Home Antioch Antioch: Second Attempt to Recall Mayor Wade Harper Unsuccessful

Antioch: Second Attempt to Recall Mayor Wade Harper Unsuccessful

by ECT

On Monday June 8, Antioch City Clerk Arne Simonsen announced the recall effort to remove Mayor Wade Harper was not successful.

Simonsen noted in an email to the media that Richard Buongiorno, the proponent of the recall petition of Mayor Wade Harper presented his documentation Monday which he determined that the number of signatures did not meet the minimum required to move forward and the petition will not be filed.

The proponents needed an estimated 9,000 signatures to push the recall forward.

Wade HarperIn a statement Monday night via email, Mayor Wade Harper released the following statement:

While I believe the recall attempt was not warranted, for me this has been a blessing in disguise; I have gained supporters that I didn’t know I had.  My supporters have stated that they would not vote for, support or allow a recall; they see me out there in the community.  I have continued to work hard for the citizens of Antioch.  I will continue to do so as long as I am able.  We all want a safer community.  We are working hard to make that happen. 

The recent report by Chief Allen Cantando has shown that violent crime continues to decrease.  As a retired law enforcement professional I understand that crime trends are cyclical, and as crime continues to rear its ugly head, we will continue to fight it.

Now that the recall attempt has ended, I am asking Mr. Buongiorno to please cancel the “Committee to elect Wade Harper,” it is misleading, dishonest and it is not a committee to elect me.   The recall events were disguised as “stop the violence” rallies (I noticed online that there were photos with the recall wording covered up).  

I have a lifetime of community service and I will continue to work hard for the citizens of Antioch. My plan during these last few months was simply to continue to work hard in the community and continue to be visible.  Let’s end the divisiveness and let’s work together to make Antioch safe and build our economy.

Sincerely,

Mayor Wade Harper

Although the recall was unsuccessful, Buongiorno says he accomplished is two goals which was to first start a recall and second was to educate the citizens of Antioch to where they recognize what the City of Antioch staff and city council is doing.

“It is smoke and mirrors, they are constantly shuffling money back and forth and no transparency with people not doing their jobs. It’s going to be a continuation of what we were doing,” explained Buongiorno. “The emphasis was only on Wade Harper, now it’s on the Mayor and all council members up for re-election. The caveat is it may also not be the ones up for election, but for those who may be eligible for recall who are not doing their jobs. This has to stop.”

Buongiorno says the recall failed because of a medical issue that came up and he had to “divorce himself” from the recall after learning he was moved to the top of the list for a kidney transplant.

Rich B Sept. 23“The problem that existed was when we started in January, in February I get a call from the Transplant Network from New Orleans, they are telling me that the procedures and qualifications for transplants are changing and in my case it put me at the top of the list. The same held true for Federal Glover, we were both at UCSF at the same time,” explained Buongiorno. “At that point, I had turned to the proponents and advised them they need to form a committee because of the impending transplant and need 5 volunteers. I wasn’t choosing or advising, I wanted them to choose and volunteer. They did, 5 people volunteer because I was going to have a transplant and soon. They picked the volunteers, 2 people on the committee were dead set against going out and get signatures door to door. Their choice was to advertise their public location of where signatures were being gathered.”

He says 9-days later, he was at UCSF getting prepared for a new kidney and after successful, he had a road to recovery.

By the time Buongiorno re-engaged himself, it was too late. After 45-days the 5-person committee disbanded and provided minimal signatures to Buongiorno.

“Last signature was on April 18. After that, nothing was out. I did not realize what was going on because I was getting a transplant and on medication and finally came back to somewhat normal state in late May,” said Buongiorno. “During the time after my transplant on March 21, I found at on May 29 they disbanded. During that 60-days I continued to refer people to them for signatures. They never once said they disbanded until May 29. They said we are not doing the recall anymore.”

He said he had 10 days to work a miracle but in his condition, he came up short.

Buongiorno will now focus his efforts on 2016 and has changed his Facebook Group name from Recall Wade Harper to Fire Wade Harper 2016.

He explained how the Linda Hudson situation got out of hand saying its just one example of staff and the council not doing their jobs. All Antioch’s Mayor and staff had to do was provide the Hudsons with the process and paperwork because the Hudsons and that street would pay for the speed bumps.

Buongiorno highlighted that the resolution for the process was in 1998 with then Mayor Mary Rocha—who should have known the process when she voted on it. If she didn’t she and the council could have read it in the City Manager Report dated May 15, 2015.

“It gets back to being sick and tired of these people not doing their jobs. This is only a very recent example of how 5-people knew 2-weeks earlier before Hudson came to the Council meeting,” explained Buongiorno. “The process was listed in the May 15 City Manager Weekly Report. If they were doing their jobs, they would have read it. You are going to tell me 5-people from the council did not read the weekly report. In addition, the Mayor in 1998 voted for and approved this resolution.”

Buongiorno further highlighted that all council had to do was intervene and show some compassion, instead they gave excuses or said Antioch could not afford it.

