On Nov. 14, Santa Ana voters will decide if Councilmember Jessie Lopez will keep her seat on the dais.
A recall effort gathered enough signatures to force the public vote, which the City Council scheduled Tuesday night. The Nov. 14 ballot will ask if Lopez should be recalled and if the recall is successful which candidate should replace her for the term ending in November 2024.
The recall effort, led by the Santa Ana Police Officers Association, accuses Lopez of “defunding the police” and supporting “destructive policies that have encouraged landlords to raise rents,” according to its supporting paperwork filed with the clerk.
But that is misleading, according to Lopez, who said she voted in favor of rent control and establishing a police oversight commission and that is why proponents of the recall are calling for her removal.
“From the very beginning we’ve had concerns about the false and inaccurate statements that were circulated to residents,” Lopez said.
The council split at a previous meeting on scheduling the recall vote, with some council members saying they wanted to see the results of a lawsuit filed on Aug. 1 attempting to stop the recall vote, alleging false or misleading information was presented to residents during the signature gathering process. The lawsuit is still in court.
The city was charged $22,936 to verify the petition signatures and the special election is expected to cost between $607,403 and $666,990.
“I really wish that we didn’t have to expend over $600,000 of your money, of your taxpayer dollars for an election we’re going to have in about a year,” Councilmember Than Viet Phan said. “When we talk to our residents about how to be good fiscal stewards of our budget, it’s about bringing services. It’s about making sure our residents have what they need.”
Phan was also the target of the recall effort, however, signatures on that petition were not turned in by the Aug. 7 deadline.
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