Salinas residents launch an incomplete recall effort against County Supervisor Luis Alejo.

Just five days after he served his representative on Salinas City Council with a notice of intention to circulate a recall petition to remove him from office, Salinas resident Daniel Muñoz served a similar notice of intention on his county supervisor on Wednesday, Feb. 25. 

Supervisor Luis Alejo has represented District 1—most of urban Salinas—on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors since 2017. (The former State Assembly member was re-elected to a third term in 2024 and is not up for re-election this year.)

In the notice, proponents write, "We believe his conduct has fallen well below the standards required of a county supervisor. Supervisor Alejo has used public statements and official platforms to publicly attack a sitting Salinas City Council member. Rather than promoting cooperation and constructive problem-solving between levels of government, he has chosen to escalate conflict in ways that inflame division and deepen dysfunction within our community."

Recently, Alejo has posted on social media with statements condemning Salinas District 5 City Councilmember Andrew Sandoval, who was censured by his colleagues (a step that was initiated by José Luis Barajas, the subject of Muñoz's city recall effort). Sandoval was censured largely on the basis of his own snarky and antagonistic social media posts. 

Muñoz lists other grievances with Alejo as motivating factors behind the recall attempt. Those include circulating placards to local businesses and residences stating that ICE is not welcome. "He is giving people a false sense of security," Muñoz says. "You think ICE is going to read a placard, in Spanish, before they kick down your door? I don't think so." 

Instead, Muñoz says he'd like to see Alejo and the Board of Supervisors take a stand on ending cooperation of any sort between the County Sheriff's Office and the federal agency, particularly in the county jail.

(Alejo has been a leader on the County of Monterey's ad hoc committee to address the Trump administration's anti-immigration policies since it launched, even before Trump was sworn in to a second term.)

In addition, Muñoz objects to Alejo allocating his district's $100,000 of discretionary county funding as seed money to fundraise for an arch in the Alisal neighborhood of Salinas, a concept similar to the downtown Salinas arch. Alejo faced extensive public opposition to the funding proposal but proceeded despite the outcry. "If you have people lined up at a meeting telling you not to do something, and you do it anyway, what are we doing here?" Muñoz says.

Alejo did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday, Feb. 26. 

The notice includes 43 signatures that have yet to be vetted by County Elections Department officials, but even if all are registered voters, the number is insufficient.

As of Jan. 14, there are 35,271 registered voters in District 1. That means for the notice of intention to be deemed complete, among other requirements, there must be valid signatures from at least 60 registered voters in District 1. (Elections Code calls for a requirement of at least 30 signatures in a district of this size, or three times the number of signatures required on nomination papers; with a minimum of 20 signatures required, that means 60.)

In a letter on Feb. 26, Assistant Salinas City Clerk Alexis Mejia notified Muñoz of the same insufficient signature issue on his notice for a recall of the city council position. (The City Clerk's office handles city elections issues, while the County Elections Department handles the county supervisor role.)

Signatories on the notice seeking to initiate a recall against Alejo include local LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) President Chris Barrera, who ran unsuccessfully for Salinas mayor in 2024; Alex Ayala, who lost in his 2024 run for the District 1 City Council position; and former District 1 councilmember Carla Viviana Gonzalez, among others. 

County elections officials received the notice to recall Alejo on Thursday, Feb. 26, and are still reviewing the adequacy of the documents provided.