Our Mission Matters

Join us in our mission to recall the local city council members who do not represent our community's needs. Your voice matters; act now to make a difference!

Empowering Our Community

At Blue Lake Recall 2025, we stand for the future of our community.
We are mobilizing efforts to recall local city council members who are failing us.
We demand common sense leadership that reflects our values.

Editorials

Subject: Our City at a Crossroads: It's Time for Change!

Blue Lake faces a critical juncture. The current Council's actions have fractured our community's trust and jeopardized our future. Delayed essential housing projects due to disputes with the State, coupled with the dismissal of our respected City Manager, expose a startling lack of accountability and effective leadership. Essential city services and staff are now under threat, creating a scenario where the Council dictates instead of serving our community.

Rising tariffs and inflation already strain household budgets, pushing many towards reliance on the very services this Council may dismantle. Furthermore, the derelict power plant remains a looming danger to our children, yet the Council has failed to address this critical issue.

These actions demonstrably reveal a Council that does not prioritize the needs of our community. A change is urgently needed. A new council comprised of concerned citizens is essential to refocus on the true priorities of Blue Lake.

Join us. Let your voice be heard.

Hundreds of Blue Lake citizens have already signed the recall petition. The city's future depends on it.

You are invited to visit the Town Square opposite the Post Office between 2-5:30 PM this week only. Registration for citizens will also be available for your convenience in shaping our city's direction.

Sincerely,

Den Whitcomb

Response to No Recall Pamphlet

With so much inaccurate and misleading information out there we wanted to make sure questions are answered with facts and facts alone. Below are responses to the listed comments made in a No Recall Handout that was left on people's doors.

The Council has NOT refused to adopt a compliant Housing Element; they have exhibited due diligence and asked for public participation.

The City Council has voted TWICE not to adopt the Housing Element by a 3-2 vote (1/28/25 and 3/25/28).  They asked for a Public Q&A Session and received it on 1/11/25.  City Staff scheduled a joint session with the Planning Commission to which Councilmember Scafani replied she was a “hard no” to joining.  Mayor Sawatzky also declined.  Councilmember Napier has said multiple times in City Council that they did not have time to look at the Housing Element as there were more pressing matters for them and didn’t want it brought back to council until possibly October, even wanting to push a vote off till 2026.  Twice the State has rejected the timelines that City Council has proposed for passing the Housing Element. On Monday, July 7th, the City Council had the 1st of two calls with the State to discuss compliance before legal action and fines are implemented.  We have until 7/28/25 to provide a written response to HCDs notice on non-compliance.  Mayor Pro-Tem Scafani has been on Council for over two years; she has been part of the development of the housing element and has participated in numerous public meetings as the updated element was developed.  To claim ignorance of the contents of the housing element shows a lack of capacity to adequately manage the affairs of the City.

Why would part of the recall effort be over a Housing Element that has been out of compliance for over a decade?

The 6th Cycle of the Housing element is from 2019 – 2027, the City has been working with the state over this time to come into compliance and since 2021 has received two grants to assist with the cost of doing so.  It is a long and complicated process that was finally completed via Resolution 2025-1235 in November 2024 and available for passage for the first time on December 10, 2024 but due to the new councilmembers being seated the same night, it was determined to allow them the time to review and have a Q&A with the public, which was scheduled for the following month. Since that time, despite the fact that the Housing Element is ready for a passage and numerous correspondences from the State indicating the need for passage of that resolution, the City Council has voted TWICE not to do so putting us front and center for possible fines and litigation. Mayor Sawatzky and Councilmember Napier, recently met with representatives from the State Housing Accountability and Enforcement Division; the State has initiated an enforcement process due to the continued failure to adopt the housing element.  Next steps include fines and referral to the State Attorney General for initiation of a lawsuit. 

Affordable housing should include a diversity of income levels, space for seniors and access to supportive service.

The Housing Element does not mandate development; it is a plan that facilitates all types of development through zoning regulations that are in compliance with State mandates.  Affordable Housing is encouraged through the adoption of zoning regulations that do not place unnecessary burdens on developers.  Adoption of the Housing Element will make the development process easier for all property owners in Blue Lake by removing restrictive development standards.



 

Why are ethical leaders being targeted by former city leaders? 

Excellent question and one that everyone should ask, why are over a dozen former City Councilmembers, Commissioners and Staff supporting the recall effort.  These are people with intimate knowledge of how our city government should work, how for the last ten years we have been functioning and what ethical standards should look like and they are all standing behind the recall movement. That in itself is a repudiation of the behavior of the current city councilmembers and should bear weight.



