Rosie Fernandez recall, Calexico, California (2021)
| Calexico Mayoral recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2021 Recalls in California California recall laws Mayoral recalls Recall reports |
An effort in Calexico, California, to recall Mayor Rosie Fernandez was initiated in May 2021. Fernandez was served with a notice of intent to recall on May 5, 2021.[1]
On July 7, 2021, Fernandez initiated a vote in the city council that resulted in Mayor Pro Tem Javier Moreno taking over as mayor, with Fernandez taking a position as a council member.[2]
To read about other recall efforts related to the coronavirus and government responses to the pandemic, click here.
Recall supporters
Calexico resident Gilberto Manzanarez filed the notice of intent to recall, which accused Fernandez of failing to host in-person or virtual office hours, opposing wage increases for essential workers, opposing repairs to public bathrooms in the downtown area, and supporting the sale of city land to the federal government for installation of border barriers. The notice also cited an ad hoc committee relating to COVID-19 being dissolved and Fernandez's July 2019 arrest for driving under the influence as reasons for a recall.[1]
Recall opponents
In response to the recall effort, Fernandez said, "The people that realize what’s going on in the city of Calexico can make their own judgment. I’m just going to continue to do the best I can for the citizens of Calexico."[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
Recalls of local officials in California start with notices of intent to targeted officials. Each notice requires signatures from 10 city residents, the name of the targeted 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. Targeted officials have seven days following receipt of their notices to issue statements of defense. A recall petition can be circulated against each targeted official once the notice of intent is published.
Petitioners would have needed about 4,000 valid signatures to put the recall election on the ballot.[1]
Ballotpedia covered 35 coronavirus-related recall efforts against 94 officials in 2022, accounting for 13% of recalls that year. This is a decrease from both 2020 and 2021. COVID-related recalls accounted for 37% of all recall efforts in both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, there were 87 COVID-related recalls against 89 officials, and in 2021, there were 131 against 214 officials.
The chart below compares coronavirus-related recalls to recalls for all other reasons in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
See also
External links
Footnotes
