The Ministry of Elections certified the petition to Remember Joel Engardio Thursday morning, noting that the effort had gathered enough valid signatures to trigger a special election this fall.
The recall campaign turned in a total of 10,985 signatures. Among these, 10,523 were valid, 612 more than the 9,911 required, a validity rate of 95.8%.
A special election will take place on Tuesday September 16 and only the voters registered in the District 4 are eligible to vote during this election. The recall campaign said it expected the verification process to take at least 10 to 14 days, but the results came earlier than expected.
“We said we were confident when we returned this,” said Otto Pippenger, organizer on the field of the recall campaign. “We launched a campaign with a lot of integrity and we had a good idea of what was going to happen.”
“We wanted the residents of the district 4 to have a voice, and that is what we have,” he said. “We are impatiently awaiting excitement and optimism for the coming months.”
The ratification came after a random sample of the signatures was verified Friday and had a validity rate of 99.3%. The department then observed each last signature, which took several days.
Committed, the District 4 supervisor that left for a year at his first mandate, said on Thursday that he was “confident that the voters of Sunset will see through this recall”.
“I hear residents who are tired of distractions every day and I appreciate having a supervisor who presents himself and delivers,” he said. “I will campaign hard every day and will continue to present myself for the District 4 so that I can serve my community for my full quarter.”
He underlined his achievements in “Improvement of public security, support for small businesses, improving traffic flow and filling of nests”, as well as the creation of the popular Sunset Night Market.
The recall campaign, which started in January, is the direct result of controversial propulsion K, which prohibited cars on the large upper highway between Sloat Boulevard and Lincoln Way, and led to the creation of Sunset Dunes Park.
The residents of the District 4 behind the recall have blamed commitment to have put the measure on the ballot of voting without awareness in the community, accusing it of “betraying” its voters by closing the highway.
“This is all of us as a community that takes up our voice,” said Albert Chow, owner of a Sunset company and a free support from the recall, during a rally last Thursday. “We fought for something bigger than any problem.”
Committed, for his part, recognized the feelings of his opponents and said that he was talking more with residents when it comes to concerns about the flow of traffic and the safety of pedestrians following the closure of the road.
“I know that some people felt excluded from the process that led to the park on the ballot,” he said in a statement. “I am determined to make more awareness, to have more conversations and to make sure that everyone’s voice is part of the work in the future.”
