HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — An attempt to recall Huntington Beach city council members has fallen flat, reigniting questions about the recall process in California.
The group Save Surf City targeted members Kim Carr, Dan Kalmick, Natalie Moser and Mike Posey but failed to get enough signatures to advance the process.
Recall efforts focus on gathering signatures, with the most organized and successful campaigns using professionals. And while gathering signatures can be easy, collecting enough valid signatures from registered voters is often a challenge.
“Recalls should be used for corruption, not because you have a policy dispute or because you don’t like the results of the last election,” Kalmick said.
Recalls have made headlines in recent years as disgruntled voters have triggered expensive special elections in an attempt to oust unwanted officials. The Orange County Registrar of Voters charged the city more than $140,000 for processing all the signatures, many of which were invalid, containing fake names or signed by people outside the city.
These efforts, pursued and executed by a small fraction of voters, have generated discussion in Sacramento to curtail and ultimately rethink the recall process.
State Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, was voted out of office after conservatives launched an expensive signature collection to trigger a recall. He lost the special election, which draws far fewer voters than general elections. Newman regained his seat in 2020 during a presidential year, which tend to have the highest participation, and won handily.
Gov. Gavin Newsom also fought off a recall election, handily winning.
Both instances infuriated Democrats, some of whom want to change the recall system. Newman has been pushing changes, encouraging an increase in the number of signatures required to trigger a recall. He has also suggested that should a governor be recalled, the lieutenant governor automatically step in.
Another major motivator is cost. Recall elections are a substantial, unplanned cost for taxpayers. Huntington Beach expected to pay $1 million had the recall qualified. The heavy cost already incurred for an initiative that barely off the ground will come out of the general fund.
Kalmick also pointed to the timing. Four council members are up for reelection in November, an opportunity for competing ideas to be rethought by voters.
“They can’t win elections because they don’t have good ideas, or they’re trying to force a low turnout election,” he said.
Kalmick added that he and the members didn’t think the recall had any steam but also said it could cause a chilling effect, as members may worry about triggering more activist backlash.
“I think the system is still broken,” Kalmick said.