San Miguel Fire Protection District board recalls, California (2017)
| San Miguel Fire Protection District Board recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Jim Ek Mike Vacio |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2017 Recalls in California California recall laws Special district recalls Recall reports |
Efforts to recall Theresa McKenna, Jim Ek, and Mike Vacio from their positions on the San Miguel Fire Protection District board in California were launched in January 2017. Recall notices were served to the officials during a board meeting on January 25, 2017, by district resident Bob Cederdahl. Cederdahl said that those three members wanted to turn the fire district into a stand-only agency without doing an impartial study to prove that the plan was financially sound.[1]
The recall did not go to a vote. The county said that the petitions were "deficient and required a number of amendments in order to conform to the Secretary of State's recall petition format." Cederdahl said he did not plan to turn in new petitions, but would wait until the regularly scheduled election in 2018.[2]
The fire district covers 47 square miles, including Spring Valley, Casa de Oro, Grossmont/Mount Helix, Rancho San Diego, Dehesa, Crest, Bostonia, and parts of unincorporated El Cajon. At the time the recall was initiated, McKenna was the board president.[1]
Recall supporters
Cal Fire Local 2881
Cal Fire Local 2881, the CAL FIRE firefighters union, supported the recall effort. San Miguel firefighter Ben Shepard said the board was moving too fast in terminating the contract with CAL FIRE.[1]
Recall opponents
The three targeted officials issued a joint statement in response to the recall, saying that the allegations in the Notice of Intention were false. They said that an in-house study done before they voted to terminate the contract with CAL FIRE showed that the district would save almost $1.5 million in the first year as a stand-alone district. Below is an excerpt from this statement:
| “ | This recall is nothing more than a last-ditch effort by the State of California/CalFire to keep control of this Fire District and the lucrative contract that goes with it. Sadly, according to the Registrar of Voters, this recall effort, if it continues, is expected to cost the District’s taxpayers at least $650,000 but probably more, simply to cover the cost of a Special Election.[3] | ” |
| —Jim Ek, Mike Vacio, and Theresa McKenna[4] | ||
Background
In July 2016, the fire district voted to sever ties with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), which was then the district's protection contractor, in order to become a stand-alone district. On January 25, 2017, the board voted 4-3 to negotiate a contract with Heartland Communications Facility Authority (HCFA), a dispatching service. The three targeted officials and Kim Raddatz voted in favor, while William Kiel, Jeff Nelson, and Dave Rickards voted against the measure. The San Miguel Fire Protection District began contracting from CAL FIRE in 2012 due a recession and low revenue.[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
Recall proponents would have needed to collect 9,906 valid signatures for each official in order for the recalls to have made it to the ballot, which was equal to 15 percent of registered voters in the district.[1] The recall petitions were deemed invalid by the San Diego County Registrar of Voters, so proponents never began collecting signatures.[2]
Recent news
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 East County Magazine, "Recall Papers Served to Three San Miguel Fire Directors," January 29, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 San Diego Tribune, "Recall effort to remove San Miguel board members is DOA," March 31, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ East County Magazine, "San Miguel Recall Response," accessed February 8, 2017
