California: LA's long history of failed recalls

The recall attempt against Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian may have missed a big deadline (though that is up for debate). This article notes the difficult of recall campaigns in the city. The last council or mayor member to be removed was Mayor Frank Shaw (the L.A. Confidential recall) in 1938.

The last time there was an actual vote was 1984, against Councilman Arthur Snyder. He survived, but resigned the next year in a custody battle.

The last school board member to be removed was Howard Miller in 1979 over busing issues.

The attempt against Councilman Jack Weiss in 2007 fell a little bit short of the 23000 signatures -- Weiss managed to raise $68,000 to fight the recall. The story also notes the failed effort against Councilwoman Janice Hahn in 2010.