Group Recalling Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe Says They Have 7,500 Signatures

On Monday, the proponents to recall Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe issued an announcement with approximately 1-month to go until the deadline to collect signatures expires.

On Monday, they announced they have collected approximately 7,500 signatures as of April 10–which is nearly 75% of signatures required.

The deadline to collect 9,511 valid signatures is May 11, however, the group is aiming to collect nearly 11,000 signatures as a precaution against invalid signatures or duplicates.

“We are now in crunch time mode,” says proponent Kathy Cabrera. “We believe we now have the momentum to hit the threshold and get this on the November ballot. Many people who want to sign the recall still have not done so. We hope you consider making the time to come down soon. For those on the fence, please just look at the facts. Antioch is not better off 16-months later after Lamar Thorpe became mayor, implemented policies that have made our city more unsafe, caused a mass exodus from our police department, created more blight and have divided a once promising community that was on the right path.”

Cabrera also stated the reasons for the recall have only grown since September, but the top priority now is public safety as its only gotten worse . She cites the mayor has ignored three councilmembers who requested more police and is only now responding to a bribe to raising staffing levels after it was pointed out the Antioch Police Department only has 78 active officers for a community of 115,000 people.

“Its inexcusable that the mayor has crafted irresponsible policy and belittled the police department to where now he has to bribe new officers to come to Antioch,” said Cabrera. “Just a year ago, Chief Tammany Brooks had our department fully staffed and things were getting better. Now we have less officers now than we did a decade ago before Measure C and Measure W monies were supposed to be flowing into the police department.”

They are urging people who have not yet signed the recall, to sign it. Those who want more information or are on the fence to sign the recall, to visit their website for more information or come speak to them at one of the signing events.

The recall has been a long process after Thorpe was originally submitted with his notice of intention to circulate a recall petition on September 24, however, Ellie Householder, city clerk, rejected the template on multiple occasions—she now potentially faces her own recall as she was served this week.

According to the Notice:

“To the Honorable Lamar Thorpe: Pursuant to Section 11020: California Election Code, the undersigned registered qualified voters of Antioch, in the State of California, hereby give you notice that we are the proponents of a recall petition and that we intend to seek your recall and removal of office of Mayor, in Antioch, California, and to demand election of a successor in that office.

The grounds for this recall are as follows:

Disrespect for Council Members and the Public who disagree with you during City Council meetings. Blocking constituents and not allowing them to comment on your social media. You have failed to provide full support to the great men and women of the Antioch Police Department which is impeding their ability to keep our residents safe. As a result of your failed leadership it has led to the resignation of the Police Chief Tammany Brooks who will be taking up a new post in Boise, Idaho; and the announced retirement of Antioch City Manager Ron Bernal. You put on the council agenda to rescind the School Resource Officer Grant without any public input from the Antioch Unified School District (AUSD) Board or Administration after the officers had been interviewed and selected. You mislead the public about when you were informed about the death of Angelo Quintos, when you had earlier received an email from Chief Brooks. You blamed business owners on Sycamore Drive for the crimes that are being committed by others that live nearby which does not reflect Antioch’s theme “Opportunity Lives Here”.

The group is also still collecting signatures to recall Ellie Householder for Antioch City Clerk.

Thorpe was originally served on Sept. 24 in which he threw the paperwork on the ground. According to the video, Thorpe is served with papers only to reject them twice. The first time he threw them down on the ground, the second time, after the person serving the papers placed them on his windshield. Thorpe got out of his vehicle and threw them on the ground. He later returned to pick them up.