SAN DIEGO — Backlash against San Diego City Hall over housing policies and administrative blunders reached a new level this week when critics of Mayor Todd Gloria launched a recall effort against him.

Recent polling by City Council campaigns shows widespread disapproval of the mayor’s performance, making a recall effort seem potentially viable.

But the effort seems mostly like a symbolic political move because a recall election couldn’t take place for months because of bureaucratic hurdles, and Gloria is termed out in December 2028.

The last San Diego elected official to face a recall campaign was Councilmember Jennifer Campbell in 2021. The groups leading that effort failed to collect enough signatures to reach the ballot.

A 2013 recall effort against then-Mayor Bob Filner was halted when Filner resigned.

An attorney who unsuccessfully challenged Gloria for reelection in 2024, Genevieve Jones-Wright, is leading the new recall effort. She is joined by Kathleen Harmon, Terrie Best, Donnetta Moore and Shelby Huffaker.

Last Thursday, the group published a notice of intent in the San Diego Daily Transcript – a required first step for any recall effort.

“We seek the recall of Mayor Todd Gloria because he has failed to put everyday San Diegans first and is unfit for office,” the group’s statement says. “We have lost confidence in his competence, leadership, judgment, and candor. San Diegans deserve honest answers, transparent decisions, responsible stewardship of public money, and a mayor who is accessible and accountable to the people.”

Specific concerns listed are the city’s budget crisis, efforts to cope with homelessness and some housing policies criticized as pro-developer.

Gloria has also faced criticism recently for a trash billing scandal and efforts to impose paid parking in Balboa Park.

The group would need to gather roughly 125,000 signatures – 15% of the city’s 833,000 registered voters as of Oct. 2. They will have 120 days to do so.

San Diego’s recall process is extremely bureaucratic.

The notice from the Daily Transcript must be served to Gloria by Nov. 8, and then to City Clerk Diana Fuentes by Nov. 13. Gloria gets an opportunity to respond by Nov. 17, so signature gathering could not begin until late November.

If the group gathers enough signatures, the council must call a special election.

Gloria did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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