Carson Clerk Jim Dear and a group of steadfast supporters pulled together all their political muscle to fend off a fierce effort to oust him from public office, but voters narrowly recalled him anyway Tuesday.

Not even $5 food gift cards, handed out as “voter incentives,” could dissuade residents from ending Dear’s 14-year political career — some would call it a reign of terror — in a town known for its rough-and-tumble politics.

With all 30 of the city’s precincts reporting and vote-by-mail ballots counted, the controversial former mayor was removed from office by 53.8 percent of the vote. Voter turnout was just more than 16 percent, said Sue Herbers, a retired Torrance city clerk brought in to administer the recall election.

At the same time, residents voted to reinstate Donesia Gause, the former city clerk Dear beat in the March 2015 election. Gause later was appointed to a City Council seat that she now must relinquish to return to her former full-time job. Council members will decide whether to appoint her replacement or call for a special election.

“The residents of Carson have spoken and we want the racism and bullying to stop,” Mayor Albert Robles said after the results were announced. “Tomorrow is a new day and it is incumbent upon us on the council to move forward and get back to doing the people’s business.”

Dear, who had become something of a pariah at City Hall because of what workers there called his erratic, racist and intimidating behavior, could not be reached for comment immediately after results were announced. But, shortly after polls closed Tuesday, he said he hadn’t yet decided whether he would run again for the mayor’s seat in 2017 if he lost.

He reiterated complaints he’s had for months about the city’s leadership, which he blames for colluding with his political foes. About 12,000 residents petitioned the city to hold the recall election, which cost about $200,000, but Dear said they were influenced by city leaders.

“This is all a bunch of baloney,” Dear said at his campaign headquarters. “It’s politically motivated rhetoric to try to persuade voters to vote yes on the recall.”

His supporters say he’s a reliable representative for the city’s large Filipino population and someone they can trust.

“He’s the only person who’s for the people,” said Dear campaign volunteer Oneida Walders. “Jim was the people’s choice. They have an election next year, they shouldn’t have wasted the taxpayer money on the recall.”

But like the street bearing his name that was removed from the Carson map last year, Dear is no longer welcome in City Hall after a grueling year struggling for power with city leaders who wanted him gone.

He lost a court battle when the city obtained restraining orders against him and friends he brought to work for support in September, and was censured in a unanimous City Council vote in October. The city is now seeking criminal charges against him because officials believe he only left the mayor’s seat to boost his pension from the full-time clerk’s position.

The part-time mayor’s job pays $22,735 a year while the clerk’s position pays about $130,000, allowing him to increase his annual retirement from $12,276 to $66,374.

Since capturing a City Council seat in 2001, Dear has had nothing but success at the ballot box. He won the mayor’s seat three times beginning in 2004 and endeared himself to the community by appearing everywhere — from picnics and festivals to family gatherings and even funerals, always with a political speech at the ready.

Dear coveted the mayor’s seat and often said he was “married to the city,” spending most of his time working at City Hall, though he holds a Los Angeles Unified School District certificate as a substitute teacher.