The campaign to recall embattled Windsor Mayor Domonic Foppoli has taken its first official step.
United Residents for Recalling Foppoli filed a request for a recall with the Town Clerk on Monday.
“We’re alerting both the person being recalled - in this case disgraced Mayor Dominic Foppoli - as well as the town of Windsor that we are requesting that we initiate the recall,” said Tim Zahner, who co-chairs the effort.
But signature gathering likely will not start until mid-May.
“And that’s because the process requires that we send a certified copy to Foppoli, that we give the original to the Town Clerk and then the person being recalled has an opportunity to respond to that,” said Zahner.
Foppoli will have 10 days to issue a formal response before the process of approving the petition begins.
Foppoli has denied the allegations of sexual assault against him and says he will not resign, however he has taken a step back from his official duties while the state Attorney General’s office investigates the claim.
Six women have accused Foppoli of sexual assault, with one woman accusing him of rape. One of his accusers is Esther Lemus, who sits on the Windsor Town Council with Foppoli and is also a deputy district attorney for Sonoma County.
The county’s Registrar of Voters Deva Marie Proto says the campaign will have 120 days to college just under 3,400 verified signatures from Windsor voters.
If the campaign advances to a recall, it would work similar to a recall at the statewide level.
“There would be a majority vote on the recall question itself,” Proto explained. “’Do you want to recall this elected officer?’ And then the second part of that would be the people who filed to run for that office.”
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