San Mateo Mayor Faces Recall Campaign

SAN MATEO, CA — San Mateo’s top elected official is facing a recall campaign.

The drive to remove Mayor Amourence Lee from office follows a bitter dispute over her assumption of the mayorship in December.

The group Recall San Mateo Councilmember Amourence Lee needs 8,000 signatures to put a recall on the November ballot.

San Mateo was without a mayor for the first time in its 128-year history until the City Council finally elected Lee Dec. 12.

Lee alleged that she had been approached by two people offering her the mayorship in exchange for her vote for a City Council appointee under consideration to replace Diane Papan, who was elected to the state Assembly last year.

“This process has been tainted by multiple attempts to extort my vote for a candidate in exchange for the mayor’s seat,” Lee said.

The San Mateo County District Attorney's Office is investigating Lee's allegations, The Daily Journal reports.

"The reason of this ordering of business has become abundantly clear. When the prescribed sequence is followed, the powers of the mayor cannot be held hostage, or used as a bargaining chip," Lee said.

"Our tradition of the peaceful transfer of power based on rotation of the most senior member is a century-old model that has worked to stay corruption and backdoor dealings that can erode our institutions."

Five former San Mateo mayors are backing the recall effort, according to the group’s website.

"We are a diverse group of San Mateo residents that believe we should have leaders who understand that our City Council and Mayorship are arguably the highest position of authority our community can give,” the group wrote on its website.

“We teach our children not to be bullies and liars, shouldn’t we also expect that of our Mayor?”

Lee told ABC 7 that she believes the recall is not a priority for most San Mateo residents. She said the recall election would cost the city $1 million.

"I think most San Mateo residents and local businesses, they want us to stay focused on addressing unmet needs," Lee told ABC 7.

"I don't think that we can squander our limited resources. We need to focus on pandemic recovery, storm water infrastructure, emergency preparedness," Lee said.