Wendy Jonathan and Tricia Pearce recall, Desert Sands Unified School District, California (2021-2022)
| Desert Sands Unified School District recall |
|---|
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| Officeholders |
Tricia Pearce |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2022 Recalls in California California recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall two of the five members of the Desert Sands Unified School District Board of Education in California did not go to a vote in 2022. Trustee Area 1 representative Wendy Jonathan and Trustee Area 3 representative Tricia Pearce were named in the notices of intent. On June 21, 2022, Jonathan announced her resignation from the board effective August 20, 2022. Recall supporters did not submit enough signatures by the filing deadline to put the effort against Pearce on the ballot.[1][2][3][4]
The effort began in December 2021. Recall supporters said the board members had failed to uphold their oath of office, abdicated their duties to their constituents, gaslighted their constituents about curriculum, and instituted mask mandates.[5] In response to the recall effort, both members said their goal was to advocate for the best education of students in a safe environment.[3]
Jonathan was first elected to the board in 2012. She was re-elected to four-year terms in 2016 and 2020. Pearce was first elected to a four-year term on the board in 2020.[3]
To read about other recall efforts related to the coronavirus and government responses to the pandemic, click here.
Recall supporters
The recall petition against Jonathan included the following grounds:[6]
| “ | The grounds for the recall are as follows: 1. For failing to uphold her oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California. 2. For abdicating her duties to her constituents to unelected bureaucrats in Sacramento. 3. For gaslighting her constituents about the curriculum of Ethnic Studies and the California State Seal of Engagement and approving said curriculum against the wishes of her constituents. 4. For instituting mask mandates that are not based on science and are proven to be harmful to Children in particular.[7] | ” |
The recall petition against Pearce included the following grounds:[8]
| “ | The grounds for the recall are as follows: 1. For failing to uphold her oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California. 2. For abdicating her duties to her constituents to unelected bureaucrats in Sacramento. 3. For gaslighting her constituents about the curriculum of Ethnic Studies and the California State Seal of Engagement and approving said curriculum against the wishes of her constituents. 4. For instituting mask mandates that are not based on science and are proven to be harmful to Children in particular.[7] | ” |
Recall opponents
Jonathan submitted the following response to be published on the recall petition against her:[6]
| “ | This is a time of strong and passionate convictions. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing for our children; an excellent education in a safe and healthy environment. That has been, and always will be, my goal -- pre COVID, during COVID, and post COVID.[7] | ” |
Pearce submitted the following response to be published on the recall petition against her:[8]
| “ | My name is Tricia Pearce. I was elected to the Desert Sands Unified School District school board for Trustee Area 3 in November, 2020. I have served dutifully for the past year, and am a long-time resident and community member and a parent of two sons that attended DSUSD schools I have been a teacher in Desert Sands for the past 25 years, recently retiring in June 2020, and have dedicated my career to helping students, parents, and teachers to work together. I believe that building relationships is the best way to succeed in educating our students, and have alway encouraged collaboration and communication.[7] | ” |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
Recall supporters served Jonathan and Pearce notices of intent to recall in December 2021. Those notices were rejected by the Riverside County Registrar of Voters. Recall supporters filed new notices of intent in January 2022, which were approved for circulation by the Riverside County Registrar of Voters. Supporters had 120 days to collect approximately 4,000 signatures per board member.[3][9][10]
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.
2022 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 54 school board recall efforts against 123 board members in 2022. Recall elections against school board members were held on January 11, 2022, January 18, 2022, January 24, 2022, February 15, 2022, March 29, 2022, April 4, 2022, and November 8, 2022. The school board recall success rate was 7.3%.
The chart below details the status of 2022 recall efforts by individual school board member.
2021 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 92 school board recall efforts against 237 board members in 2021. Recall elections against 17 board members were held in 2021. The school board recall success rate was 0.42%.
The chart below details the status of 2021 recall efforts by individual school board member.
See also
- Desert Sands Unified School District, California
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2022
- Political recall efforts, 2021
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Desert Sands Unified School District
- Riverside County Registrar of Voters
- DSUSD School Board Recall website
Footnotes
- ↑ Desert Sun, "Desert Sands Unified Trustee Wendy Jonathan to resign position in August," June 21, 2022
- ↑ Desert Sun, "Desert Sands Unified Trustee Wendy Jonathan to resign position in August," June 21, 2022
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Palm Springs Desert Sun, "Group begins recall election effort against Desert Sands Unified school board trustees," January 3, 2022
- ↑ Desert Sands Unified School District, "Board Members," accessed January 5, 2022
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedrecallwebsite - ↑ 6.0 6.1 DSUSD School Board Recall, "Area 1 Petition," accessed March 3, 2022
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 DSUSD School Board Recall, "Area 3 Petition," accessed March 3, 2022
- ↑ DSUSD School Board Recall, "Home," accessed January 19, 2022
- ↑ DSUSD School Board Recall, "Petitions," accessed March 3, 2022
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