San Francisco’s recent recall elections have removed four elected officials from office. This has emboldened other groups in California to try and recall their elected officials. Calpeek does not have a comprehensive list, so please ContactUs@Calpeek.com if you know of any we should add to the list.
Currently, the most high-profile recall attempt is focused on L.A. County District Attorney George Gascon. This week, proponents of the recall announced they have collected over the 566,857 signatures needed to recall Gascon. If the proponents do submit enough signatures, the recall is expected to be placed on the November ballot. Calpeek has been watching the fun and will keep you updated on the latest.
In Sacramento, the current recall target is Councilmember Katie Valenzuela although the first attempt to recall her failed early when the city rejected the first recall notice. There is also a question about jurisdiction. Some of the recall proponents are from the part of the newly redistricted portion of Valenzuela’s district, which is not from where she was first elected in 2020. Arguably, the proponents have a lot of hurdles to jump before the recall could qualify for the ballot.
Repeated efforts to recall Los Angeles City elected officials continue despite the fact that no recent attempts have even qualified for the ballot. Undeterred by failure, a group has filed to recall L.A. Councilmember Kevin de Leon. As Calpeek readers know, de Leon was a candidate for L.A. Mayor this cycle and is a former State Senator and Assemblymember. This is the third time a recall has been filed against the Councilmember, who took office in October 2020, and the first two failed.