effort (approved for circulation; ended)
Susan Carr, Victor Head, and Ernest Mascarenas announced the Committee to Recall Leroy Garcia on August 12, 2019. The recall was approved for circulation on August 19. The petition listed the following reasons for recall:
| “ |
Senator Leroy Garcia has voted against the best interest of his district by voting YES on SB 19-181 which would restrict oil and gas production in Colorado. According to one of Pueblo county’s largest employers, EVRAZ Rocky Mountain Steel, these restrictions will threaten jobs and tax revenue in Pueblo county. Senator Garcia has betrayed the trust of his constituents by blatantly refusing to carry out the desires of the overwhelming number of the people he was elected to represent when 60% of Pueblo county voted no to similar oil and gas restrictions in proposition 112. Leroy Garcia has cost taxpayers ten of thousands of dollars in legal fees from a lawsuit settlement, and put thousands more at risk from another lawsuit because he ignored legislative rules. Because of his recklessness as Senate President, and his failure to represent the values and opinions of the citizens of the 3rd Senate district of the state of Colorado, we demand a recall election for Senator Leroy Garcia as the only reasonable and available means to defend the interest and values of the people of his district.[9] |
” |
| —Sen. Garcia Recall Statement of Grounds[10] | ||
Recall opponents
After the first recall was announced against Sen. Garcia, he said: "As the first Latino president of the Senate, I will not allow special-interest groups from Denver and El Paso County to silence me with threats of a recall."[4]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Colorado
First, a recall petition must be filed with the office in which nomination petitions are filed for the office that is being recalled. Generally, this office is the Colorado Secretary of State. The petition must include a statement of no less than 200 words explaining the ground on which the official is to be recalled. This regulation is for the benefit of citizens who will sign the petition.
After the petition is approved by the Secretary of State, circulation of the petition may begin. Petitioners have 60 days to gather the proper number of signatures. The number of valid signatures required to force a special recall election is 25% of the votes cast in the last election for the official being recalled. After the proper number of signatures have been gathered the petition is submitted to the office in which it was filed to be deemed sufficient. This entails verifying the signatures. Once the petition has been deemed sufficient, the office in which it was filed will deliver the petition along with a certificate of its sufficiency to the governor who will then set a date for the recall election.
The second recall petition was approved for circulation by the secretary of state on August 19, 2019. Supporters of the recall needed to collect 13,506 signatures by October 18, 2019, to force a recall election. The recall campaign submitted four signatures on October 18 which ended the effort.[5]
Election history
2018
- See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Colorado State Senate District 3
Incumbent Leroy Garcia Jr. defeated John Pickerill in the general election for Colorado State Senate District 3 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Leroy Garcia Jr. (D) | 73.6 | 39,768 |
 | John Pickerill (L)  | 26.4 | 14,253 | |
| Total votes: 54,021 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 3
Incumbent Leroy Garcia Jr. advanced from the Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 3 on June 26, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Leroy Garcia Jr. | 100.0 | 15,423 |
| Total votes: 15,423 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
- See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the Colorado State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 24, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 31, 2014. Leroy M. Garcia, Jr. was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while incumbent George Rivera was unopposed in the Republican primary. Garcia defeated Rivera in the general election.[11][12][13]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Leroy M. Garcia, Jr. |
54.9% | 27,813 | |
| Republican | George Rivera | 45.1% | 22,814 | |
| Total Votes | 50,627 | |||
Colorado state legislative and state executive recalls in 2019
The table below highlighted each recall effort in Colorado targeting state executive and state legislative members in 2019.
| 2019 Colorado state legislative and state executive recalls | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Office | Party | Status | Signature deadline | Reached the ballot | Recalled |
| Jared Polis | Governor | Democratic | Official; ended | September 6, 2019 |  |
- |
| Pete Lee | Senate District 11 | Democratic | Official; ended | September 10, 2019 | |
- |
| Brittany Pettersen | Senate District 22 | Democratic | Official; ended | September 16, 2019 | |
- |
| Leroy Garcia | Senate District 3 | Democratic | Official; ended | October 18, 2019 | |
- |
| Rochelle Galindo | House District 50 | Democratic | Official; ended | June 3, 2019 | |
- |
| Tom Sullivan | House District 37 | Democratic | Official; ended | July 12, 2019 | |
- |
| Bri Buentello | House District 47 | Democratic | Unofficial; ended | - | |
- |
| Jeff Bridges | Senate District 26 | Democratic | Unofficial; ended | - | |
- |
| Meg Froelich | House District 3 | Democratic | Unofficial; ended | - | |
- |
Historical state legislative recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 124 recall efforts against 120 state lawmakers from 1913 to 2018. During that time, 39 recalls made the ballot and 22 state legislators were successfully recalled.[14]
Michigan led the way with 35 state legislative recall efforts from 1913 to 2018. Of those 35 recall efforts, three were successful. Wisconsin followed with 30 state legislative recall efforts. Six of those recalls were successful.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Pueblo Chieftain, "Pueblo Co. GOP chair: Recall is ‘grassroots effort’," May 1, 2019
- ↑ 9 news, "Colorado state Senate President Leroy Garcia targeted for recall," August 13, 2019
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Recall Petitions," accessed August 21, 2019
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Pueblo Chieftain, "Recall committees target Garcia, Buentello," April 27, 2019
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Denver Post, "Organizers needed 13,506 signatures to force recall vote of Colorado Senate president. They handed in 4.," October 18, 2019
- ↑ KRCC, "Governor Polis Signs Oil & Gas Regulation Overhaul," April 17, 2019
- ↑ The Gazette, "Recall petition approved for Colorado state Senate President Leroy Garcia," August 19, 2019
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Gov. Polis signs hard-fought Colorado red-flag gun measure into law," April 12, 2019
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Sen. Leroy Garcia Recall," accessed August 21, 2019
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Official primary candidate list," accessed May 1, 2014
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed June 25, 2014
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed December 5, 2014
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Recall of State Officials," accessed August 13, 2021
