Courage California recommends that voters DO NOT sign circulating petitions for the recalls of Councilmember Lopez and Councilmember Phan. 

About the Recall Effort

Two members of the Santa Ana City Council – Councilmember and Mayor Pro Tem Jessie Lopez (Ward 3) and Councilmember Thai Viet Phan (Ward 1) – are being  targeted for a recall effort led by the Santa Ana Police Officers Association (SAPOA).

In December 2022, four of the seven members of the City Council voted in favor of limiting police officer salary raises to 3%. This salary deal is estimated to cost the city $1.23 million, while previous proposals the SAPAO were advocating for were estimated to cost the city as much as $25 million. The deal also required that SAPAO president, Gerry Serrano, spend at least 50% of his time on police duties. Although four members of the City Council voted in favor of the smaller salary package, Serrano and SAPOA have targeted only the two women of color for this recall effort. 

This is not the first time the police union has led a recall effort against a member of the city council. In 2020, the union advocated for the successful recall of Councilmember Cecilia Iglesias after she publicly opposed a multi-million dollar salary increase for the police union. 

The SAPOA was recently forced by an Orange County Superior Court to pay the City of Santa Ana over $40,000 for filing frivolous claims against city employees.

Top Funders in Support

The SAPOA is the primary funder of the two recall committees - Residents for Responsible Leadership in Support of the Recall of Jessie Lopez and Residents for Responsible Leadership in Support of the Recall of Thai Viet Phan. Total donations of over $370,000 have been issued through the SAPOA Independent Expenditure Committee since the recall effort was established in December 2022. The Independent Expenditure Committee is primarily funded through the donations of individuals affiliated with the police department, but has also received funds from Apartment Association of Orange County PAC. 

Both committees are chaired by Tim Rush, a local real estate professional, who has spoken out in support of real estate interests on several recent City Council decisions, including a 2021 rent control policy, limiting landlord rights, housing development fees, and vacancy taxation on empty rental properties. 

Top Funders in Opposition

Councilmember Lopez has the support of two committees - Santa Ana Taxpayers Against the Corrupt Recall of Jessie Lopez and Working Families Against the Recall of Jessie Lopez - that have raised $7,000 from individual donors as of the March campaign finance filing. She has the sponsorship of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 324. 

The committee supporting Councilmember Phan, Santa Ana Taxpayers Against Corrupt Recall of Councilmember Thai Viet Phan, has raised $14,000 primarily from individual donors. She has also received contributions from United Food and Commercial Workers Local 324. 

Organizations Opposing the Recall

Councilmember Lopez has received support from California Working Families Party, Chispa, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 324, OC Action, Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, and SAUSD President Carolyn Torres. She has also received previous campaign endorsements from Run for Something, and Orange County Young Democrats.

Councilmember Phan has received support from California Working Families Party, OC Action, and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 324. She has also received previous campaign endorsements from PIVOT (The Progressive Vietnamese American Organization), YIMBY Action, and Orange County Democrats. 

Misinformation About the Recall

• There are FALSE assertions from those in favor of the recall that recent policy decisions from Councilmember Lopez and Councilmember Phan have encouraged landlords to increase local rents by an average of 15%. In reality, they each voted in favor of a rent control measure in 2021 that capped rent increases at 3% annually.
• Councilmember Lopez and Councilmember Phan have supported a vacancy tax on empty buildings in an effort to incentivize owners to develop their properties, contribute to improving the housing crisis, and diminish blight in local communities. Claims that this taxation is designed to further the housing affordability crisis are FALSE.
• The narrative that Councilmember Lopez and Councilmember Phan have supported a full defunding of the police is FALSE. In October 2021, they each supported a new program designed to route some 911 calls to mental health providers, and supported reductions in some corrupt and ineffective violent crime divisions. These reforms were necessary after the Santa Ana Police Department was ranked among the worst in the state in a 2019 report based on incidents of brutality and the operating expense to taxpayers. 

Our Recommendation

Supporters of the recall are required to gather signatures from 20% of registered voters in each ward by early August to qualify for the ballot. Courage California’s analysis shows this recall to be a bad faith effort by law enforcement and real estate developers to secure a City Council more favorable to their interests. This effort has been launched in direct opposition to the will of the voters who elected these two members to the City Council in 2020. We recommend that voters decline to sign circulating petitions for the recall of Councilmember Lopez and Councilmember Phan.