Avenal residents seek injunction against recalled council members who won’t leave
Avenal residents served city officials with a temporary restraining order Thursday during a City Council meeting that was marked by tension over the recall of four members and their refusal to leave office.
Residents seek to stop recalled council members from continuing to act as city officials and spending public money after the recall election was certified. The civil injunction was filed in Kings County Superior Court in Hanford. Both parties are scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
“The temperature is getting hotter and hotter, it’s escalating, and if nobody steps in, this is only going to continue,” said recall proponent Dalila Barajas of Thursday’s meeting. “We’re not happy with them still showing up and spending money.”
At Thursday’s meeting, the council members approved $950,000 to buy land, she said. “These are things that are being tied up to city that are not going to be able to get undone.”
In their court petition, residents say officials are “willfully wasting taxpayers’ funds and should be restrained from doing so.”
The recalled officials have refused to accept the results of the recall, refused to vacate office, and voted to stay in office at their June 11 meeting. The recall election results were certified by the county’s registrar of voters on May 28.
Since then, the council members have continued to hold meetings, making financial decisions for the city.
Avenal attempted to stop the April 28 recall election through Kings County Superior Court and the Fifth Court of Appeal in Fresno. Both courts denied the city’s attempts to halt the recall.
The recall election had more than 73% voter approval. The city has 2,346 registered voters, and voter turnout was 30.43%. City Council members are elected at large for four-year terms.
Earlier this month, proponents of the council recall filed a quo warranto application with the California Attorney General’s Office.
Attorney General Rob Bonta approved the application on June 17, clearing the path to file a lawsuit against the recalled city officials: Mayor Alvaro Preciado and Councilmembers Leticia Gamez, Pablo Hernandez and David Reynosa.
The Attorney General’s Office said the application met all three of the criteria, including raising a substantial legal issue. A quo warranto proceeding is a legal action used to challenge an individual’s right to hold a public or corporate office.
Under California law, the exclusive way to challenge an official’s legal right to hold public office is ordinarily through a quo warranto lawsuit. Before filing such a suit against a public official, the complaining party must receive approval from the attorney general.
For months, the city had argued that the county conducted a recall election without lawful authority to do so. The county said there is an established practice of the county running recall elections.
This story was originally published June 26, 2026 at 4:28 PM.
