How San Diego's legal hurdles make recalls difficult

With a flood of revelations against San Diego Mayor Bob Filner and his refusal to resign, voters are faced with a difficult proposition. They can recall the mayor, but history shows that the signature total required is daunting. And, due to what may be a legislative drafting error, the voters’ ability to use the recall is limited in a surprising fashion. San Diego would not be the first jurisdiction to find out that their lawmakers’ carelessness greatly impacted their ability to remove elected officials. The first dash of cold water is the most obvious. Recall proponents will need a shade over 100,000 valid signatures.

UTSanDiego.com