AVENAL, Calif. – The city of Avenal has faced months without full governance, following a rare recall that left just one councilmember in place.
The April recall election in the small Kings County town removed Mayor Alvaro Preciado, as well as councilmembers Leticia Gamez, David Reynosa and Pablo Hernandez. Over 75% of voters who cast a ballot were in favor of the recall, according to results certified by Kings County in May.
A legal battle followed the recall, when the recalled officials challenged the validity of the election by arguing that the county lacked any authority to administer it in the first place.
But in August, a Kings County Superior Court judge upheld the election results and declared those seats vacant as of May 28.
With four seats vacant, official council business was no more. At least three members are needed to establish a quorum and conduct city business.
Fresno State political science professor Tom Holyoke said the recall caught his attention when he first heard about it.
“It’s really not that common,” he said. “I can’t really think of another town of comparable size that’s really had this, especially four-fifths of the council getting recalled.”
He said momentum can build quickly in small communities when the group of organizers is loud.
“It’s a small town, everyone kind of knows everybody else. This stuff can get really personal, really kind of ugly, and that needs to be healed,” he said.
Now candidates are making their cases for how the city should move forward as Tuesday’s election begins to give a sense of what the new city governance will look like.
Six candidates are running for the two short-term seats and seven for the two full-term seats. Assuming the election results are certified within 30 days, the city has scheduled a special meeting on Dec. 4 to swear in its new city council.
Essential services carry on, but major decisions stall
Despite the absence of a functioning council, the day-to-day operations of the city have carried on – largely in the hands of its city manager, Antony Lopez.
Lopez, whose role is not an elected position, said city employees have continued to do their jobs, including providing water, wastewater services, public safety, and the other “essential services” to the community.
But with empty council chambers and no meetings, the city has limited authority to move forward with new projects and other decisions that require approval of elected officials.
Lopez said the situation has added to his workload because he must keep track of city operations while simultaneously preparing to brief an almost entirely new council once its members take office later this year.
“I have to keep track of everything,” he said. “I have to ensure we are still doing things by the book, and then be ready to present and share all the things that we’ve had to do the last few months.”
The absence of city leadership could delay high-budget projects. Lopez said he’s not legally allowed to make spending decisions over $25,000. Those decisions must wait for the new council.
That’s concerning for recalled Mayor Alvaro Preciado, who had been pushing to implement a new water treatment plant rather than continuing to repair the existing one.
The new technology includes ultraviolet treatment, which could reduce the use of chemical treatment but comes with a high price tag. This project had already come before the city council, but was stalled because the new council must first approve moving forward with an additional property purchase.
I have to ensure we are still doing things by the book, and then be ready to present and share all the things that we’ve had to do the last few months.Antony Lopez, Avenal city manager
“Not having a local government is actually stopping a lot of projects that we're moving forward with the city,” Preciado said. “A new water treatment plant is in jeopardy because we need to continue moving forward, and city council needs to approve to continue forward.”
Preciado said the city had been negotiating with a property owner on the project, but the lack of a council has prevented those discussions from moving forward.
Preciado was on the council for 16 years before being recalled and is running for a council seat again. He said he wants the city to pursue this treatment technology and also pointed to a potential “green project” that could capture methane gas produced by the city landfill and convert it into natural gas or electricity.
Lopez, the city manager, said a community center is another priority for the city once approvals can move forward with a new council.
He described the planned center as a roughly 25,000 square-foot facility intended for sports like basketball and softball and as a public safety site during disasters.
For him, this project, along with road and water infrastructure improvements, represent the city’s long-term needs.
“My vision has always been to build up a community I’d be proud to raise a family in,” Lopez said. “Then providing more opportunities, having more resources. We’re pretty isolated, so it’s up to us to be able to provide for our own.”
Many residents, however, remain dissatisfied with how city officials, Lopez included, have carried on in the wake of the recall.
“I personally find the city manager and council members' refusal to accept the recall election results abhorrent and completely contrary to the foundational principles of American democracy,” said Avenal resident Gail Monahan in an email.
She was not involved in the recall but has been outspoken against the city government on social media in recent months. Despite the fact that many city decisions have stalled, she thinks the recall was important for the city and its residents.
“I think citizens overall are taking more interest in what is happening in the city; they are becoming more actively involved in their own governance -- a very good thing,” she wrote. “They realize that building a better city requires the participation of everyone, and that speaking up is not just a privilege; it is also a civic responsibility.”
A recall over transparency
The recall traces back to efforts by Lopez and the city council to establish the city’s own fire department after Kings County – which provided fire services to the city – informed Avenal officials that their annual fire-service fees would more than double from $425,000 to almost $1.1 million.
Even though city leaders argued they were trying to save residents money, many residents felt the city held too many conversations about fire services behind closed doors. They raised concerns about the city’s handling of public meetings and whether or not residents had enough input into these decisions.
Dalila Barajas led the recall effort. She is also now running for a seat on the city council.
“I saw an imbalance of power with the last administration,” Barajas said. “I didn’t start the recall because I wanted power or because I had a personal issue with anybody. I did it because I believe accountability matters.”
The election represented a community that demanded change, she said, even though she never before considered running for office herself.
“I saw a lot of things playing out throughout the last two years that made me decide to run for city office, but it was never in the back of my mind to start any kind of political campaigning at all,” she said. “Until I saw what was happening with our city, when they were refusing to step down, when I saw the lack of respect for our community.”
Barajas’ main priorities are to use taxpayer money responsibly, focus on public safety, and have stronger oversight of the landfill.
To build trust, she said she would focus on “open communication” and would listen to residents, who she said felt ignored by the previous council.
I want to move Avenal forward from this whole situation that we're in right now, from all the setbacks that they’ve had. It's been very hard and rough on our community.Ginger Wallis, Avenal resident running for city council
Ginger Wallis also helped organize the recall effort. She’s now campaigning against Barajas for a seat on the council – partly at the urging of her mother, she said.
“I want to move Avenal forward from this whole situation that we're in right now, from all the setbacks that they’ve had. It's been very hard and rough on our community,” she said. “If I get elected, I want to have more positivity towards our community.”
KVPR spoke with four of the thirteen candidates campaigning for city council. They agree that Avenal needs to move forward, but they differ in their assessments of the recall, the city’s progress and the priorities that should guide the next steps.
Francisco Lopez, who is running for city council and is the brother of the city manager, said he wants to build on what he views as progress made in the city over the past five years. He acknowledged the high level of community distrust in city leadership – which extends to his brother.
“More than anything, I’d like to help them communicate things a little bit better and just make sure that the citizens of Avenal get the results that they want and don’t have to worry about the city council or city as much,” Lopez said.
He said he would not vote on his brother’s employment contract or professional future, and that although residents could see the two of them as the same, he has different life experiences to bring to the table.
