Recall effort fails against Lynnwood City Councilmember Josh Binda

LYNNWOOD, Wash. - A recall effort against Lynnwood City Councilman Josh Binda has failed.

Binda says he is grateful the "distraction" is over and is looking forward to continuing his term on Lynnwood City Council.

"My ultimate goal is to be a leader in my community and serve the people here," said Binda.

After the first-term councilmember came under scrutiny for allegations of misusing campaign funds and faced an ethics complaint accusing him of using city property and email for personal business, a Snohomish County Superior Court judge ruled the recall petition could move forward.

The petition needed more than 2,400 signatures by Jan. 10, 2024, and according to a statement from Diodato Boucsieguez, Chair of the Committee to Recall Joshua Binda.

The group did not meet that goal.

They said, in part: 

"We thank the over 1,050 Lynnwood residents who signed the recall petition and our volunteer team of valiant signature gatherers. They believed, as we do, that Lynnwood residents deserved to decide whether or not Josh Binda should be recalled based on verifiable evidence that Binda: 1) used his campaign funds for personal use like George Santos, 2) exploited his elected official status and used City of Lynnwood resources for his personal gain and profit, and 3) knowingly lied to the Lynnwood City Council and the Public about doing so and attempted to gaslight us into believing that he did nothing wrong. 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. Together, we made it clear that acquiescence to political corruption is intolerable and residents will respond accordingly. We will return."

The Snohomish County Auditor told FOX 13 that he couldn't verify the signature amount since the petition was never turned into his office.

Though an ethics complaint was filed against Binda, no action was taken because a settlement agreement "fully" resolved the issues, saying Binda was "not aware at the time that his activities violated the Ethics Code" and "he did not knowingly commit a violation."

The NAACP launched its own investigation and backed Binda.

Now that the recall has failed, Binda says he plans to continue his speaking engagements at local schools to inspire younger generations, and he wants to keep focusing on Lynnwood.

"We have a lot of things coming up this year, it's a big budget year, and there are a lot of things happening in our city, "said Binda "I'm glad I was able to overcome that adversity and continue to be the leader that I was elected to be for my constituents."