Should Supervisor Efren Carrillo Be Recalled?

A community group says it's pushing forward with a recall of Sonoma County Supervisor Efren Carrillo, who was arrested in July.

Carrillo represents the fifth district, which includes the coast, Sebastopol, west and southwest Santa Rosa and elsewhere.

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A full press release from the Coalition for Grassroots Progress, the group pushing for his recall, follows:

Recall Process Going Forward to Remove Supervisor Carrillo

The Coalition for Grassroots Progress is moving forward with a recall of Sonoma County Supervisor Efren Carrillo. The Coalition previously announced that if Supervisor Carrillo had not resigned by September 15, it would initiate a community-based recall of Carrillo. “On July 30 we called on Carrillo to resign or face a recall, and we are proceeding with the process,” Coalition Co-Chair Alice Chan said [Thursday].

“Police have alleged that Carrillo tried to break into a woman’s bedroom window with the intent of carrying out some type of sexual assault,” the Press Democrat reported on July 14. The newspaper said that a woman made a 911 call at 3:40 a.m. “to report a shirtless man had tried to break into her bedroom window. Carrillo was wearing just underwear and socks when he was arrested by Santa Rosa police.”

Carrillo has not denied being outside the bedroom window of Jane Doe, and has said that he realized that his behavior “was embarrassing.”

Several 5th District constituents lined up at the microphone during the open comment section of the Board of Supervisors meeting on September 10, and one after another directed attention to Carrillo’s inability to adequately represent the district. They called on Supervisor Carrillo to resign.

“Should he try to hang onto his seat, Sonoma County is in for three years of jokes, sarcasm and snide remarks,” said Thomas Morabito.  Another constituent, Judith Iam, followed up by saying: “I too must join my colleagues in asking you to resign, Supervisor Carrillo.” Others spoke passionately about their distress that Carrillo is still in office and their wish for him to resign.

After that Supervisors’ meeting, Carrillo told a Press Democrat reporter that “(resignation is) a decision I’m not prepared to make at this time,” while he acknowledged that much of the criticism directed toward him was “well-deserved and justified.”

The Coalition for Grassroots Progress has been meeting with various local groups and individuals and will continue to do so as it moves ahead with the recall effort. “We have been laying groundwork for the process,” said Chan, who lives in the 5th District. “It’s a long and arduous process, and we’re in it for the long haul.”