The drive to recall Buena Park councilwoman Youngsun “Sunny” Park hit a wall Friday, Nov. 22, when the Registrar of Voters declared that petitioners fell well short of getting enough valid signatures to trigger a new vote.

Of 2,106 signatures collected, only 1,097 — a little over half — were valid, the county elections office found. The petitioners needed at least 1,877 valid signatures to move the campaign forward.

Failing to meet this qualification has ended the recall attempt, said city clerk Adria Jimenez.

But Park’s opponents aren’t giving up yet. Mike Mahony, a recall organizer, claimed there are discrepancies in the Registrar’s report that his group plans to challenge.

The Registrar found nearly 700 signatures did not match up with those in voter records.

That surprised Mahony, who said recall proponents used county data to target registered voters door-to-door rather than to solicit for signatures outside neighborhood grocery stores.

The Registrar also found 82 duplicate signatures, which Mahony said his group tried to screen out.

Recall proponents intend to appeal to county elections officials as early as next week, Mahony said.

The issues that, in Mahony’s view, spurred a recall push are still alive, he said. Some residents of the city’s northern District 1, which Park represents, object to Park’s alleged campaign sign theft and other behavior. They argue such behavior — which Park denies — makes her unfit to hold a council seat.

Park was arrested and cited in October 2018 on suspicion of stealing campaign signs that called her a “carpetbagger.” She has denied the accusation and maintains she was taking the signs because they did not disclose who paid for them, a violation of campaign rules.

In March, Park pleaded not guilty to petty theft, prompting a jury trial. Her next court date is slated for Dec. 9.

Park maintains that she was taking the signs because they did not disclose who paid for them, a violation of campaign rules.

“I am very happy that it is over,” Park said, via email, of the recall attempt.

“Although I won my 2018 election against the incumbent mayor by 16 votes, the community support of me as city council member has now widened as evidenced by this failed recall effort,” she said.

Work to recall Park formally began in May when District 1 resident Marvin Aceves filed paperwork of intent to circulate a petition. Proponents started collecting signatures in July and handed in some 2,100 names, addresses and signatures on their deadline, Oct. 9.

The petitioners needed signatures from at least a quarter of the roughly 7,500 registered voters in District 1, which Park has represented since November 2018.

The city clerk’s office passed the documents over to the Orange County Registrar of Voters, which had till Friday to verify the signatures. Had the threshold been met, the Buena Park city clerk would have organized a local election for the council seat.

If the appeal to the Registrar’s office fails, organizers may try a new recall attempt, said Mahony, who has lived in Buena Park for 40 years.

Park, a Democrat, has accused petitioners of working in support of former Republican mayor Virginia Vaughn, whom Park narrowly beat.

Mahony said his group doesn’t support any city council candidate.