Fullerton Voters Recall Three Council Members After Beating Death of Homeless Man Kelly Thomas

This is a big story, making the front-page banner headline at this morning's Orange County Register, "Fullerton recalls 3 councilmen":

FULLERTON – A recall campaign aimed at ousting three councilmen in the wake of the Kelly Thomas death cruised to success Tuesday night.

All three council members easily lost their seats, according to unofficial results.

The push to remove Don Bankhead, F. Richard Jones and Pat McKinley was prompted by the death of the homeless man after a confrontation with police officers in July. The death left two officers facing charges and put the Police Department and the city's leadership under great scrutiny.

Three challengers who each won handily will take their seats, possibly at the July 17 council meeting.

Travis Kiger, an information-technology specialist who says he favors small government, captured 55.5 percent of the vote to easily finish above four others in the race to replace Jones. Attorney Doug Chaffee, one of four targeting McKinley, had 42.3 percent of the vote. Greg Sebourn, among four targeting Bankhead, had 40.5 percent.

Provisional ballots must be counted, and the results officially recognized, but the numbers are not expected to budge much.

Before the numbers were final, Sebourn said that if the three council members lost their posts, “I'd expect big changes in Fullerton.”

 He said one of the first actions he plans to take is to demand a top-down audit of all city departments.

“I'm grateful to the voters for giving me their vote of confidence,” Sebourn said.

The recall campaign was bankrolled by local activist Tony Bushala, who runs the blog Friends for Fullerton's Future.

I've written previously on Fullerton. See, "Fullerton Cops to Stand Trial in Kelly Thomas Beating Death."

RELATED: From Reason, "How the Kelly Thomas Killing Sparked a Citizen Revolt."

Added: CNN's Casey Wian reported that the council members-elect may look into abolishing the police department and contract local security out to the county sheriff. I'll update with that once CNN posts the video. Here's Wian's tweet:

Fullerton City Council recall effort succeeds in a landslide. Now, will Police Dept. survive beating death of Kelly Thomas?

More later...