Santa Cruz city council members respond to recall petition

City council members are responding to a recall petition circulating around Santa Cruz.

The group Santa Cruz United started the petition in hopes of getting a measure on the November ballot to recall council members Drew Glover and Chris Krohn.

The home page for the organization states one of the reason behind the recall is to rebalance the city’s government.

One of the organizers saying the handling of the Ross encampment was a tipping point for many, “when the lawsuit happened and Drew Glover who is one of the council members were considering recalling, testified against the city in the lawsuit, that was kind of the tipping point for people.”

Drew Glover tells KION he hopes this opens up a conversation between those who have different views than him and that this is the most balanced the City Council has been in years.

“I see every instance of conflict as an opportunity to come closer together. So I think what’s really notable is that none of the people who signed that initial recall petition have ever set up a time to come speak with me,” said Glover.

Glover has been a member of the city council for about 6 months now and says he’s not surprised it’s come to this. “Unfortunately because of some of the threats that came very early on in the time that I was in office, the tool of the recall as a political tool is something they’ve been threatening since the very beginning.”

He says in the past there’s been a lack of voices for the poor or renters and that’s who he is helping represent.

Another controversial topic that’s been brought up from Santa Cruz United, both Glover and Krohn left a city council meeting after back and forth between some of their supporters and other members of the city council. The council decided to close the chambers after they took multiple recesses due to rowdy crowd behavior.

Glover said he thought that was not an appropriate way to handle the situation and could not in good conscious stay at the meeting.

Krohn has also sent KION a statement regarding the recall.

“Please reject this recall. It is unnecessary and expensive. And it would be undemocratic, too:

The city holds regular elections every two years. The next regular council election is in 2020. I was honored to receive over 12,000 votes when elected. In this recall, a candidate who earned fewer votes could replace me. That is not democracy.

The recall’s allegations against me are trumped-up and untrue. I am a strong advocate of open meetings, public process, and inclusive governance. I ask tough questions; I do my homework; I listen. I am striving to keep campers out of neighborhoods; and I deeply respect our Fire Chief. I pledge to keep lines of communication open.

If you care about protecting our neighborhoods from oversized, unaffordable developments like the Corridors Plan, and if you care about fighting the growth of UCSC – they’re planning for 28,000 students! – then reject the recall.

If you want to see a new downtown library not buried in a garage, and keep high-rises off our historic wharf, reject this recall.

If you support protecting the environment and practicing compassion, reject this recall.

I know Santa Cruzans care about these issues and more. Protect our democracy. Reject the recall.”