Judge Orders Recall Vote on 2 Councilmen

Clearing the way for the city’s first recall election, a judge has ordered Pico Rivera to schedule a referendum to determine the fates of two city councilmen.

This week’s decision by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Diane Wayne overturned a finding by the city clerk that petitions submitted by a group of residents contained insufficient signatures to call an election on Mayor John Chavez and Councilman Gil De La Rosa.

Wayne rejected the clerk’s claims that many of the signatures did not appear to be valid. ad The judge instead upheld county workers’ determination that enough signatures had been collected.

The judge also ruled that even though residents had gathered enough signatures for a recall vote on Councilwoman Beatrice Proo, there was no need for an election involving her because her term expires in March.

Two previous attempts to put the three council members on a recall ballot have failed in recent years because their critics missed filing deadlines.