Local Government: Residents share opinions about recall request

Armendariz told the city council she will not resign, says recall proponents should withdraw petition

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By Marty Cheek

About 20 residents shared their thoughts with Gilroy city councilmembers before a controversial vote on requesting the resignation of fellow member Rebeca Armendariz if a recall campaign qualifies for an expensive special election.

Mayor Marie Blankley at the Sept. 19 meeting directed city staff to place the item on the Oct. 3 meeting agenda. At that meeting, five council members voted yes to formally ask for Armendariz’s resignation if the recall heads toward a special election. Armendariz voted no. Councilmember Zach Hilton abstained.

The group Recall Rebeca Armendariz had three months to obtain the 6,217 verified signatures on petitions from Gilroy voters required for the recall to go on the ballot. Organizers need to give the petitions to the city clerk by 5 p.m. Oct. 12.

If the city holds a special election (possibly in March), a standalone mail ballot election is estimated by the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters to cost between $497,388 and $808,256. A standalone vote center and mail ballot election is estimated to cost between $1,243,274 and $2,020,320.

“As council members, we have heard the many voices who have questions about the financial consequences already brought on the city and criticism for remaining silent while the recall effort proceeds and financial burdens to the public continue to mount,” Blankley read from the staff report for the item. “While only the democratic process of an election may bring about or remove a council member, the city council, as stewards of the city and in the financial interest of the public, may ask that Councilmember Armendariz willingly resign from office before the public further incurs the cost of a special election that could otherwise be avoided.”

The recall effort is a response to Armendariz’s conduct before, during and after the shooting of four young people at a private party held  at her Las Animas Avenue home Oct. 30 where underaged drinking and drug use allegedly took place. The gunfire resulted in the immediate death of 18-year-old Michael Daniel Zuniga-Macias. Jesse Sanchez, 19, was made a quadriplegic from a bullet hitting his neck. He died from his injuries May 27.

The agenda item brought out strong emotions from some who spoke to the council.

Jacqueline Castillo expressed her support for Armendariz and praised the councilmember’s many years of leading Latino residents in projects and programs to improve their lives

“What I do want to say is: Rebeca is an amazing human being and she’s helped so many Latinos in our community and that’s why she’s here today, because so many of our Latino families have voted for her, right?” she said. “I also want to say (to Armendariz) that you shouldn’t resign. You shouldn’t. And you (council) shouldn’t be asking her to resign.”

Tracey Hill told the council Armendariz has caused division in the community and proven she is not capable of serving on the council based on her poor behavior as documented in an independent investigation report.

“If Rebeca will resign and face her action, we wouldn’t have to do a recall,” she said. “I also believe that Rebeca has already cost the city at least $50,000 for that independent investigation. Why is the city paying for that? Why doesn’t the city bill her for that? The last question is: I wonder if the dead could speak, would they want her resignation?”

Bill James, the chair of the Santa Clara County Democratic Party, urged the council to not request a resignation but rather let Gilroy voters decide Armendariz’s political fate.

“Your own staff memo from the mayor states the obvious: that the only way to really know if there is a majority in the community who would like to recall Councilmember Armendariz is to go through the process,” he said.  “And asking her or other group members to support that process by providing political pressure for her to resign is inappropriate . . . Leave it to the voters. Whether there is a majority or not can only be decided by an election.”

Jeff Una’Dia told the council he was a retired San Jose firefighter with a 45-year career. Citizens give public servants their trust and expect civic leaders to serve the community with their best interest, he said.

“We are held responsible for our actions on and off duty. We are expected to do the right thing,” he said. “Elected or not, we’re role models  . . . You are accountable for your actions on and off working hours with integrity. At the beginning of the meeting, we all said the Pledge of Allegiance. We’re moved by the phrase ‘and justice for all.’ That’s what I want. I want justice for the young people who, unfortunately, were killed.”

Before the item’s vote, Armendariz told the council she respects the democratic process but feels taxpayer funds spent on a possible special election could be better used on the community.

“They (the recall group) have every right and opportunity to withdraw the petition at any time,” she said. “The money that’s going to be used for this election we can use for the unhoused. We can use it for our seniors. We can use it for our youth, right?”

She also questioned the political motives of councilmembers in placing the item on the agenda.

“I think it’s incredibly hypocritical to ask me to do this when you don’t represent the community that I represent, you don’t represent the thousands of people who voted to have me elected,” she said. “I will not be resigning. And I hope we can reprioritize so that the youth programs, prevention programs, violence prevention programs and more — that kind of investment can be made in our community instead of this focus on me or this very divisive partisan politics.”