SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Should the recall process be reformed in California? Many argue the threshold is too low and the costs are too high. That’s the question state legislators are trying to answer.
The elected officials met Monday to listen to experts from around the country.
It's the second time the legislature met to discuss the topic since the failed recall effort against Governor Newsom in September.
One of the focuses this time is a “for-cause” requirement, like adding the words "extraordinary circumstances." The problem with that, as a Republican pointed out, is that what one interprets as extraordinary might not be extraordinary to someone else.
The majority of California recall efforts happen on the local level.
In 2020, there were 39 recall attempts. That number jumped in 2021 to 120, according to Ballotpedia.
School board members are taking the brunt of it. It includes people such as the chair of the Elk Grove Unified School District, who faced one because people said she was listening to teachers unions over parents. It did not go to a vote though because petitions were not filed on time.
There is also Kristin Gibson, who was a representative on the San Dieguito Union High School Board. That one did not go to a vote either because Gibson resigned from her position citing personal reasons.
“I am heartbroken to tell you I will not run for another term next fall,” Cupertino School Board Trustee Lori Cunningham testified Monday. She said she faced two attempts back to back.
"I am one of several highly qualified, knowledgeable and experienced board members I know leaving public service altogether at the end of their current terms," she said.
She said constituents showed up at her door and harassed anyone who was home at the time, including her school-aged children.
“Threats of putting a sword to my neck and to keep my seat warm,” she said.
McGeorge School of Law Dean Mary Beth-Moylan said the state should consider raising the number of signatures needed to qualify for a recall or consider adding a "for-cause" requirement, which she points out eight other states have.
"I would make a pitch that California needs to do that increase too, although I know that’s not what my testimony is about today," she said. "But a lot of these other states have a higher signature threshold.”
Republican Senator Jim Nielson made his concerns over reform clear.
“I think we’re in an era of trying to diminish people’s opportunities," he said.
Democratic Assemblymember Steve Glazer said potential reform helps both parties.
"If Larry Elder had won, had the recall been successful and he was now the governor of California, I would suggest to you that within days of his swearing-in, petitions would be on the street to recall him," Glazer said.
Public comment included the founder of Governor Newsom’s recall effort, Orrin Heatlie. The recall cost taxpayers at least $276 million.
“The constitutional amendments that were written in 1911 were written specifically to keep your hands out of the process,” Heatlie said.
“It was a perfect example of direct democracy as described," he added. "For you to sit there and undermine the process is evidence that you no longer represent the people that elected you to serve.”
Ballotpedia tracks local recall efforts across the country. It reports that 40 percent of the attempts within the last year were centered on COVID issues.
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