3 Huntington Beach City Council members could face recall, pending verification of petition signatures
Enough voter signatures have been collected to trigger a special recall election for three Huntington Beach City Council members, if the vast majority of the signatures themselves are declared valid.
Members of the Save Surf City group delivered boxes full of signatures to City Hall on Wednesday, prior to the 5 p.m. deadline, in the effort to recall Mayor Pro Tem Mike Posey and council members Kim Carr and Dan Kalmick.
City Clerk Robin Estanislau said she and her three-person staff spent roughly five hours counting the signatures, with the proponents watching. In the end, there were enough to meet the minimum requirement of 13,352 signatures — representing 10% of the city’s registered voters. However, the proponents fell short of the 50% extra recommended by the Orange County Registrar of Voters to compensate for signatures that may be determined to be invalid.
Estanislau said the final counts for each petition were 14,295 signatures to ouster Carr, 14,010 for Kalmick and 13,966 for Posey. She delivered the petitions to the registrar’s office Thursday morning. The Registrar of Voters has 30 business days, until April 6, to certify the signature count and notify the city clerk.
If each petition has enough valid signatures, which is far from a slam dunk given the thin margin of error, then a recall election would be triggered this summer that would cost the city about $1 million.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the dozens of volunteers who worked tirelessly to make this possible,” Save Surf City member Cari Swan said in a text message. “We are blessed with a passionate community that predominantly values our quality of life and suburban beach community. The recall’s success is proof of our claims, that this council has made H.B. more crowded, more financially stressed and more divided, all for no tangible reason other than the special interests that pull their strings.”
The Save Surf City recall proponents had also been trying to recall Mayor Barbara Delgleize and Councilwoman Natalie Moser but fell short of collecting the 13,352 signatures required by Feb. 7. The deadlines were staggered due to a paperwork error.
Conservative Erik Peterson was the only sitting member of the council that the group didn’t target.
Recall proponent Gracey Van Der Mark, who finished fourth in the November 2020 election that brought Kalmick, Moser and since-departed Tito Ortiz onto the dais, said that she has talked to hundreds of residents who feel betrayed and marginalized by the current majority.
“I am proud to stand alongside so many hard-working residents who just want a voice in the future of their city,” Van Der Mark said. “This recall effort gives them a voice and fills me with hope for the future of my hometown.”
It is unclear what impact a possible recall election would actually have, though, given that Posey is terming out in November and Carr doesn’t plan to run for reelection as she pursues a state Senate seat.
Recall advocates say high-density building projects and a city-funded homeless shelter that they claim should have been funded by the county are key issues to them, and they were upset when the council appointed progressive Rhonda Bolton to fill Ortiz’s vacated seat.
In recent days, Save Surf City emails have suggested that Kalmick plans to develop the Bolsa Chica wetlands after their possible annexation into the city. Local environmentalists disputed that claim.
“There is no chance whatsoever that state property acquired in large measure to mitigate ocean harbor fill projects will be developed as Save Surf City claims,” Amigos de Bolsa Chica president Mel Nutter wrote in a statement.
Posey declined to comment. But Carr, reached Thursday, said the entire recall process has been based on lies.
“My belief is that the vast majority of Huntington Beach residents are not going to fall for their shenanigans,” she said. “The people behind the recall are failed City Council candidates and social media climbers. I don’t have a lot of respect for people who campaign and lie, and there has been nothing truthful about any of this.”
Kalmick said he is “very confident” that the Registrar of Voters will find there were not enough valid signatures needed for the recall election, though he added that some of the claims being made by Save Surf City go beyond being ill-informed to actively misinforming people.
“I can stand outside a grocery store and say, ‘Yeah, these people drown kittens at the end of the pier and we’re trying to recall them to stop them from doing that,’” he said. “I mean, there’s no argument that says they have to tell the truth to these people they’re asking to sign petitions. So yeah, it’s a frustrating process. I’m an advocate that recalls should only be used for elected officials on stuff that doesn’t stand up to being illegal but it’s likely immoral or a gray area ... not on policy disagreement.”
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