25,000 Signatures Needed To Put LA Councilman Kevin de Leon Recall on The Ballot

Less than a week following the announcement by the LA City Clerk that they had received a notice of recall against embroiled Councilman Kevin de Leon, political experts have put the actual number of signatures from district residents needed to put the recall on the ballot at 25,000.

Since early October, calls to recall de Leon over the City Council racist recording scandal have failed to go away and have actually grown in the last several weeks. While 3 of the 4 figures in the scandal have either resigned, such as former Council President Nury Martinez, or will be out next month due to not running for reelection, de Leon has held out, refusing to resign due to his duty for the constituents in his district. However, between his role in the scandal and him not attending a City Council meeting for nearly a month despite important ordinances such as one that would end oil drilling in LA coming up, de Leon has brought up a revulsion for a lawmakers that hasn’t been seen in the city for years.

“White, Black, Asian, and even Latinos are all calling for him to leave,” explained Maria Costa, a Los Angeles pollster who focuses on Latino communities, in a Globe interview on Wednesday. “Two months ago, if you told some of the residents of his district, in particular the Latino ones who he helped get them citizenship, you would have been laughed out of the neighborhood. But since most people now think he’s a racist and isn’t doing his job, a lot of people want him out. But, as we’ve seen, this is really his last hope in the political arena. He was a leader in the California state Senate and a candidate for the U.S. Senate four years ago. Now he is a City Councilman who is being picketed 24/7 to leave office. He’s not leaving without a fight. Well, now he has one.”

With a recall effort now on the clock, and recall groups now having a little over a month before deadlines on de Leon acknowledgement and the start date for signature collection to prepare, many have been planning, logistically speaking, on how many signatures will be really needed for this to go to the ballot.

Organizers in the 14th District, led by Pauline Atkins, who had tried twice before to recall de Leon, has not yet fully announced an organizing structure, but has said that a strategic team is already in place. And with the racism scandal really proving to be a force this time around, Atkins has said that the third time is the charm.

A looming recall election for de Leon

“The amount of support we’re receiving for her third recall bid is night and day compared to previous attempts,” said Atkins this week. “I’m one thousand percent confident that we’ll be able to gather the signatures. That’s the vibe we’re getting is that there’s going to be a lot of constituents. They’re very, very upset. I’m just overwhelmed by the participation of CD 14 in this early stages of the recall.”

When signature gathering begins in earnest late this year and early next year, a grand total of 21,006 registered voter signatures, or 15% of the total number of voters in the 14th District, will be needed within 120 days of the petition certification. However, experts have said that the uproar will bring many out of district to sign the petition as well as the usual reasons for signature invalidation, meaning a lot more signatures will be needed as a buffer this time around.

“Everyone wants de Leon out, but only signatures from those in his district will count,” added Costa. “So 25,000 is a safe goal. You better believe de Leon and his team will challenge all of them that they can too, so, just like any recall, the more, the better. But it has to be said, while recalls often have a lot working against them, on their side this time is a gigantic percentage of Angelinos really angry at de Leon who have kept this up for almost a month now. The story hasn’t been cycled out and is managing to also remain fresh. He’s playing it cool, but it is starting to become evident that he and his team are becoming more and more anxious over this.”

Signature gathering is likely to begin as early as late December.