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Mayor and city council recall, Livingston, California (2021-2022)
| Livingston mayor and city council recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Raul Garcia Gagandeep Kang Maria Soto |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2022 Recalls in California California recall laws Mayoral recalls City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Mayor Juan Aguilar and Councilmembers Raul Garcia, Gagandeep Kang, and Maria Soto did not qualify for the ballot in Livingston, California.[1][2] Organizers submitted signed petitions to the city on December 1, 2021.[3] The Merced County Registrar of Voters announced in January 2022 that organizers had failed to submit enough signatures for a special recall election to be scheduled.[4]
Recall supporters
Organizers gave the following grounds for the recall effort in their notice of intention to circulate a recall petition for Mayor Aguilar.[2]
| “ |
Juan Aguilar Jr. has been misusing his position as City Mayor for personal gain. What City Mayor Juan Aguilar Jr. is doing is not supporting the views of the majority of the residents in the city. Juan Aguilar Jr., on numerous occasions, has violated his oath of office to the City of Livingston. He has repeated actions and statements demonstrating a blatant violation of Brown Act Policy. He also has repeated violations of the Livingston City Council Code of conducts Ethics Policy. [sic][5] |
” |
The notices targeting the city council members used identical language.[2]
Recall opponents
In response to the recall, Aguilar said, “I have nothing but the best interest in mind when it comes to the community. ... Some of these allegations of corruption, I’m an open book. Anybody who’s anybody can reach out to me.”[3]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
Recalls of local officials in California start with notices of intent to recall an official. Each notice requires signatures from city residents, the name of the official, and reasoning for the recall that cannot exceed 200 words. A copy of the notice is delivered to the city clerk, who publishes the notice in at least three public places. Officials have seven days following receipt of their notices to issue statements of defense. A recall petition can be circulated against each official once the notice of intent is published.
Organizers submitted notices of intent to circulate recall petitions for Aguilar, Garcia, and Kang on May 28, 2021.[1] They submitted an additional notice for Kang several weeks later.[2]
On December 1, organizers submitted signed petitions to the city. For a recall election to have been scheduled, organizers needed to have collected 1,483 verified signatures for each official.[3] The Merced County Registrar of Voters announced in January 2022 that organizers had failed to submit enough signatures for a special recall election to be scheduled.[4]
See also
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2021
- Political recall efforts, 2022
- City council recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Livingston Chronicle, "Livingston mayor, two City Council members could face recall by voters," June 3, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Ballotpedia Staff, "Email communication with Sandra Forte of the Merced County Counsel's Office," July 15, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Merced Sun Star, "Recall signatures submitted in move to recall Livingston mayor, most of City Council," December 4, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Livingston Chronicle, "Effort to recall Livingston mayor, 3 council members falls short of required signatures," January 18, 2022
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
