Culver City Observer -

Dear Culver City Voters,

You may have heard about a proposed recall of Council Members Alex Fisch and Daniel Lee. The Culver City Democratic Club opposes this campaign. We urge you to not support it. If you have signed the petition, please consider contacting the City Clerk’s office at city.clerk@culvercity.org to have your name removed.

The California Democratic Party, the largest Democratic organization after the national party, passed a resolution on August 29 condemning recalls as undemocratic. As we saw with Governor Newsom, it is not difficult for a small group of wealthy people to force a special election where fewer people will vote than a regular election. A successfully recalled official is replaced by whichever alternative gets the most votes so, if a majority voted to recall but split their votes among multiple replacements, someone could easily take office who got fewer votes than the person recalled. This is far less democratic than a direct matchup between a challenger and an incumbent.

Like gerrymandering and voter suppression, these recalls are a tactic to preserve the power of a conservative minority against the popular vote. Californians have a legal right to seek a recall for any reason, or no reason, but this right is being abused by the right wing. Progressive officials have been targeted for recalls by conservatives who know they have a better chance in low- turnout special elections than in a regular election.

Recalling either Council Member Alex Fisch or Daniel Lee would create a conservative majority for keeping the Inglewood Oil Field open, for ending bans on styrofoam and single-use plastics, and worse. Fisch and Lee were elected with our Club’s endorsement and have been honest and powerful advocates for the platform and values of the Democratic Party. At our September 8, 2021 meeting, our members voted overwhelmingly to affirm our support for them and to oppose this recall. We hope you will join us. Don’t sign the petition, and please talk to your neighbors.

The Culver City Democratic Club

[Resolution of the Culver City Democratic Club]

Resolution Against the Recall of Councilmembers Fisch, Lee, and McMorrin

Whereas, Alex Fisch, Daniel Lee, and Yasmine-Imani McMorrin were elected to the Culver City Council in free and fair elections with the Culver City Democratic Club’s endorsement,

Whereas, they have been dedicated and effective advocates for the platform and values of the Democratic Party, and

Whereas, conservatives have abused the recall process to undermine liberal and progressive elected officials including Governor Gavin Newsom and District Attorneys Chesa Boudin and George Gascón, therefore be it

Resolved, the Culver City Democratic Club opposes any attempt to recall Councilmembers Alex Fisch, Daniel Lee, and Yasmine-Imani McMorrin.

[Resolution of the California Democratic Party] Resolution Opposing Undemocratic Recall Elections

Adopted by the Executive Board of the California Democratic Party August 29, 2021

Whereas in the past decade, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of recall elections, with the year 2011 setting a benchmark of 150 recall efforts nationwide; recalls have become part of the Republican toolkit to disenfranchise voters and thwart the will of the electorate; and

Whereas recalls can be initiated without cause or merit and are funded by wealthy donors seeking personal gain, or by partisan interests wanting to force the party in power into spending enormous amounts of capital, and, the recall process often costs the taxpayers’ millions of dollars; and

Whereas recalls are inherently undemocratic; as in California, where less than 7% of the voting population can initiate a recall of a governor who was elected by a majority of voters in the previous major election, and, if that recall is successful, a new governor can be elected with less than 20% of voters in a potentially low turnout special election; therefore be it

Resolved that the California Democratic Party supports all necessary actions to stop the undemocratic use of recalls which perverts our electoral process.