WESTMINSTER, Calif. (KNX) — A group advocating for the recall of Westminster City Councilmember Kimberly Ho submitted petitions containing 4,045 signatures in support of their campaign on Thursday.
The minimum number of signatures needed to put a recall on the 2022 ballot is 2,666, roughly 20% of the registered voters in Ho’s council district. The Orange County Registrar of Voters has traditionally recommended getting twice that number to make up for signatures found to be invalid.
The petitions will proceed to the Registrar for verification. If enough signatures pass muster, the council will set a date for a special election later this year.
Ho told The Orange County Register she was “not surprised” her opponents had succeeded in gathering sufficient signatures for a recall. “These guys will do anything and everything to get signatures,” she said.
“The recall organizers target the elderly who speak only Vietnamese,” Ho claimed. “In the Vietnamese culture, the elderly are the decision makers. They tell their children how to vote.”
The effort has been led by attorney Lan Quoc Nguyen, an associate of Westminster Mayor Tri Ta, who has often been found at odds with Ho’s office.
Ho recently moved to a new voting bloc on the council, allying with councilmembers Tai Do and Carlos Manzo, who together opposed a planned renovation of the Westminster City Civic in April of last year. She also joined Do and Manzo in pausing erection of a Vietnam War memorial in Sid Goldstein Freedom Park, which was championed by Nguyen and the mayor.
Petitioners behind the recall effort against Ho have also moved to recall Manzo. They have until Feb. 5. To collect at least 2,140 signatures to put his name on the special election ballot alongside Ho.
“The recall is a huge waste of taxpayer money at a time our city is facing bankruptcy,” Ho said. Each election would cost the city at least $100,000.
For Dao and other recall proponents, it’s worth the cost. “Ho and Manzo,” she said, “are nothing but agitators.”
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