Avenal, California Mayor Alvaro Preciado and recalled council members continued governing after certified recall vacated their seats

On May 28, 2026, three of the four Avenal, California city council members ousted in an April recall election continued to exercise the powers of their offices at a meeting held the same day Kings County certified the results that, under California Elections Code section 11382, made their seats vacant immediately upon certification. Mayor Alvaro Preciado and council members Leticia Gamez and Pablo Hernandez remained on the dais and voted on city business -- including a $270,000 purchase of temporary living quarters for the fire department -- over the objection of Ricardo Verdugo, the lone council member not recalled, who argued the meeting was illegal and asked the city attorney to identify what authority let the recalled members keep acting. A fourth recalled member, David Reynosa, was absent.

The recall grew out of a dispute over the city's fire-protection arrangements, including a Kings County District Attorney allegation that the four members violated the state's open-meetings law, the Brown Act, in handling it. Each of the four was recalled by wide margins in the April 28 special election. Avenal had earlier sued to block the county from administering the recall at all, but an appellate court let the election proceed.

Updates

2026-06-11 — Recalled officials voted 3-0 to reject certified results [5]

Meeting again with Reynosa absent, Preciado, Gamez and Hernandez voted 3-0 to decline to accept the certified recall results and approved a $12.5 million city budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, continuing to act as officeholders. City officials maintained the recall was invalid because it had been filed with the county rather than the city clerk.

2026-06-17 — State attorney general authorized quo warranto suit [6]

California Attorney General Rob Bonta granted recall organizers permission to file a quo warranto action -- a rarely used legal mechanism -- asking a court to determine whether the four recalled officials could lawfully remain in office under Elections Code section 11382.

2026-08-24 — Kings County court ruled officials unlawfully in office [1, 2]

A Kings County Superior Court judge tentatively ruled that Preciado, Gamez, Hernandez and Reynosa "ceased to hold their respective offices" upon the May 28 certification, and that their continued participation in council meetings and exercise of the powers of those offices had been unlawful. The judge rejected the officials' argument that the recall election itself was invalid. A general election to fill the vacant seats was set for November 3, 2026.