Three of the four recalled council members attended the meeting at the Avenal Theater. Leticia Gamez was not present. During the meeting, recall organizers served city leaders with new court papers. The situation grew contentious, and at one point, about half of the audience, largely recall supporters, walked out.
A heated exchange unfolded between recalled Mayor Alvaro Preciado and community members during public comment. At one point, Preciado called for a recess, but recall supporters chose to leave the meeting instead.
Earlier this year, the Kings County Registrar of Voters certified the recall election. Election representatives said 73% of voters supported recalling four of the city's council members. Despite the results, the officials have not stepped down.
Last week, Attorney General Rob Bonta approved a lawsuit seeking to remove the four councilmembers.
Avenal City Manager Antony V. Lopez said the city is prepared to move forward with the legal process.
"We're ready to go through the process as prescribed by the AG and have our day in court," Lopez said.
Recall organizers maintain that the election results should be honored.
"We had a democratic process that they said was good," said Dalilah Barajas, who led the recall efforts.
Earlier this month, the Kings County District Attorney and sheriff issued a cease-and-desist letter to the recalled councilmembers. Lopez said the city must continue to operate while the legal process plays out.
"Our city government needs to continue functioning. There is no mechanism in place that allows our council to suspend and freeze," he said.
Ricardo Verdugo, the only sitting council member legally allowed to participate in city activities and authorize city spending, attended the meeting in protest. He stated he would not take part in actions requiring a quorum.
"I just hope they realize that they're putting themselves in a situation they don't want to be in," said Verdugo.
Supporters of the recall said they are frustrated by what they describe as a lack of transparency and disrespect from city leadership. But they were not surprised the recalled officials attended the meeting.
"Our citizens are tired of it. We're done. We want to see them out of their position. We want our vote to be honored," Barajas said.
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