Recall effort against LA City Councilmember Kevin de León accepted by City Clerk's office
The latest effort to recall embattled Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de León is moving forward.
The LA City Clerk's Office has accepted the notice of intent from a recall organizer.
One of those organizers is Pauline Adkins, who dropped off her fourth notice of intent on Thursday.
Bernie Mariscal is with the City Clerk's office and told me that the letter of intent has been accepted.
"Once they acknowledge receipt that's when the time clock will begin," Mariscal said.
De Leon's office has 21 days to acknowledge that notice.
Once that happens, the recall organizer has to wait 28 days before signature gathering can begin.
More 20 thousand signatures need to be gathered in 120 days before they can be verified and sent to city council to move forward with a special election.
"It cannot be any signature. It has to be registered voters within council district 14," Mariscal said.
We asked people outside de León's field office in Eagle Rock whether they'd sign a petition if presented with one.
"I would be willing to sign it," Don Kroster said.
"I don't think that he's correct that the people of Eagle Rock want him to stay," District 14 resident Pat Cross said.
"Let's see a debate about it. He's definitely done good work. He's right on top of the homeless situation and that's our number one priority right here," Restaurant manager Robert Locke said.
Ultimately, if the signatures gathered are certified, it'll be up to the City Council to determine the next step for a special election. In the meantime, there have been continuous calls for de León to step down.
While de León has apologized for his comments in that secret recording that became public earlier this month, he still has not showed any indications that he will resign. He's also been absent from any City Council meetings for the last two weeks.
"He's drawing a paycheck. He doesn't deserve it and we're going to take it from him," Adkins said.