Thorpe recall petition finally approved signature gathering begins
Antioch City Clerk Ellie Householder’s letter to organizer Kathy Cabrera approving the fourth version of Mayor Thorpe’s recall petition on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. Photos courtesy of Kathy Cabrera.
City Clerk Householder provides copy of letter on day it’s due instead of only mailing it as she did previously
“She was very accommodating, this time.” – Recall organizer Kathy Cabrera
160 days to collect 9,511 signatures of registered Antioch voters.
By Allen Payton
After being served with recall papers on Tuesday for abusing her position to benefit political ally, Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe, City Clerk Ellie Householder approved the petition for his recall in a letter to organizer Kathy Cabrera, today, Thursday, December 2, 2021. It was the 10th day since the fourth version of the petition was submitted, which is the legal limit. Unlike with her previous three letters rejecting Thorpe’s recall petition, this time Householder didn’t just send it by certified mail delaying the signature gathering by two more days, she also left a copy for the organizers at her office in City Hall. (See related articles here and here)
That allows signature gathering to begin, today. Organizers now have 160 days to collect 9,511 signatures of registered Antioch voters to qualify the recall for the ballot. Cabrera and Antioch resident Lindsey Amezcua, who is also helping lead the recall to remove Householder from the Antioch School Board, were the first to sign their names to Thorpe’s recall petition. Approved Thorpe recall petition
Antioch resident Lindsey Amezcua and recall organizer Kathy Cabrera sign and show the approved recall petition for Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021.
What took the County Clerk two days to do for Householder’s recall from the school board, took her and the Thorpe recall organizers almost two months to complete. The petition for the mayor’s recall was first submitted to the city clerk on Oct. 11th. (See related articles here and here)
“She was very accommodating, this time,” Cabrera said about Householder.
“The recall of Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe is ready to move ahead into the signature gathering phase,” Cabrera stated. “Signature gathering events are planned for this Saturday and Sunday.”
“This is bigger than anyone’s own personal views,” she continued. “The group of proponents and supporters are committed and have begun collecting the 9,511 signatures required to put the recall of Lamar Thorpe on the ballot.”
“We will follow the recall process and let the Antioch citizens’ voices be heard,” Cabrera added. “We believe the residents of Antioch deserve better as too many good people in City Hall, Antioch residents and Antioch businesses are leaving under Mayor Thorpe’s tenure.”
The mayor had the opportunity to provide a response which would have been printed on each petition copy. But he chose not to and has not explained why. Efforts to reach Thorpe for comment were unsuccessful prior to publication time.
The recall organizers will hold their first official signing event during the annual Holiday Delites celebration in historic, downtown Rivertown on Saturday. Following is the schedule they provided for this weekend:
Saturday 12/4/21 10am to 5pmRiverTown Sweets on W. 2nd Street.
Rivertown Treasure Chest on G Street
Sunday 12/5/21 10am to 2pmBluerock Starbucks – This will be a drive-up signing event.
Any registered voter in Antioch can sign the petition and help gather signatures.
Please check back later for any updates to this report.
the attachments to this post:
Approved Thorpe recall petition
Approved Thorpe recall petition
Recall organizers Amezcua & Cabrera sign approved Thorpe recall petition 12-2-21
Householder ltr to Cabrera re Thorpe recall petition approved 120221
