LYNNWOOD — A petition to recall Lynnwood City Council member Josh Binda failed to meet the minimum number of signatures required by state law to get on the ballot.
The petition needed 2,416 signatures to qualify for the April ballot. As of the Jan. 10 deadline, volunteers had turned in just 1,050 signatures, said Diodato Boucsieguez, one of the Lynnwood residents spearheading the effort.
Last June, a judge ruled there was enough evidence to approve a recall campaign, based on the following points:
• In December 2022, Binda used the City Council chambers in a video to promote his speaking tour, violating city code.
• Another investigation revealed Binda used over $2,700 in campaign funds for personal expenses, such as designer clothing and plane tickets.
• Additionally, he misled council members about a trip he took to Washington D.C. in May 2023, falsely claiming to be a keynote speaker at the conference.
The NAACP of Snohomish County launched its own investigation amid last year’s controversies. The organization determined council members and the media created a hostile work environment for Binda from the beginning of his term.
“We thank the over 1,050 Lynnwood residents who signed the recall petition and our volunteer team of valiant signature gatherers,” Boucsieguez said in a written statement. “Although we did not reach the signature mark necessary to proceed, we are proud of all who bravely stood in the gap with us for our community.”
In an email Monday, Binda said he was relieved “that this distraction is over, as it took away from the incredible work we have accomplished on the council.”
“As the youngest BIPOC elected in State history, I knew that the recall attempt against me was a targeted effort based on misinformation and discrimination to bring me down and would not succeed,” he wrote in an email.
Elected in November 2021, Binda is up for re-election in 2025. At age 24, he’s the youngest elected Black politician in state history.
Boucsieguez said he and his colleagues don’t have plans for a second recall attempt between now and then.
Ashley Nash: 425-339-3037; ashley.nash@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @ash_nash00.
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