College Republicans sue CA to force recall of Dem senator
The same three CR members had previously been named in a lawsuit seeking to halt the recall process after the students collected more than 85,000 signatures on a recall petition.
The students are now seeking to compel Secretary of State Alex Padilla to hold the recall election, which could be delayed more than six months by a controversial, partisan bill passed by the Democratic supermajority in April.
Three members of the California State University, Fullerton College Republicans have filed a lawsuit seeking to compel the state to validate a recall petition against Democratic State Senator Josh Newman.
Three members of the California State University, Fullerton College Republicans have filed a lawsuit seeking to compel the state to validate a recall petition against Democratic State Senator Josh Newman.
Amanda McGuire, Brooke Paz, and Ryan Hoskins, who are all members of the CR executive board, filed the lawsuit July 20 to force Secretary of State Alex Padilla to hold the recall election after they helped to collect more than 85,000 signatures for a recall petition against Newman.
Despite garnering significantly more signatures than was necessary to trigger a recall, the CR members say that their efforts are being stymied by Democratic lawmakers, in part through the passage of a controversial bill changing the rules for recall elections.
The CR press release asserts that SB96, which was signed by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown in April, “intends to interfere with and delay the immediate election that would take place as a result of a successful recall,” noting that “because of this new law, the special election could be delayed from November 2017 to June 2018.”
The lawsuit comes after the three college students were sued by affiliates of the California Democrats for their work to recall Senator Newman, who was the pivotal vote in a recent $5B tax hike in California.
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“The Democrats in our state legislature and Governor Jerry Brown are trying to silence the voices of 85,000 of their constituents,” declared Hoskins. “By putting our names on this lawsuit we are giving a voice to every one of those people, Republicans and Democrats alike.”
Democrats currently hold more than a two-thirds supermajority in both the Assembly and State Senate, in addition to holding all eight statewide offices, but Newman’s recall could cost the Democrats their supermajority in the Senate.
According to The Mercury News, Republicans expressed outrage over SB96 when it was introduced, arguing that the bill was designed specifically to help Newman fight the recall effort.
“We are standing up for the people of California,” said CR President McGuire. “The Democrats’ supermajority showed how dangerous it can really be by passing billion-dollar tax hikes and changing rules to completely benefit one political agenda.”
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“A bill like SB 96 should never have been passed and without anyone to check the power of the Democrats in California, there’s no telling what they will pass,” McGuire continued. “Sacramento has no balance and that needs to change.”
“The Democrats have blatantly disregarded the will of voters, as well as the democratic processes that make this country great,” Paz added. “This lawsuit is our opportunity to fight for our Constitutional rights in a government run by the people, for the people. The people have spoken. They have every right to recall elected officials who are not serving the best interests of the public.”
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @RepublicanPeter
