Main story: Petition to recall city councilmember qualifies, goes to ROV

Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters has 30 days to certify, meanwhile Armendariz said she will not resign her position

City employees Jason Davalos, left, and Natalia Batiz count signatures as Gilroy City Clerk Thai Pham watches. Photo by Robert Airoldi

By Marty Cheek and Robert Airoldi

Gilroy City Councilmember Rebeca Armendariz

City Clerk Thai Pham verified that the minimum number of petitions have been signed and submitted by local voters for a special election that, if held next year, may remove Gilroy City Councilmember Rebeca Armendariz from office.

Meeting at the city council chambers Oct. 13, the city clerk and 12 city staff began a preliminary “prima facie” count, tallying the signatures and counting a total of 6,375. To initiate the special election requires 6,217 signatures (20 percent of Gilroy voters) that are verified by the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters

The petition has been accepted for filing and taken to the ROV for verification. Its staff has 30 days to verify the signatures, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.

Kelly Ramirez, the Gilroy retired teacher who launched the recall effort, described how she and other members of the Committee to Recall Rebeca Armendariz carried boxes filled with the petitions to City Hall, delivering them to Pham at 4:37 p.m., Oct. 12.

“I am feeling like I just lost a thousand pounds,” she said.

A standalone mail ballot election is estimated by the 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.

The recall effort is in 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, 2021, where underaged drinking and drug use allegedly took place. The gunfire resulted in the immediate death of 18-year-old Michael Daniel Macias. Jesse Sanchez, 19, was made a quadriplegic from a bullet hitting his neck. He died from his injuries May 27.

Petra Macias, the grandmother and guardian of Macias, watched the counting and said she was grateful for the process. Armendariz is “not good” for Gilroy, she said.

“I’m glad something is being done to get (Rebeca Armendariz) out,” she said. “It’s not just about Michael. It’s about the rest of the kids in the community. We need somebody who can make better decisions.”

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

“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. “Only the democratic process of an election can bring about or remove a council member. However, as stewards of the city and in the financial interest of the public, I have asked we consider making a formal request for the resignation of Councilmember Armendariz should the recall qualify for the ballot and before the public faces the cost of a special election.”

Before the 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. She said she refuses to step down from office.

“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 I represent, you don’t represent the thousands of people who voted for me,” she said. “I will not be resigning. And I hope we can reprioritize so 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.”

Ramirez also would prefer that an election not take place. She stressed the group’s goal is to use the petition to show Armendariz the community of Gilroy would like her to step down.

“If she is truly a public servant, rather than someone who is self-serving, then she will realize this is what the public wants,” she said. “If she refuses to do that, then it does go to a special election. But that’s not what we want. We want her to step down. We don’t want her to cost the taxpayers however much it’s going to be.”

The road to a recall has been a long one for Ramirez and her team of up to 70 volunteers who had three months to collect the signatures.

“We are all extremely proud of ourselves,” she said. “We exceeded the 20 percent. We worked hard on it. It’s just a reflection of how the community really wants her  to step down. We are abundantly proud that we were able to speak on behalf of the community and ask her step down.”