By Emily Rasmussen, The Capistrano Dispatch
At its meeting on Feb. 20, San Juan Capistrano City Council talked about the state of its Council members, in consideration of the three recalls and a Council member who is running for Congress.
With recall petitions in the works for Council members Kerry Ferguson, Pam Patterson and Derek Reeve, and Mayor Pro Tem Brian Maryott’s campaign for the 49th congressional district, referencing these current events—along with noting that some of the canvassers are potentially being paid to gather signatures in favor of recalling some of the Council members—Mayor Sergio Farias brought the discussion to table to remind the Council of its “obligations” to the residents of San Juan Capistrano.
“We are all here to do a job,” Farias said to the Council. “We have two Council members who have potentially paid canvassers in front of supermarkets and we have canvassers going door-to-door. I think it’s kind of exciting that one of our colleagues is running for Congress, but I know with the three recalls it can be very stressful—so I just want you to know that I support all of you and to not get distracted by everything going on out there.”
City Council did not discuss any of the ongoing issues pertaining to the recalls, such as the River Street Market Place project off of Los Rios Street. Instead, Council members did briefly discuss the recalls themselves.
Maryott mentioned that some of the Council members who are being petitioned to be recalled may be on the ballot to run again for this year’s City Council elections.
“Hopefully, no matter how much folks are being paid to canvass, they come up short on signatures and (we) can continue to focus on the opportunities before us as a city for the rest of the calendar year,” Maryott said.
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