{"id":116122,"date":"2022-04-11T09:59:35","date_gmt":"2022-04-11T16:59:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eastcountytoday.net\/?p=116122"},"modified":"2022-04-11T09:59:35","modified_gmt":"2022-04-11T16:59:35","slug":"group-recalling-antioch-mayor-lamar-thorpe-says-they-have-7500-signatures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eastcountytoday.net\/group-recalling-antioch-mayor-lamar-thorpe-says-they-have-7500-signatures\/","title":{"rendered":"Group Recalling Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe Says They Have 7,500 Signatures"},"content":{"rendered":"
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.<\/p>\n
On Monday, they announced they have collected approximately 7,500 signatures as of April 10<\/strong>–which is nearly 75% of signatures required.<\/p>\n The deadline to collect 9,511 valid signatures is May 11<\/strong>, however, the group is aiming to collect nearly 11,000 signatures as a precaution against invalid signatures or duplicates.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are now in crunch time mode,\u201d says proponent Kathy Cabrera. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “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<\/strong> 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.”<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, however, Ellie Householder, city clerk, rejected the template on multiple occasions\u2014she now potentially faces her own recall as she was served this week<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to the Notice:<\/p>\n