Signatures verified for Millbrae recalls

The petition for Cahalan’s recall from her District 2 seat received a total of 1,029 signatures, 897 of which were reviewed and 666 were verified. To trigger a recall vote, 607 signatures were required. 

The petition for Goodman’s recall from his District 4 seat petition received 1,267 signatures, 1,018 of which were reviewed and 797 were verified. Once a minimum number of signatures to qualify for the ballot has been verified, the San Mateo County Elections Office can stop reviewing additional signatures. 

The petition will now go to the Millbrae City Council for final certification and Tran will present the certificates of sufficiency at its March 12 meeting, Tran said. The City Council must call for the election within two weeks, per elections code. 

If for some reason the City Council does not call for the election — which must be held no more than 125 days no less than 88 days from issuance of the order — the County Elections Official must set a date for the election, election code stipulates. 

The group Recall Goodman & Cahalan, which identified themselves as funders of the recall petition circulation on its website, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. 

The website cites the councilmembers’ continued support of the La Quinta hotel project, which would allow the county to purchase a Millbrae hotel to provide housing for homeless families and individuals, as a major reason for the recall effort. 

The city of Millbrae then sued the county over the pending purchase and is currently embroiled in litigation on the issue. 

“Despite concerns raised and repeated appeals, councilmembers Maurice Goodman and Angelina Cahalan persisted in supporting the project against the wishes of their constituents and failed to respond to their valid concerns,” the website read. 

The website stated that the group felt the two councilmembers did not act in the best interests of their districts. 

“We view the actions taken by Goodman and Cahalan as a betrayal of the trust placed in them by their electorate. … Rather than faithfully represent the views clearly espoused by most residents — more than 7,200 of whom voices their objections to La Quinta via petition — they opted instead to disregard the will of their constituents,” the website said. 

Cahalan and Goodman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.