Councilmember Bonin Recall Group Turns Petition in to City Clerk

By LILY TINOCO | Reporter

A number of Westside residents turned in a petition to the city clerk to recall Councilmember Mike Bonin on Wednesday, November 10, reporting they have collected enough signatures to qualify for a special election.

Bonin was first elected to represent Council District 11 in 2013 and was reelected in 2017 for a second term with 31,865 votes, or 71%. CD 11 spans from Sawtelle to Pacific Palisades, Venice and beyond.

Nico Ruderman, a resident of Venice, coordinated the recall campaign with another Venice local, Katrina Schmitt. The two voted for Bonin in the past, Ruderman in 2013 and Schmitt in 2017.

Schmitt said the recall group began collecting signatures on July 14. They amassed over half of the necessary signatures required to call for an election on September 7.

“Rampant homelessness, rising crime and the crippling of the district’s quality of life concerns under this lack of leadership by Mike Bonin has motivated and mobilized a passionate network of volunteers across the district that have been gathering signatures at local post offices, supermarkets, gyms and other gathering places where the reception has been positive and, in many cases, overwhelming,” according to a press release.

Under the city’s election rules, the campaign was required to turn in more than 27,000 valid signatures from registered voters in Bonin’s coastal district—the group reported it has collected over 39,000 votes.

“We collected more signatures than Bonin has ever received in votes, and the message is very clear: we are done with him, he is a failed leader and he is no longer welcome to preside in the CD 11 councilmember office—which belongs to us,” Schmitt said to the Palisadian-Post.

Bonin, in turn, has said those who support the recall are those against his efforts to combat homelessness.

“The leaders of the recall are people who oppose homeless housing in their neighborhood and people who are angry that I refuse to criminalize homelessness,” Bonin shared to Twitter on November 10. “They’re exploiting legitimate frustration about our crisis, and misleading people about what causes it and what ends it. If the recall succeeds, it will empower those who think homelessness can be solved with handcuffs, something our city has tried and failed at for decades.”

Jesse Zwick, a representative of a committee against the recall, agreed.

“Mike’s opponents are weaponizing the recall process and trying to take out a courageous, compassionate public official who is fighting for smart, proven solutions to the homelessness crisis,” Zwick said to the Post.

Bonin’s office did not respond to requests for comment as the Post went to print Tuesday evening.

Moving forward, Los Angeles City Clerk Holly Wolcott said the group has been given a conditional approval of the petition pending initial review—the initial review counts the signatures, and if there are enough, there is a verification period of 30 business days.

“Each signature must now be checked,” Wolcott said to the Post. “If there are enough valid signatures by the end of the signature verification process, then we report to council and they would call a special election. There is no certain answer to when an election would be called, as it depends on how long the initial review process takes.

“The earliest possible election date is a guesstimate of May.”