Date Set For District Attorney Recall Election In Sonoma County

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — A date has been set for a special election when Sonoma County voters will decide whether to recall Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch.

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday morning to hold the countywide election Sept. 14. If a majority favors the recall, voters will also decide who should replace Ravitch.

Therefore, Sonoma County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor-Registrar of Voters Deva Marie Proto announced Tuesday that potential candidates for district attorney can pick up the necessary forms starting Wednesday morning at the Registrar of Voters Office in Santa Rosa.

Candidates interested in collecting signatures in lieu of the filing fee can also pick up and file the necessary paperwork beginning at 8 a.m. Wednesday but no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 22.

The effort to recall Ravitch formally began Oct. 22, 2020, when proponents filed a notice of intention to recall with the Registrar of Voters Office.

On Nov. 10, 2020, the Registrar's Office approved the recall petition for circulation and told proponents that to qualify the recall for the ballot, they would need to gather 30,056 valid signatures by April 19.

On April 1, a recall petition with 43,316 face-value signatures was turned in to the Registrar's Office.

A full check of all signatures was completed May 11 and 32,128 signatures were declared valid by the Registrar's Office.

On May 18, the Board of Supervisors approved the certified petition.

The Board of Supervisors then passed a resolution Tuesday, ordering that the recall election take place Sept. 14 — a date Proto recommended based on the anticipated workload of county elections staff, the crossover of election deadlines with those of other potential elections, predicted costs of holding the election on different dates and various other factors.

Based on the current number of registered voters, the estimated cost of the election is $2 to $3 per voter, or between $600,000 and $900,000, Proto said in a news release.

"Due to the timing constraints of Elections Code §11242, it was not possible to reduce costs by consolidating the recall election with any other election, such as the Nov. 2 Consolidated District Election or the Gubernatorial Recall Election anticipated for later this fall," Proto said.

Supporters of the recall say it's time to recall Ravitch after "10 years of failed leadership" and that she has a "troubling record on racial justice" because she has "failed to produce accountability in law enforcement, wrongfully declined to prosecute the killing of an unarmed 13-year-old [Andy Lopez], and dismissed calls for justice for a hate-crime victim."

Recall supporters also say Ravitch has done too little in addressing the role of PG&E on behalf of wildfire victims in the county.

Opponents of the recall say it is an effort by wealthy interests, largely funded by an individual, to undermine the independence of the office.

The Sonoma County Democratic Party in March issued a statement opposing the petition.

Ravitch began her career as a prosecutor in 1987 for the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.

In 1990, she started working at the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office.

In 2011, Ravitch was serving as chief deputy district attorney for Mendocino County when she became the first woman elected as Sonoma County district attorney.

Ravitch is currently serving her second term as DA and has said she would not run for re-election in 2022.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.