Coachella recall petitions rejected, city confirms

COACHELLA, Calif. (KESQ) - The city of Coachella rejected petitions to recall two councilmembers; the applicants say they will submit the paperwork again.

Jesus Ahkin Gonzalez and Vicente Zamora served copies of Notices of Intention on Councilmembers Perez and Delgado and filed the original Notices with the City Clerk’s Office during last week's city council meeting.

A city spokesperson said the filling did not meet the state code requirements for acceptance and was rejected for two reasons.

1. Notices did not contain the minimum number of signatures required by the State Elections Code; and   

2. Notices did not include the City and the ZIP Code, which is an express requirement of the State Elections Code.   

State law does not give the City Clerk the discretion to overlook this non-compliance.  Therefore, the City Clerk’s Office was required to reject both filings as part of their ministerial duty. 

-City of Coachella email (6/15/26)

A city spokesperson said Gonzalez and Zamora can submit new Notices of Intent if they want to.

Gonzalez and Zamora sent a statement to News Channel 3 confirming they will resubmit again with the required amount of signatures.

Gonzalez and Vicente Zamora, two critics of Coachella's proposed data center, cited a number of issues as the reason for their recall attempt, including the controversial project.

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Current mayor Dr. Frank Figueroa and Councilmember Stephanie Virgen are up for reelection in November, while Delgado and Perez have two years left on their terms, which is why they were singled out in the recall efforts.

Stay with News Channel 3 for any updates.