Lamont schools superintendent calls recall election petition a personal vendetta
A day after a petition was filed aimed at forcing a recall vote against four of five members of the Lamont Elementary School Board, the district’s superintendent on Tuesday called the effort “a personal vendetta.”
The superintendent, Lori Gonzalez, said in a letter to parents that the efforts toward a recall would not affect educational opportunities, experiences or required classroom instruction. She wrote that the claims were baseless and the assertion that district leadership is unfit to do their duties is unfounded, citing the organizers' earlier recall effort that fell short early this year.
“The claims made by the recall petitioners (for the second time) are completely baseless and stem from nothing more than a personal vendetta spearheaded by a disgruntled community member, Mr. Juan Sandoval,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said Sandoval is the brother of a longtime district employee who is under disciplinary review. Sandoval told The Californian on Monday that his sister is an employee of the district and was demoted because of what he alleged was retaliation.
Sandoval and Luis Ramos were the two organizers who submitted the petition Monday to the Kern County Election Division. Sandoval said organizers collected 1,200 signatures in 57 days.
Sandoval and Ramos also helped parents with the first recall election effort, which began in October. The effort failed in January due to a lack of valid signatures.
In her statement Tuesday, Gonzalez explained the recall election process to parents. The Elections Division has 30 days to validate signatures, and if there are enough valid signatures, the school board will hold an election within 88 to 125 days after the validation.
It will take at least 1,150 verified signatures to recall a board member, according to the Elections Division.
Gonzalez clarified that if the signatures are validated, it does not mean the board members will necessarily be recalled and removed from their seats. The petition calls for a recall election that would leave the decision in the hands of the voters.
Gonzalez said she has full confidence that if there is a recall election for the board members, the parents will reelect the current board members. The recall election efforts focus on four of the five board members: Gilberto Lopez Jr., Ernesto Garay, Evelyn Velasquez and Pablo Trevino.
Garay and Velasquez were elected in 2020 and their term expired next year. Lopez has been on the board since 2018 and was reelected in 2022. Trevino was also elected in 2022.
In addition to the recall election efforts, Sandoval and Ramos are engaged in a lawsuit against Gonzalez and two other board members of the Lamont Chamber of Commerce. In March, the chamber posted on social media they were suspending chamber activities in order to focus on the lawsuit.
Gonzalez and co-defendant Emanuel Espinoza recently changed their lawyer for the civil suit regarding events at the Lamont Christmas Parade. Sandoval and Ramos say that they were a part of the parade and that Gonzalez, Espinoza and Jose Gonzalez tried to pull them out of the parade, according to court documents.
At the parade, Sandoval and Ramos were riding horses that said “Yes Recall” on the back of the horses in red paint. Sandoval said in court documents that Gonzalez became upset when she saw the horses.
The lawsuit is ongoing and the next court date is scheduled for the end of the month.
