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San Jacinto voters recall 4 of 5 city council members after corruption scandal
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Councilman Jim Ayres speaks with firefighters
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Jim Ayres For Assembly website
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Voters in San Jacinto overwhelmingly recalled four of their five city council members Tuesday night. The action comes more than a year after the councilmen were implicated in a corruption scandal.
The charges stem from Councilman Jim Ayres’ failed bid for the 65th State Assembly four years ago. The four councilmen face money laundering, bribery and other charges.
Prosecutors say the defendants laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegitimate campaign contributions. All pleaded not guilty.
Despite calls for their resignation, the councilmen refused to step down. They say they’ve done a good job for the city and because they’ve yet to be tried or convicted of a crime, they should be allowed to keep their jobs.
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The voters of San Jacinto disagreed – by a wide margin.
Councilmen Jim Ayres and Jim Potts will be replaced by one of several candidates who ran to serve out the last two years of what would have been four-year terms. The other two councilmen are not running for reelection, but felt the sting of recall anyway. Twelve people ran for those open seats.
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