Group launches recall effort aimed at two county supervisors

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include a statement from Supervisor Kollin Kosmicki, and links to the list of names of the recall proponents. Lea este artículo en español aquí.

Six months into their new term, San Benito County Supervisors Kollin Kosmicki and Ignacio Velazquez have been notified that a committee of residents are seeking their recall. 

Ahead of the county’s budget hearings on June 9, former San Benito County Planning Commissioner Celeste Toledo-Bocanegra and former Hollister City Councilmember Rick Perez provided the notice of intention documents to Kosmicki and Velazquez.

According to a document provided by Toledo-Bocanegra to BenitoLink, an organization calling itself  Public Safety First: The Committee to Recall Kosmicki and Velazquez is attempting to recall the supervisors for their handling of the fire service contract and “fiscal mismanagement.”

“Our community deserves leaders who listen, collaborate, and act with integrity, not those who divide, bully and mislead the public,”  the document states. “Their mishandling of the fire contract, belittling firefighters and dragging negotiations out over a year, put public safety at risk, and their fiscal mismanagement has created a budget crisis.”

Kosmicki is serving his second term in office while Velazquez began his first term in January. Both end in 2028.

In a statement, Kosmicki called the recall attempt a “political stunt” involving “radical special interests who support rapid housing growth in San Benito County.”

“This will not deter me in the least from continuing to support responsible growth, farmland preservation and road improvements as top priorities,” he said. “This isn’t about fire protection as they claim. In fact, the county board is considering a new fire contract Tuesday, which I helped to negotiate and members of this same group have opposed ‒ a group that includes former Hollister Councilman Rick Perez, who served me initial recall signature documents today. Anyone can gather 60 signatures as a scare tactic to intimidate local leaders if they so choose. I will not be intimidated and will continue to lead boldly.”

According to the county elections office, Public Safety First: The Committee to Recall Kosmicki and Velazquez has seven days to file the original notice of intention. Kosmicki and Velazquez have seven days from the time they were served to file an answer.

Recall proponents must publish the notice in a local newspaper and file proof of publication before the elections office determines whether the petition meets validity requirements. Once they do, the proponents can begin to gather signatures.

Chief Deputy Clerk-Recorder Ana De Castro Maquiz said the recall effort for Kosmicki requires  1,736 valid signatures and 1,833 for Velazquez. If the office deems the threshold is met, it will present the petition to the Board of Supervisors.

At that point, the county board can call for an election within 88-125 days. If the board does not call for an election, the elections office would call it.

De Castro Maquiz said the office is validating the signatures of more than 60 proponents for each recall. (The office finished validating the signatures later in the day on June 9. The list of names can be found here for Kosmicki and here for Velazquez.)

This is Toledo-Bocanegra’s second time being involved in an effort to recall Velazquez. In 2021, Toledo-Bocanegra and Andrew Russo attempted to recall him when he was Hollister mayor, but the months-long effort was aborted when they did not get past the initial stages of obtaining approval from the City of Hollister for their proof of publication.

Kosmicki represents District 2, which covers the northwestern part of the county including San Bautista and Aromas, and parts of Hollister near Union Road and Hwy 25. 

Velazquez represents District 5, which covers north county between Hwy 25 and Hwy 156, the Hollister Municipal Airport and downtown Hollister. 

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