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While those backing an effort to recall San Benito County District 2 Supervisor Kollin Kosmicki missed the deadline to submit the required signatures by Oct. 19, they say they’re not giving up.
Committee to Recall Supervisor Kosmicki spokesperson Stacie McGrady said the group ended up “a couple hundred” short of the 1,762 valid signatures required to allow the process to move forward.
District 2 covers San Juan Bautista, Aromas and west Hollister as far as Westside Boulevard.
McGrady said the group intends to launch another recall attempt targeting Kosmicki if they raise enough funds to cover the effort.
“There are a lot of people that feel strongly that he should not be in office, but as you know these endeavors are expensive and labor intensive,” she said.
San Benito County Chief Deputy Clerk-Recorder-Elections Ana De Castro Maquiz said the recall group would have to start over since they did not submit the required signatures by the deadline.
“They missed the deadline, so that means the [current] process is done,” she said.
McGrady said the committee spent $22,000 in its effort to oust Kosmicki. That includes, she said, $2,000 for its successful lawsuit to reverse the county elections office’s rejection of the notice of intention.
The elections office initially approved the notice but changed course, saying some signatures were missing the address or zip code.
Asked why the committee pursued the Kosmicki recall knowing a recalled local official can run again for that same seat, as former District 5 Supervisor Ignacio Velazquez is now doing, she said, “it’s important.”
Kosmicki “is still making bad choices for the county,” she said. “We can’t afford not to pursue it if there is a way forward.”
The latest effort is the second attempt to recall Kosmicki following a similar aborted attempt last year.
Kosmicki said he was proud of his constituents for not supporting what he called a misinformation campaign.
“I’m here to represent regular residents, not special interests and I’m going to continue doing that,” he said.
According to the recall petition, its proponents claimed Kosmicki has ignored traffic congestion, noted that county employees were fired, and argued that public safety jobs were put at risk with the county’s projected $25.7 million budget deficit in fiscal year 2025-26, according to an external audit commissioned by the San Benito County Board of Supervisors.
Kosmicki denied all of the claims, arguing he has worked to push the widening of Hwy 25 forward, and that he has supported public safety through the fire services negotiations and pursued an effort to expand Sheriff’s Department employee benefits.
Kosmicki is serving his second four-year term, which ends on Jan. 8, 2029, according to the county’s website.
McGrady was also part of the successful recall of Velazquez in the June primary election. Velazquez is running to finish the remaining two years of his term against challengers Rodney Bianchi and John Williams.
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