Organizers Criticize Councilmember Yaroslavsky’s Leadership, But Have Not Filed
By Dolores Quintana
The specter of a recall effort against Council District 5 Los Angeles City Councilmember seems to have appeared with the establishment of a “Recall Katy Yaroslavsky” website. While there is no sign of the group filing paperwork to follow through with their stated aim, articles started appearing about two weeks ago on the group. On the website, they state that they are an “all-volunteer, grass-roots organization dedicated to the quest for honest, transparent, inclusive and effective leadership in Council District Five. Our opposition to Katy is not rooted in ideology or partisanship, but stems rather from deep antipathy to her leadership style and deep dissatisfaction over her inability as a leader.”
While the website claims to represent “a group of concerned constituents who experienced firsthand Katy’s glaring inadequacies,” the only person named as a member and leader of “Recall Katy Yaroslavsky 2025” is Treasurer and Principal Officer Jonathan “JR” Ross.” The bio goes on to state that “JR was raised in Rancho Park and attended Westwood Elementary (now Westwood Charter), Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High (now Middle School), and University High School (now University Charter). His family has lived in the district for over fifty-seven years.”
The website has buttons to “register here to recall Katy” and “click here to buy merchandise and make donations.”
The site’s front page claims that “Katy lies to her constituents, ignores their concerns and advances policies that endanger the safety of families and livelihoods of businesses in District Five” among other accusations including Yaroslavsky’s support of the Midvale Pico Project.
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, quoting Ross, the group is still in the organizing stage. There have been six attempts to recall Los Angeles City Council members since 2016 and none of them have been successful, with most of the drives not meeting the required number of signatures to place a recall on the ballot. It takes 15% of the council district’s registered voting base to do put a recall attempt to a vote during an election.
A press representative from Yaroslavsky’s office was quoted by KNX News and said, “Councilwoman Yaroslavsky respects the democratic process and the right of residents to voice their concerns, including through recall efforts. She and her team remain fully focused on serving the people of Los Angeles and the Fifth District. The Councilwoman is committed to addressing the needs of her constituents, ensuring public safety, and making meaningful progress on the homelessness crisis.”
