A new petition that seeks to recall five Huntington Beach City Councilmembers reached about 25 percent of the signatures recommended to initiate a recall election, said organizers from Save Surf City, the group behind the recall.
Cari Swan, one of the organizers behind the recall, said that while exact signatures are still being counted, it’s estimated that the group has 4,000–5,000 of the 20,000 total signatures that the Orange County Registrar of Voters recommends the organization collect.
“It seems that every city council meeting gives us additional cause to motivate us for this recall,” Swan told The Epoch Times. “They either politicize or bring forth agenda items that are so inconsistent with what the voters would have wanted from this council. Every council meeting, it’s like they’re waging war on the community.”
“They’ve created such egregious acts against the quality of life of the citizens, they all campaigned on one thing and legislated on another.”
Those currently being recalled include Mayor Kim Carr, and Councilmembers Dan Kalmick, Mike Posey, Barbara Delgleize, and Natalie Moser.
Councilmembers were unavailable for comment by press time.
An initial recall for the same councilors was initiated in August. However, Save Surf City was forced to restart the recall process for Karr, Kalmick, and Posey after not meeting a deadline for the paperwork, Swan said.
Since then, three notices of intent for recall were re-served to the councilmembers on Sept. 7, and Save Surf City will have until Feb. 4 to gather enough signatures, though they will technically have an extra three weeks to gather signatures for the three postponed recall petitions.
Among the “Big 5” reasons for the recall, according to Save Surf City, are the following:
—violating their promise to fight the state on high-density housing;
—passing $372 million in bonds to purchase two existing high-density projects using a Joint Power Agreement which doubled the city’s debt in less than a year;
—creating three-member boards and subcommittees that lack public input and transparency;
—committing $15 million for a homeless shelter that should have been funded by the county;
—and voting for a “massive government expansion” for a Community Choice Energy program that puts the city in the energy business.
Swan noted that Save Surf City is still deciding on whether to recall newly appointed Councilwoman Rhonda Bolton, though they are forced to wait at least 90 days from her inauguration.
Huntington Beach has 133,989 registered voters, City Clerk Robin Estanislau previously told The Epoch Times. To initiate a recall election, the petition must gather 10 percent of that number in signatures, which is 13,399 signatures.
The Orange County Registrar of Voters recommends proponents gather an additional 50 percent, or 6,700 signatures, to qualify. The total number of signatures adds up to 20,099, but they only need to certify 13,399 signatures.
