The recall campaign targeting San Diego City Council President Jen Campbell said Tuesday it had failed to gather enough signatures to trigger a special election.
In an emailed statement, the campaign said it had gathered more than 10,000 signatures — short of the more than 14,000 they needed to submit by Wednesday to force a vote on whether Campbell should stay in office.
"The pandemic combined with competing signature-gathering efforts for other political races and Jennifer Campbell’s low name recognition proved to be an insurmountable challenge," the email said. "We remain as committed as ever to seeing D2 represented by someone who genuinely cares about residents. The next round in that battle will be decided in November 2022, and we are already gearing up."
Campbell's City Council District 2 includes Bay Ho, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach and Point Loma.
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"This recall was unwarranted and unnecessary, reckless and ridiculous, desperate and divisive – and San Diegans were too smart to fall for it," Campbell's campaign consultant Dan Rottenstreich said in a statement. "In rejecting this recall, San Diegans have shown once again that they want leaders focused on bringing people together to get things done, not more divisive politics tearing communities apart."
One of the primary issues motivating the recall effort was Campbell's successful measure to legalize and regulate short-term home rentals. Critics said the deal was too favorable to rental platforms such as AirBnb, while Campbell defended it as a good compromise on a tough issue that went unresolved for years.
Recall backers also accused Campbell of not being a reliable ally on issues of racial justice. Campbell, a Democrat, said she had a long record of supporting racial equality.
Campbell was elected in 2018, unseating incumbent Lorie Zapf, a Republican. Campbell is likely to face multiple challengers in the June 7, 2022 primary election. The top two winners from that ballot will compete in a runoff on Nov. 8, 2022.
