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Tammy Kim recall, Irvine, California (2024)
| Tammy Kim recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2024 Recalls in California California recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall City Councilmember Tammy Kim did not go to a vote in Irvine, California. Kim's term on the city council ended in 2024. She did not run for re-election to the city council. Kim was defeated in the Irvine mayoral election on November 5, 2024.[1]
Recall supporters
Organizers filed a notice of intent to recall with the Irvine City Clerk's Office on April 23, 2024. The grounds for recall included in the notice read as follows:[2]
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Councilmember Tammy Kim has failed to fulfill her duties. She misused her authority, curtailing constituents' First Amendment rights, and falsely claimed to have received threats, misappropriating city resources for unfounded "protection." A subsequent inquiry by the Irvine Police Department concluded that the allegations were unsubstantiated. Additionally, she attempted to remove residents from City Chambers. On March 12, 2024, Councilmember Kim abruptly departed a City Council session upon realizing insufficient support for undemocratic measures she advocated, resulting in an impromptu adjournment. The ACLU stated these measures were "intended to stifle expression of a political viewpoint that some members of the Council may disagree with." She has silenced these communities' efforts to secure their rights, by seeking to block public comments on issues she refused to see as local, despite hundreds of public testimonials on their local impact. Repeatedly, Councilmember Kim abandoned Council meetings without justification, particularly when it was time to listen to public comments from constituents with differing viewpoints, causing disruption. When present, she has demonstrated disdain towards constituents by wearing Airpods during comments and taking photographs of them from the dais. She has espoused hate speech, including accusing constituents of "using children as shields." [3] |
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Recall opponents
During the February 27, 2024, meeting of the Irvine City Council, Kim made a motion to declare that "the conflict in Gaza is not a municipal issue, and that it falls beyond the subject matter jurisdiction of this Irvine City Council." She said, "The conflict in Gaza falls within the realms of the federal government, international organizations, and diplomatic efforts, and addressing them here is not within the purview of our municipal duties. So, through this motion, we will reaffirm, once and for all, our commitment to prioritizing local matters, and refrain from involving ourselves in affairs that are beyond this jurisdiction."[4]
Kim said that her candidacy for mayor was another possible motivation for the recall effort.[1]
Kim contacted Ballotpedia on July 28, 2024, and provided her official statement regarding the recall effort:[5]
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Please DON’T SIGN the Recall Petition. Irvine City Councilmember Tammy Kim, a respected community and nonprofit leader, is under attack fueled by outside special interests aimed at seizing control of our City Council. This frivolous recall effort is driven by those who want to manipulate our local elections. It specifically targets Tammy Kim, a Mayoral candidate this November. The false claims in the recall petition against Tammy Kim are misleading or downright lies, crafted to deceive the public. SIGNING THIS PETITION WILL HARM OUR CITY:
“As your Councilmember, I work hard every day to enhance and protect Irvine's quality of life, fostering unity to create positive change. Please reject these divisive tactics by refusing to sign this damaging recall petition.” -Tammy Kim Please join our neighbors in rejecting these extremist tactics to undermine our democracy by NOT SIGNING this petition. Tammy Kim |
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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.[6]
Recall organizers would have needed to collect around 15,000 signatures to trigger a recall election.[1]
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
- Irvine, California
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2024
- City council recalls
- City elections in Irvine, California (2020)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Korea Daily, "Mayoral candidate Tammy Kim faces recall campaign led by pro-Palestinian activists," April 26, 2024
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff, "Email communication with Irvine City Clerk Carl Peterson," May 6, 2024
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ ICTV, "CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING AND REGULAR JOINT MEETING WITH THE CITY OF IRVINE AS SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE DISSOLVED IRVINE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY," accessed May 7, 2024
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff, "Email communication with Tammy Kim," July 28, 2024
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Recall Procedures Guide 2023," accessed October 16, 2023
