Dublin Recall: 2 Elected Officials Targeted

DUBLIN, CA — A group calling itself Dubliners United is spearheading an effort to recall City Councilman Abe Gupta and Dublin Unified School District Board of Trustees Member Dan Cunningham.

The newly formed Political Action Committee (PAC) began the process on Tuesday. The group is upset about school overcrowding and plans to build more high density housing.

Both elected officials were served with recall notices on Tuesday.

Cunningham was served after hundreds of teachers, students and parents marched from Dublin High School to the school board meeting.

According to Dubliners United, "Mr. Cunningham has demonstrated bad behavior, conflicts with teachers, residents, refusing to listen to DUSD constituents, and violating open meeting laws. Trustee Cunningham lacks decorum and has verbally abused concerned speakers during board meetings."

**Patch has reached out to Cunningham for comment. When he responds, his comment will be added to this story.

Teachers have been negotiating a new contract with the district for more than a year. The district is offering a two percent raise, considered inadequate by teachers.

School crowding is also a problem, one that promises to get worse as the city council approves more high density housing.

That's behind the recall attempt against Gupta.

According to Dubliners United, "Councilman Abe Gupta has failed to uphold campaign promises for which he was elected in 2014. Originally he opposed rezoning commercial property to residential stating that he wanted to stop 'focusing on building houses and instead build a vibrant commercial community' and that it is 'important that Dublin retain its small-town charm.' Gupta stated he didn't support vesting of non-vested properties during his campaign, and yet has since voted in favor of numerous large scale/ high- density projects."

Gupta strongly disagrees with the recall effort and the portrayal of his record. He told Patch, "The recall effort is a costly boondoggle. I have spent my two terms on Council fighting hard for smart growth saying NO to thousands of houses while fighting for great commercial and retail experiences.

"I was the first member of the Council to loudly and publicly rally for a second high school. Even now, I am working hard to ensure a site is secured for a second high school.

"I opposed homes at Jordan Ranch, at the Green and personally donated money to protect Doolan Canyon. Every member of the current council supported thousands of new housing units. Recently, I supported studying a mixed-use project on Dimanto as a way of securing a second high school in the East. That effort has been fruitful, but if it doesn't ultimately succeed, I will be a strong NO vote."

Once the recall effort becomes official, the PAC will start gathering signatures of registered voters. They estimate that 5,800 signatures will be needed to be certified for the ballot. The group plans to collect at least 2,000 more signatures than required in case some as deemed unqualified. Both volunteers and paid signature collectors will be used.

Bobby Khullar of Dubliners United told Patch that the group hopes to start collecting signatures by mid January. In the meantime, "I’m sure the respective officials will have their side to the story and a response to our claim. We can only hope for the best, and pray that our elected officials do what’s best for the city."

Keeping a close eye on the recall effort is long-time advocacy group Dubliners for Change. A member of the Board of Directors, Kerrie Chabot, told Patch, "Dubliners for Change’s core mission is the preservation of open-space and the environment while ensuring our City has sufficient infrastructure including schools and pedestrian-friendly “downtown” areas. We have been concerned with the rapid growth in high-density housing in Dublin and the adverse effects this development is having on our quality of life.

"Recently a distinct newly formed group, Dubliners United, served school board Trustee Dan Cunningham and City Council member Abe Gupta with a 'notice of intention to circulate a recall petition.' While directly engaging in elections (and recalls) is not part of core mission, we welcome this effort and intend to fully evaluate the performance and qualification of each incumbent subject to a recall and candidates that may run against them, and make recommendations on replacement candidates at a later date."

Dubliners United expects the recall questions to be on the June or November ballots next year.

-Image via Patch