Recall Petitions for Three Council Members Receive Approval for Circulation

By Allison Jarrell

Proponents trying to recall three City Council members have been cleared to begin collecting signatures.

Petitions to recall Council members Kerry Ferguson and Derek Reeve received approval from the City Clerk on Dec. 21, and the petitioners attempting to recall Pam Patterson received approval on Dec. 22.

The notices of intent to recall Ferguson and Reeve were initially submitted to the City Clerk’s office on Nov. 21, and the petition for Patterson was submitted on Nov. 27. All three Council members have filed responses.

Now that the City Clerk’s office has verified that the proposed recall petitions meet all the requirements of the California Elections Code, the proponents have 120 days to collect the signatures of 20 percent of the city’s 19,273 registered voters—3,854 residents—for each petition.

This means that proponents looking to recall Reeve and Ferguson have until April 20 to submit their signatures, and the proponents seeking to recall Patterson have until April 23 (since the 120 days falls on Saturday, April 21).

If the recall petitioners succeed in collecting enough signatures, the City Clerk’s office has reported that the cost for an at-large special election would range from $95,000 to $106,000.