Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo (R-Tulare), whose district includes the embattled city of Avenal, wants state intervention to remove four recalled city councilmembers.

Macedo sent a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber on Friday to request that they enforce state law and remove Avenal’s recalled officials.

The assemblymember said that “this matter is most urgent as it is foundational to our democracy.”

Macedo also pointed out that Bonta’s and Weber’s offices acted in a similar case involving the Tulare County city of Orosi.

“In January 2025, your offices’ decisive intervention in Orosi compelled the defeated officeholders to comply with certified election results and restored lawful governance. Nothing less is warranted here,” Macedo wrote.

Appellate Court Rules Against City

After the April 28 special recall election this year, the four recalled Avenal councilmembers refused to vacate their offices.

In addition, the city’s subsequent legal effort to invalidate the election was rejected two weeks later by the Fifth District Court of Appeal. That ruling validated the recall election and cleared the way for Kings County to officially certify the results.

Wrote Macedo: “This is no longer a localized political dispute; it is a profound threat to the legal fabric of our state’s election systems. It erodes public trust. The reality on the ground has escalated past local remedy. The local police authority answers to a city administration currently shielding the recalled members, leaving county election and law enforcement officials at an absolute standstill.”

About Avenal

Avenal has 14,00 residents and is 35 miles southwest of Hanford. It is home to Avenal State Prison and its prime economic driver is agriculture. Its most famous native son is former light welterweight world boxing champion and Olympian Jose Ramirez.