Los Angeles councilmember Kevin de León could face a recall election this year if a new effort launched Tuesday prospers and makes it to the ballot.
City New Service reported that the recall petition was filed by Eagle Rock resident Pauline Adkins, the same constituent who led a recall campaign last year before terminating the petition last November.
The notice, posted by Adkins on Facebook, reads in part that “the homeless population has gotten worse since De León took office” in 2020 and cites his efforts to build interim homeless housing in Highland Park. It adds that putting a Tiny Home Village near a daycare center and park “proves beyond any doubt that you do not have the best interest of our children in any of your radical decisions.”
Adkins and four other signees complained in the notice that the city’s unhoused residents “are free to do whatever they want, drugs, stealing, urinating/defecating in public.”
Adkins cited similar reasons in her previous recall effort, which was terminated when one of the five required proponents chose to be removed from the petition.
De León, who is running for mayor in the June 7 primary, has not commented on the latest recall effort. When the previous campaign was terminated he said the experience demonstrated that it was time for the city to change the recall process.
“This misguided recall effort failed because voters refused to allow the recall process to be weaponized to subvert the electoral process and overturn election results,” De León said. “Residents recognize the real work that we’re doing to address homelessness, develop affordable housing and clean up our district.”
The new recall effort will have to be approved by the Los Angeles City Clerk before the petitioners can begin collecting signatures from residents of De León’s council district 14 – which includes Boyle Heights.
The petition will require verified signatures from 15% of the district’s registered voters over 120 days. That figure is estimated to be around 20,500 signatures.
This post was edited on May 12 to add that Kevin de León is running for mayor of Los Angeles.
