Mayor Todd Gloria isn’t appearing on the ballot this Election Day, but an effort to oust him is moving forward.
A group led by criminal justice advocate Genevieve Jones Wright published a Notice of Intent on Oct. 29 to recall Mayor Gloria, which now begins the recall process.
The notice, published in the San Diego Daily Transcript on Election Day, Nov. 3, allows the group to submit it to the City Clerk and begin the formal signature-gathering process to call a special election.
Publishing a notice of intent in a local paper of record is an initial step in the recall process.
The notice must be served on Mayor Gloria by Nov. 8 and on the city clerk by Nov. 13. Mayor Gloria will have an opportunity to respond to the stated reasons for circulating the petition before signatures can be collected. That response, if submitted, will have to be written up and submitted to the City Clerk by Nov. 17.
At the earliest, the petition can begin circulating Nov. 21, no later than five calendar days before the petitioners begin to issue the petition for signatures.
Recall petitioners have 120 days to collect the signatures of at least 15% of registered voters in the city from the time of publication. If that happens, the council is required to call a special election.
Leading the charge is Jones Wright, a public advocacy attorney who ran against Gloria for Mayor in 2024. Joining Jones Wright are longtime southeastern San Diego community activist Kathleen Harmon, Terrie Best, Donnetta Moore and Shelby Huffaker.
“We seek the recall of Mayor Todd Gloria because he has failed to put everyday San Diegans first and is unfit for office,” the group’s statement reads. “We have lost confidence in his competence, leadership, judgment, and candor. San Diegans deserve honest answers, transparent decisions, responsible stewardship of public money, and a mayor who is accessible and accountable to the people.”
The reasons for the push to recall Mayor Gloria, according to the notice, are the his handling of city finances, his housing policy, which the proponents say favors developers and his lack of leadership on San Diego’s homelessness crisis.
“Public office is a position of trust that carries a responsibility to protect the well-being of the people. San Diegans deserve a mayor focused on their needs, not political advancement. We believe his record warrants removal,” the notice says.
The last recall effort against a sitting Mayor in San Diego was against Bob Filner amid allegations of sexual harassment in 2013. Filner resigned before the recall effort could move forward.
Mayor Todd Gloria’s office could not be reached for comment immediately.
