Locals begin effort to recall Medellin
DJ Becker/The Madera Tribune
Resident Vickie Sloan, right, discusses procedures for recalling Madera Mayor Andy Medellin Friday, with elections department supervisor Stephanie Sibley at the Madera County Clerk-Recorder’s Office.
Efforts to recall Madera Mayor Andy Medellin are moving forward, according to longtime resident Vickie Sloan.
A core group of residents was working together, and very serious about the action, she said. The response from the general public had been surprising good, and in favor of his recall, according to Sloan and others.
Sloan, a frequent attendee and critic at recent council meetings, obtained the recall guide paperwork Friday, and she said enough was enough.
“Sadly, the goal is to recall the mayor and we are moving forward with it,” she said, and also said Madera likely needed to change more than the mayor in it’s local government.
“It’s very unfortunate we’ve had to go to this extreme, but after many, many opportunities for him to change the direction of where the city seems to be headed he’s given no indication he’s going to change what’s been going on. And we just can’t continue to let this continue to go on.” Sloan said.
Sloan said the recall effort was not about party. “I don’t care if he’s Democrat or Republican ... The residents pay the bills here, and the existing business practices are going to bankrupt our city, if we aren’t bankrupt already ... and just don’t know it yet, “ she said.
Large salaries for city department heads, among the highest in the Central Valley, and the doubling of water rates were just some examples of what has happened on Mayor Medellin’s watch, according to Sloan.
“These salaries are just outrageous but this (mismanagement) could also be citywide and just the tip of the iceberg,” Sloan said, “and it’s not likely just Andy Medellin alone. This could involve many people. One person can’t do this by himself. It’s been going on for a long while, years... They just can’t bury the evidence any longer,” because of the $1.8 million deficit. “And that (enterprise fund) money is gone,” she said.
Sloan said the recall effort was complicated but she was confident it could be done. “People need to know we are serious. The mayor has not been transparent ... and I am sad to say the mayor has looked me right in the eye and apparently, lied to me,” she said.
More information on the location of petition signature drives would be forthcoming at a later time, Sloan said.
According to elections officials it takes between 20 and 30 valid, registered voter signatures from anywhere within the city to “prove up” or qualify the petition, and then the group has to collect about 3,500 total registered signatures within the next four months, to place the recall question in front of the voters on the November election ballot.
