Petition to recall embattled Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli expected to formally begin Monday

Efforts to recall embattled Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli will shift into higher gear on Monday.

That’s when Tim Zahner, chair of the Recall Foppoli campaign and a Windsor resident, will file the “notice of intent” for the push to remove Foppoli through a recall election to the Windsor town clerk. The notice must include 20 signatures from registered voters — a threshold Zahner had no trouble reaching.

“I’ve definitely had a lot of people contact me, wanting to sign, wanting to help,” said Zahner, who had hoped to get the paperwork filed with the clerk on Friday. But the town offices were closed.

Accused of sexually assaulting six women, the 38-year-old Foppoli has refused widespread demands that he resign. Elected officials in California can only be removed from office by felony conviction or a voter-initiated recall.

“This is a new process for a lot of people,” said Zahner, executive director of Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau. “Everyone is being cautious and making sure we’re doing it correctly.”

The notice of intent states that Windsor has been “paralyzed by Mr. Foppoli’s actions, including his (refusal) to accept responsibility for the damage he has caused to our Town. His refusal to do the right thing and resign has forced our hand.

“The sexual allegations against Mr. Foppoli are credible, corroborated and demonstrate the pattern of a sexual predator and cannot be ignored. Foppoli does a disservice to our Town by offering to ’step back,’ anything short of resignation is unacceptable.”

Foppoli has denied all of the accusations against him and said he has done nothing wrong.

Once the recall notice is filed, Foppoli will have seven days to respond, after which the proponents of his recall must prepare a petition for circulation, according the “recall procedures guide” on the website of the California Secretary of State.

The format for petitions is highly specific, “down to the font,” Zahner said, noting it likely won’t be until mid-May until people see petitions on the street. “So that’s where we really need to make sure we do it right.”

Proponents of Foppoli’s ouster would then have 120 days to gather signatures from 20% of Windsor’s 16,879 registered voters. The number of signatures needed to force a recall election would be 3,376, said Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Deva Proto.

“We’re going to get a lot of people, a lot of volunteers,” said Zahner, who is directing interested people to RecallFoppoli.com. “We’re really making sure we do this right.”

You can reach Staff Writer Austin Murphy at 707-521-5214 or austin.murphy@pressdemocrat.com or on Twitter @ausmurph88.