Sudhanshu Jain recall, Santa Clara, California (2025)
| Sudhanshu Jain recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in California California recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall District 5 City Councilman Sudhanshu Jain is underway in Santa Clara, California.[1]
Recall supporters
In a letter read at the September 16, 2025, meeting of the Santa Clara City Council, recall organizer and 2024 District 5 city council candidate David Kertes said:[2]
| “ |
Good evening, Mayor, City council, and fellow residents. I come here today with good news for Santa Clara and district 5 residents. This evening Councilmember Suds Jain was served with the notice of intention to circulate recall petition We stand before you today not out of political ambition, but out of necessity...driven by a profound betrayal of trust that demands accountability. We have witnessed millions of tax dollars squandered on the highest-paid city administration in Santa Clara's history while our children's Little League fields were abandoned, our seniors dismissed, and our neighborhoods ignored. The pattern is undeniable: a council member who publicly advocated leniency for a convicted felon rather than upholding the rule of law, who failed to report serious misconduct allegations in a timely manner, and who opposed the ethics commission recommended by our own Civil Grand Jury. Empty promises of downtown revitalization have delivered nothing but expense. When Little League families pleaded to save the Westside fields at Haman and Wilson Schools, their voices were ignored. When seniors asked for extended hours at their center, they were dismissed. Costly schemes to strip away our democratic right to elect our Police Chief and City Clerk have wasted precious public funds. This recall is about three fundamental values: integrity, accountability, and putting our community first. We have lost faith in a leader who consistently chooses personal agendas over public service, who dismisses residents' voices, and who resists the very transparency our democracy demands. The time for excuses has passed. The time for accountability has come. We call upon our fellow citizens to join us in restoring a government that truly serves its people—one that protects taxpayer dollars, upholds ethical standards, and remembers that public service is a sacred trust. Santa Clara deserves leaders who honor that trust and understand they work for us, not the other way around. The future of transparent, ethical, community-first governance depends on the action we take today.[3] |
” |
Recall opponents
Regarding the reasons given for the recall effort, Jain told the San Jose Spotlight, "The allegations in the letter are very, very vague. There really aren't specifics." Jain also said, "The one thing that he doesn't seem to realize is that I'm unable to do anything myself. Everything requires four or five votes of the city council."[1]
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.[4]
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
- Santa Clara, California
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- City council recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Santa Clara, California, government website
- Santa Clarans for Recall of Suds Jain website
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 San Jose Spotlight, "Santa Clara resident launches recall against District 5 councilmember," September 19, 2025
- ↑ Santa Clarans for Recall of Suds Jain, "Council recall statement," accessed September 24, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Recall Procedures Guide 2023," accessed October 16, 2023
