A Pasadena city councilman facing a recall petition for allegedly misserving his constituents says he’s the target of illicit marijuana dispensary operators who are upset over a recent crackdown on unlicensed pot shops.
A petition to oust District 5 Councilman Victor Gordo was submitted to the city clerk on Friday. The document, which accuses him of a range of failures on affordable housing, homelessness, and other issues, must be signed by 25% of District 5 voters — approximately 5,000 to 6,000 people.
Gordo says someone actually showed up at his door on Feb. 1, not realizing who lived there, in attempt to get his signature. He says he was not surprised by the effort, given his role in the city’s efforts to snuff out illegal pot.
The petition makes note of this, stating that “Gordo referred local cannabis legislation to a committee that he chaired so he could write a law that punishes state compliant cannabis operators.” It adds that Gordo “seeks to bring in outside cannabis operators, even if they have been cited for violations in other cities but bans Pasadena-based operators if they were cited for violations.”
According to the Pasadena Star-News, the only listed organizer of the petition, Bradley W. Hertz, heads a PAC dedicated to fighting Pasadena’s crackdown on unlicensed dispensaries.
Read more about the recall effort here.