2022 San Francisco Board of Education recall elections
The 2022 San Francisco Board of Education recall elections (also called the San Francisco school board recall elections) were held on February 15, 2022. In a landslide election, over two-thirds of voters chose to remove three San Francisco Board of Education (School Board) Commissioners—Alison Collins, Board President Gabriela Lopez, and Faauuga Moliga—from office.[1] All three commissioners were replaced by appointees chosen by Mayor London Breed.[2][3] The other four members of the school board were not eligible for recall at this time.[4]
The recall election was the first in San Francisco since the failed recall election of then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein in 1983,[5] the first successful recall since the ouster of State Senator Edwin Grant in 1914,[6][7] and the first ever attempt to remove members of the School Board.[8] Supporters of the recall accused the commissioners of incompetence, mismanagement of the school district, and misplaced priorities.[9] Opponents contended that recalls were anti-democratic efforts backed by Republicans, billionaires, and charter school supporters.[9]
The election was part of a "recall fever" during the COVID-19 pandemic in California, which saw many recall petitions leading to elections that targeted elected officials throughout California, such as the successful recall of S.F. District Attorney Chesa Boudin and the failed recall of Governor Gavin Newsom.[10][11][12] The recall election was held as part of the February 2022 San Francisco special election, concurrent with a special election to for the California State Assembly seat vacated by David Chiu.
Path to the ballot[edit]
On February 21, 2021, Autumn Looijen and Siva Raj formed a campaign committee to recall Commissioners Alison Collins, Gabriela Lopez, and Faauuga Moliga from the Board of Education. (The remaining four commissioners were not eligible because they had not been in office for at least 6 months.)[24][4] By the petition submission deadline of September 7, 2021, recall campaign supporters submitted over 77,000 voter signatures to recall each of the three commissioners.[25] On October 18, 2021, city officials announced that each of the three recall petitions met the minimum qualifications of 51,325 valid voter signatures. City officials set the election date to be February 15, 2022.[26][5] It was the first recall election of a San Francisco elected official since the failed 1983 recall election of then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein,[5] and the first ever attempt to remove members of the School Board.[8]
Finances[edit]
The recall campaign raised more than $1.9 million, including $400,000 from venture capitalist Arthur Rock. The anti-recall campaign raised about $39,000. A separate effort to fight Faauuga Moliga's recall raised about $45,000.[45]