Gil Murillo
Gil Murillo Announces 2016 Run for Mayor

On March 23, Gil Murillo announced that he was running for Mayor and posted the following message on his Campaign Facebook Page.

First, work with the County and Local School District to design a plan to improve our schools. We are a community and before we can make it better, we need to have an inspiring environment for the children of our City. I know it is the School District that needs to be responsible for this, but this is a community issue which is all of us.

  • Crime – this is a tough subject and I don’t have the answer but I will work with community, ADP and consultants who can provide great insights on a long term plan. But for sure, look at expanding our mutual aide agreements with Brentwood and Pittsburg for expanded patrols. Look to see if we can engage County or State services for police services. I would work on developing a Police Reserve program for residents who want to serve once more from the heart. There is much we can do quickly.What is important, is to ensure revenue streams exist to ensure that we have a strong force.
  • Employment – In targeting education and crime, employers will consider Antioch once more. My goal is to bring high paying jobs to our community. By bringing these jobs, the organic change in our community will occur. If you have great paying local jobs, you will shop more in the community and it will also bring property values higher. I will work in allocating General Fund dollars to our local Economic Committee and Chamber of Commerce to promote Antioch.
  • Housing – With so many development plans already approved or in flight, we need to make sure that developments are aligned to the community. Important that the community style is maintained. I will also push for a local HUD office to open in Antioch with the emphasis of managing the issues that surround Section 8 housing. We have to realize that the property owner who is local or overseas, is overall responsible for their tenants. Having a local HUD office will ensure that property owners are responsible for the tenant and appearance of the property, the tenant will adhere to the regulations of their HUD agreement. I will stop development efforts on the condo complex and move forward with the community park in Downtown.
  • Blight and Graffiti – I will increase funding for City services to ensure that these issues are addressed quickly. I would work with the local school district to elicit students to help combat graffiti by having them paint.

This is a quick narrative but it gives you some ideas. Happy to speak with you directly.

We can make a difference in working together. I am not seeking this position for any personal agenda, but seeking this position to bring your thoughts forward for consideration. We all have the answers.

Thank you for spending your time in reviewing my thoughts and God Bless you all and God Bless our wonderful city of Antioch.

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11 comments

Jim Simmons 42 Jun 9, 2015 - 7:09 am

This mayor is a big dummy. He sees the recall as a blessing? You have got to be kidding me. Fire Wade Harper 2016 has a nice ring to it. Rich, had no idea you had a transplant, get well.

vp Jun 11, 2015 - 9:00 pm

Yes, I hope Rich recovers. My neighbors and I wanted to sign the petition to get Harper out! I AGREE THIS MAYOR IS A BIG DUMMY!

Anonymous Jun 9, 2015 - 8:35 am

Rich, sorry to hear about the turn of events and I hope you are on the road to recovery.

Antioch needs to rid itself of bad politicians like Wade Harper. He is an arrogant, lackluster person whom is in deep denial about himself and the damage he continues to inflict on Antioch.

Worst Mayor Ever!!!!!!

Wade Harper needs to go! I’m not a fan of recalls, but this one was warranted. Now it’s time to ban together and defeat him IF he decides to run again. He should never have been elected to anything in the first place. The man is a disgrace, and what’s worse is he is clueless. He actually thinks his friends and supporters make up a majority? He has a LOT to learn. Let’s teach him a lesson in his next bid for election.

What a pompous fool!

vp Jun 11, 2015 - 9:01 pm

I don’t think we’ll have any problem getting him defeated in the next election. He must have been the worst police officer known to law enforcement!\

Julio Jun 9, 2015 - 9:42 am

Harper is delusional. You cannot make a sick purse out of a sow’s ear.

Dale Jun 9, 2015 - 10:33 am

Tried to go to Gil’s Facebook page, but could not open. Glad to see we have someone throwing in their hat for this important job that has been so missed managed.

eric Jun 9, 2015 - 11:02 am

Where do I go to Sign the Recall?

CaptainKlutz Jun 9, 2015 - 3:50 pm

I think you’d need to find Mr. Peabody and his Wayback Machine…the “recall” is over.

Anonymous Jun 10, 2015 - 1:47 am

Note to Wade Harper:

A recall is never a blessing.

You now have two recall attempts on your record. Anyone you run against will be publicizing that in every hit piece against you. Politicians that have had recalls initiated against them (successful or not) need to come to grips that they are finished. You Mister Harper are done, dismissed, fired! Don’t make us shame you in the next election.

Still think it’s a blessing mister Harper? Just try, just try to ignore this kind wake up call and you will give us a reason to bury your political aspirations.

Turn out the lights Wade. You are finished.

Old Guy Jun 10, 2015 - 7:22 pm

Wade, while you are at it take a couple county sups with you to the unwanted zone.

vp Jun 12, 2015 - 8:11 pm

Yes, a fresh City Council is in order here!

Comments are closed.