After months of gathering signatures, a recall petition against Santa Ana City Councilmember Jessie Lopez was filed with the city clerk’s office this week.
The signatures have been sent to the OC Registrar of Voters, which must complete its verification by July 26. In Lopez’s Ward 3 district, it will require 5,274 valid signatures to qualify the recall for the ballot.
The recall efforts are being led by the Police Officers Association, the city’s police union.
Lopez and Councilmember Thai Viet Phan are accused of “defunding the police” and supporting “destructive policies that have encouraged landlords to raise rents,” according to the notice of intention to circulate a recall petition. Last year, Lopez and Phan, along with the majority of the council, voted to create a civilian police oversight commission and establish rent control.
Tim Rush, chair of the recall committee, declined to comment for this story. He previously said of the recall effort: “There are more issues than simply the police contract or (POA President) Gerry Serrano or their claim of ‘greedy corporate landlords.’”
City Clerk Jennifer Hall said her office received 129 requests from people seeking to remove their signatures from the petition.
And Lopez, who was first elected in 2020, said she’s spoken to community members who are “outraged” about what they were told by canvassers.
“You have somebody at your door saying, ‘Sign this petition, it’s for public education, sign this petition to keep the councilwoman or to make sure nobody can recall her.’ All these lies were said to residents,” Lopez said, adding that residents are also concerned about how much a recall election will cost.
The county will charge the city $3.40 per signature that has to be checked by the Registrar of Voters.
“We will continue to fight this. It is an injustice that our community members are being forced to deal with,” Lopez said. “We will make sure that we share…
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