Bonin Recall: Group Says It Has 39K Signatures To Force Vote

VENICE, CA — A group pushing to recall Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin says it has 39,000 signatures and can begin the recall process.

The group, Recall Bonin 2021, believes this number is enough to begin the recall, The Los Angeles Times reports. Los Angeles election rules indicate the campaign to recall the councilmember must have 27,000 valid signatures.

The signatures will next go through a verification process by the city clerk.

Bonin responded to the group via Twitter Wednesday.

"Today, opponents of homeless housing on the Westside, backed by anonymous “dark money” donors, turned in signatures to recall me from office," Bonin wrote.

Petitioners against Bonin cite anger with how city council members have handled the city's homelessness crisis.

"This recall, and my reelection (they would take place just several weeks apart), isn’t really about me," Bonin said. "It’s about how we, as a city, should respond to homelessness. And the outcome will shape decision-making on this issue for some time to come."

A petition for the recall was approved for circulation in July.

Bonin was served with a recall notice on June 15 at his Mar Vista home. He was the second council member to be the target of a recall effort in less than a week, along with Councilwoman Nithya Raman. The draft petition for Raman's recall was approved by the City Clerk.

The group gathered signatures from residents in District 11, which includes Venice, Brentwood, Westchester and the Pacific Palisades. According to its website, the group represents a "grassroots multi-partisan effort" to recall a "self-serving incumbent career politician."

"Under Mike Bonin's watch, the humanitarian crisis of the homeless population is growing exponentially," the group wrote. "Tax payer money is squandered. Fires. Struggling local businesses. Crime is rampant and rising. Neighborhoods and schools are unsafe. We feel afraid to visit public beaches and community parks."

Bonin asked supporters via Twitter Wednesday to support him.

"We can do this, together," Bonin said. "With strength, and love, and solidarity, we can make Los Angeles a city that leaves no one behind, a community that brings everyone indoors, a place where we all thrive -- together."

Bonin was reelected in 2017 with 71% of the vote and is seeking reelection in 2022. His district includes Venice, Pacific Palisades, Mar Vista, Marina del Rey, Sawtelle and more Westside neighborhoods. The draft redistricting map approved by the City Council on Tuesday left his district intact.

Leading up to the recall effort, Bonin faced increased backlash from constituents since introducing a motion to have the city explore housing homeless people in temporary cabins and safe camping sites on beach parking lots, including one at Will Rogers State Beach.

Bonin sent an email to constituents in May in an attempt to dispel what he said were rumors that his motion, which asks only for a report on feasibility, would actually create encampments.

"Some are claiming I have proposed that the city allow homeless encampments at our parks and beaches. That rumor is not true. On the contrary, what I have proposed is designed to reduce encampments, so that our public spaces can return to full public use," he said.

On Aug. 10, the chief administrative officer recommended the city not pursue tiny homes or safe camping sites at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades, at Dockweiler State Beach in Playa del Rey, or at a privately owned lot at 5000 Beethoven Avenue in Del Rey.

Bonin responded that he will not push the city to pursue any of the sites deemed "infeasible" and will instead focus on four locations where the CAO's report recommended further assessment, including at Marina Del Rey boat launch ramp, a vacant lot owned by Culver City, parcels at LAX and an RV park at Dockweiler.

A recall proponent and Venice resident, Katrina Schmitt, told the Los Angeles Times that the number of signatures on the petition indicates that residents of Bonin's district are frustrated by homelessness, crime and what they view as a lack of responsiveness from Bonin's office.

"We want him gone, we want him out. This is the official process to fire someone," Schmitt told The Times.

Bonin has been praised by progressives for conducting a successful pathway to housing operation over summer on the Venice Boardwalk, which brought 213 people living on the beach and boardwalk indoors with a promise of a pathway to permanent housing.

By the end of October, 49 of those people had moved into permanent housing and 122 are in interim housing, awaiting permanent placements. The remaining 42 include people who were reunified with family or are awaiting permanent housing but left the interim housing placements.

Bonin's office is currently working on a similar "Encampment to Home" operation in Westchester Park.

- City News Service and Patch Editor Nicole Charky contributed to this report.

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 8:41 p.m. with additional information.

SEE MORE:

• Petition Approved For Recall Of L.A. Councilman Mike Bonin