A California city is torn apart by a recalled city council that refuses to leave

A small farm community an hour from Fresno is tangled up in an ongoing legal battle that has erupted into disarray after its mayor and city council, except for one member, were recalled in a special election that they claim was illegal. The councilmembers and mayor are now refusing to leave office.

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A special election was held in April after a citizen-led campaign pushed to oust four of the five members of the Avenal City Council after disagreements over a new fire protocol policy boiled over, according to local reporting from the Fresno Bee.

During the April 28 special election, residents voted in favor of the recall. Kings County officially certified the results in May after more than 75% of voters agreed to recall Mayor Alvaro Preciado and councilmembers Leticia Gamez, David Reynosa and Pablo Hernandez.

The effort first came into swing last year after the council voted to create its own fire department and hire a fire chief, which would more than double the annual fire fees. 

But those members refuse to leave office. They maintain that only the city, not the county, has the jurisdiction to call a special election. The last remaining councilmember called the election legitimate and asked for his colleagues to step down, according to local Fox news affiliate KMPH-TV.

After the members rejected the recall, they still met last Thursday for their normal meeting, resulting in an uproar. Residents were reportedly furious during that June 11 meeting. Some shouted at the councilmembers, according to KMPH-TV, which reported one person saying they were corrupt and “worse than Trump.”

Sarah Hacker, the county district attorney, and Sheriff Dave Putnam sent a cease and desist letter on June 5 stating that they all are remaining in office unlawfully, except for councilmember Richard Verdugo, the one individual who was not recalled, and are prohibited from using any public funds. The city is now in an ongoing legal dispute with Kings County about the legitimacy of the election and claims that it cannot use public funding. 

It’s unclear how the city is able to sue the county while councilmembers are under a cease and desist to spend any public funds.

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The only way for those members to permanently be removed is through a legal process called quo warranto, which is already underway, according to an update from the city on Monday, and approval from the attorney general. SFGATE reached Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office to ask if it was looking into the matter but did not hear back in time for publication.

SFGATE reached out to all members of the Avenal City Council for comment but did not hear back in time for publication. It also reached out to Antony Lopez, the city manager, who did not respond in time but told KVPR-FM, a local NPR station, that the recall was illegitimate. He said the election was “never sanctioned by the city” and “was not requested by the city.” SFGATE’s attempts to reach Lupe Villas, the Kings County registrar of voters, went answered.

Local residents including Dalila Barajas, who led the recall effort, expressed grievances over the City Council’s decision to create a fire department, claiming that the council lacked any transparency ahead of that decision. Earlier this month, Kings County District Attorney Sarah Hacker got involved and sued the city on the grounds that the councilmembers violated the Brown Act and did not properly involve the public in its plan.

Barajas told KVPR-FM that she has been working on the campaign for a year and was “happy” with the outcome. SFGATE reached out to Barajas for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication. In a Facebook post, she explained that she started the effort because she saw an “abuse of power” within the council and has had grievances for years.