Pubdate: Fri, 20 Nov 2015
Source: Orange County Register, The (CA)
Copyright: 2015 The Orange County Register
Contact:  http://www.ocregister.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321
Author: Martin Wisckol

POT ADVOCATES SEEK RECALL OF MAYOR

SANTA ANA - A group of marijuana advocates upset with Santa Ana's pot 
laws and their enforcement said Thursday that they're planning an 
effort to recall Mayor Miguel Pulido.

Outside the shuttered Sky High medical marijuana dispensary, none of 
the advocates or their representatives showed up until 15 minutes 
after the announced 4:20 p.m. start time for the press conference to 
announce the recall effort.

Campaign consultant Jason Aula said the voter-approved law allowing 
no more than 20 dispensaries in the city and police efforts that have 
repeatedly shut down the unlicensed Sky High shop were key 
motivations for seeking a recall.

"The committee's perspective is that the mayor is behind the raids," 
Aula said. "If it's a different mayor, it's a different culture."

The group has its work cut out for it. If it's successful in 
gathering the 14,000 signatures it says are needed to qualify a 
recall, it then must unseat a mayor who's held his post for 21 years 
and has won his previous two elections by 15 percentage points and 21 
percentage points.

Even if Pulido is unseated, the remainder of the seven-person City 
Council also voted for the current plan to enforce the voter-approved law.

The law itself was put on the ballot by a 4-3 council vote, but the 
dissenting members either wanted a more restrictive law or wanted no 
dispensaries in the city at all.

Pulido could not immediately be reached for comment.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom