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Kings County certifies recall; residents and council members dispute authority of recalled officials
Summary
Kings County Registrar told Avenal officials the April 28 recall was certified; residents and a council member insisted recalled council members lack legal authority to act until the city identifies a court order or other legal basis. City staff said it will review the county materials and advise the council.
Kings County’s elections office delivered a certified statement of vote for the April 28 recall to Avenal city staff, the county registrar said at the City Council meeting on May 28.
“My understanding is we have completed the official canvas for the recall election and certified the statement of vote in accordance with the elections code,” said Lupia, Kings County Registrar, adding that “the certified documents are available online and were provided to the city electronically earlier today.” Lupia told the council that under the elections code, when a majority votes yes on a local recall the office becomes vacant and must be filled according to law.
The certification prompted immediate objections from residents and at least one council member who said recalled members should not participate in council business without a specific court order or other legal authority. “We do not acknowledge this gathering as a lawful city council meeting if it is being conducted by recalled members whose authority ended with the certified recall results,” resident Kelly Guzman said, asking the council to document that position in the meeting minutes and to identify the legal basis for allowing recalled members to act.
Council members and staff debated whether any court had issued a ruling on the matter. One speaker summarized recent filings and said the Fifth District Court of Appeal declined to issue an advisory opinion and that the trial court had not ruled on the merits. City staff told the council the county had transmitted certified materials earlier in the day and that the city must review those materials before taking formal action.
City officials also noted common practice for a governing body is to acknowledge receipt of certified election results by adopting a resolution reciting those results, but said the city is not legally required to take further action for certification to be effective. Residents in the meeting said they would seek review from oversight agencies if the city continued to allow recalled members to act without publicly identifying the legal authority.
Next steps: city staff said they will review the certified materials provided by the county and schedule a future council meeting to consider any formal acknowledgements or actions. No final legal determination was announced at the May 28 meeting.