 

The Council has NOT advocated against the Bike Park; they have requested accurate and complete financial records and information about the Bike Park.

Mayor Sawatzky has on multiple occasions pushed for an invoice on the bike park that is not supported by a contract with the City. The invoice infers that an individual was promised recompense of $100K when in actual fact, this person, who was not brought on by the former City Manager but by others, was aware that their compensation would come through fundraising and/or volunteering their time.  The Mayor is on a dirt digging campaign against the former City Manager, instead of praising this individual for their dedication in getting our bike park built. The invoice is not supported by any contract with the City. 

Who will govern Blue Lake if the recall is successful?

If we are successful in recalling all three councilmembers then this will be new territory and several different options have been brought forward as possible solutions, including having the remaining two city councilmembers or State official appoint a third to get back to a quorum.  North Coast state legislators are currently reviewing options available.  Fear of the unknown however is a poor excuse to not do the right thing.

Why is the recall effort pushing so hard with misinformation.

All of the information that those supporting the recall have put forth can be backed up with facts and timelines taken directly from the City website, HCD website and from those directly involved.  We are sticking to the facts alone.  We are not on social media denigrating folks but talking with our neighbors face to face and backing up our words with actual facts.  Opinions can differ, we are all individuals with our own thoughts and ideas however facts remain the same.

 

It will prolong and deepen the divide in the community and fuel distrust and animosity between neighbors.

Nothing could be further from the truth.  One of the founding principles of this recall effort was that we were not going to be on Social Media, that this would not be a recall of personal attacks but of facts.  We have been determined to have conversations face to face with our neighbors and that is exactly what we have accomplished.  This has been an overwhelmingly positive experience for those involved in gathering signatures.  Many in the community have supported the effort but even with those who were undecided and/or against the recall, the interactions have been polite and insightful.  Not everyone has to agree with the recall but we want to make sure that we could talk as neighbors and remain neighborly, and that we have done.  We have met so many Blue Lakers, been invited into so many homes and found that we share more things in common than not. This is a democratic process, and we are grateful for all that have taken the time to talk with us. 

Current financial review of the last 2 budget years…

Lack of understanding of basic accounting principles does not mean money is being misused.  As projects seldom complete in one fiscal year, adjustments on revenue in and expenditures out are carried over and accounted for via basic account adjustments.  All funds are accounted for and notated.

Reviewing numbers will show that the City has produced balanced budgets and even revenue above and beyond adopted budgets, each of the last few years.  The City is independently audited every year and has an independent Accountant that reports directly to the Council.  The City has always had clean audits and passed all inquiries by professional accountants.  No misuse of  funds has ever been noted and the numbers provided in the No Recall Pamphlet have no basis in reality, nor indication of where they were drawn from.  Thus, they can only be attributed to lack of understanding of basic accounting principles.

Bike Park Financials…

$470K for a bike park, that sounds like a big number and it is… it’s also not what we are paying. RCMBA put out a presentation on the bike park that was presented to the public at the Special Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting on 6/18/25.  At this meeting and during prior presentations, it was noted that it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to build the Blue Lake Bike and Skate Park, IF the City were to hire a contractor to do so.  That, however, is NOT how our park is being built, nor is it how any of Blue Lake's parks have ever been built.  The Blue Lake Bike and Skate Park is being built through fundraising, volunteer work days, good people and businesses donating not only their own money, supplies and resources but their time (which often is more valuable than money). Through the dedicated efforts of so many, the park is well on its way to being completed.  To date, the City has donated the land for the park and has spent less than $5000 to bring the park to where it is today. RCMBA has been an outstanding partner and instrumental in helping to bring the park to fruition, this city owes them our thanks and gratitude.



 

Public Records Act - Truth

A Public Records Act revealed that new councilmembers were discussing the City Managers removal post election but prior to them taking office so any talk about them not wanting to fire Amanda Mager when they were running for office is proven false by their own admission.

 Public Records Act - Transparency

Constant phone calls and interactions between Councilmembers Scafani, Sawatzky and Napier on their personal email accounts and phones along with meetings at their homes or others (pizza party at Nona’s) shows a pattern of collusion outside of the public arena.

Public Records Act - What is a Brown Act Buddy?

A term created by this council in which only two at a time can talk about city matters so as not to constitute a quorum and thus needing to have those conversations in the public space.  Anyone who has served on city council knows that this is unethical and leads to collusion.  We should not be creating schemes to get around possible Brown Act Violations but actually practicing the transparency that we preach about.

IMPORTANT INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Thanks to pressure from this recall effort and the state, the Housing Element was passed on 7/22/25.  Now the hard work begins in pushing this Council from holding up Affordable Housing projects...

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