Blue Lake City Councilmember Elise Scafani. | Image via City of Blue Lake.

Last week, registered voters in the City of Blue Lake received an important piece of mail amid the deluge of (also important) holiday packages and greeting cards: Ballots for the voter-initiated effort to recall Mayor Pro-Tem Elise Scafani were sent out a week ago, likely arriving in mailboxes last Tuesday or Wednesday.

Something was missing, though. On Saturday, staff at the Humboldt County Elections Office realized that they’d forgotten to include both the statement of reason for recall, submitted by those behind the effort, and the response statement submitted by Councilmember Scafani.

“We were reviewing materials and realized we needed to get additional information out to voters,” Humboldt County Registrar of Voters Juan Pablo Cervantes told the Outpost via phone this morning. After realizing their mistake on Saturday, staff hustled to get the necessary materials together on Sunday, and the supplemental info was mailed out today, Cervantes said.

In a notice posted online, the Elections Office says the recall election will still take place as scheduled on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, and the ballots issued last week remain valid. 

Ideally, the supplemental information would have been sent out at the same time as ballots, but Cervantes said that California Election Code is not always organized in the most intuitive way.

“These kinds of things happen sometimes when you’re under the gun,” said Cervantes, whose office had a short runway this fall to prepare for California’s special election on Proposition 50. 

In Blue Lake, where municipal politics have turned as bitterly divided as those at the national level, a group of local residents mounted a recall effort against three of the five council members, including Mayor John Sawatzky, following the closed-session ouster of longtime City Manager Amanda “Mandy” Mager. Recall proponents fell a few signatures shy of the threshold necessary to trigger recall votes for Sawatzky and Councilmember Kat Napier, leaving Scafani the only one at risk of removal.

Below is the info mailed to Blue Lakers this morning, including the “Statement of Reasons for Recall” and Scafani’s “Answer of the Officer.” 

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR RECALL

TO THE HONORABLE Elise G Scafani: Pursuant to Section 11020, California Elections Code, the undersigned registered qualified voters of Blue Lake, in the State of California, hereby give notice that we are the proponents of a recall petition and that we intend to seek your recall and removal from the office of City Council Member, in Blue Lake, California.

The grounds for the recall are as follows:

Through your actions, you have exposed the City of Blue Lake to financial, legal and operational jeopardy by:

  1. Your inability and/or unwillingness to vote for and adopt a Housing Element as required by law in the State of California and as part of the General Plan for the City of Blue Lake.
  2. Separating the City Manager, Amanda “Mandy” Mager, from her position without justifiable cause and in a meeting that most likely violated the Ralph M. Brown Act.

These two acts have placed this city in jeopardy of potential lawsuits from contractors, fines from the state and loss of local control. By removing Mandy as City Manager, at such a crucial time, it leaves the city open to disfunction and an inability to respond to any legal challenges that may arise.

For these reasons, we the citizens of Blue Lake, no longer feel you have our best interests at heart and demand that you vacate your positions either thru resignation or recall.

The printed names of the proponents are as follows: 1. Elissa Rosado 2.Charis Bowman, 3. Steve Spain, 4. Bobbi Ricca, 5. Dennis Whitcomb, 6. Barbara Keating, 7. Elizabeth Mackay, 8. Eric Hall , 9. Susan Lane, 10. Ron Perry

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ANSWER OF THE OFFICER

The last time HCD certified Blue Lake’s Housing Element Update was in 2004. The current update was due on 8/31/2019, work on it began in 2021. There have been many drafts before the planning Commission over the years and before the previous City Council in late 2024. The current city council is committed to working with HCD to come into compliance with state housing law and has set forth a schedule by which to study and adopt an updated housing element no later than 12/31/2025. [NOTE: The Blue Lake City Council adopted an updated Housing Element in July.] There is no immediate threat of fines from the state related to this issue as this ongoing effort and intention to comply are recognized.

On May 8, 2025 the City Manager and the City Council announced a mutual decision to end our professional association. This decision was the product of extensive consideration by all parties involved and occurred under the guidance of the City’s legal team to assure compliance with all employment laws/ethics and the Ralph M. Brown Act. Assertions of unlawful process in this matter are not based on factual events. I am committed to ensuring the City maintains functionality and essential services as we transition.

Cordially,

Elise Scafani

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