(July 19) FONTANA – In a contest marked by extremely low voter turnout, Fontana Unified School District board members Leticia Garcia and Sophia Green were ousted as a consequence of Tuesday’s specially-called recall election.
While voters in the district number 57,084, 3,851 turned out to vote on whether Green should be recalled and 3,919 weighed in with regard to Garcia.
In both cases, the verdict against them was overwhelming. 2,714, or 69.25 percent voted to remove Garcia from office. 2,697 or 70.03 percent voted to recall Green.
Simultaneous to the voting on the recall questions, voters were offered alternatives as to Garcia and Green’s replacements.
Shannon O’Brien and Socorro Enriquez sought Garcia’s post. Ayanna Blackmon-Balogun, Jason O’Brien and Olivia Lopez sought to succeed Green.
Voters chose Shannon O’Brien to move into the seat held by Garcia. She captured 1,936 votes or 61.95 percent to turn back Enriquez’s bid.
Blackmon-Balogun pulled in 1,343 or 42.61 percent votes to overcome Jason O’Brien and Lopez.
Observers found something of concern in the results. Shannon O’Brien’s ascendency rises out of a circumstance in which Green and Garcia found themselves at the center of controversy over their run-ins with teacher union members, district administration and opposition to the district police department’s purchase of assault weapons. O’Brien owns a non-profit business that contracts with local school districts, a circumstance representing a potential future conflict of interest, some said, that could perpetuate the controversy surrounding the district.