This California town booted out its leaders - what happens if they refuse to leave?

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From the outside, the city of Avenal appears to embody every bit of its motto - an "oasis in the sun". Approaching the community, passing through the dusty yellow hillsides of the Central Valley, Avenal emerges with a sudden burst of green on the horizon.

Its small-town feel and quiet tree-lined streets offer respite from the bustling Interstate 5 some five miles away. But trouble is brewing here that has brought this lonesome city national attention.

In April, voters in the city of 13,500 people recalled four of five city council members, in what recall organizers said was a first in California. And, in another first, the city council members have simply remained in office.

For months, they have refused to accept the results, alleging that the recalls were improperly conducted, and have carried on holding meetings, overseeing city business and suing in an effort to invalidate the election.

The dispute, and the disagreements that led to the recall, have left this community deeply divided, residents told the Guardian, and eager for a resolution that will bring back some kind of normalcy.

But the repercussions of what is unfolding in this small city extend far beyond the Central Valley.

"If every successful recall is challenged by the people who are recalled, on whatever basis, it undermines the whole purpose of the recall process itself," said Zev Yaroslavsky, the director of the Los Angeles initiative at the UCLA Luskin school of public affairs. "When does it end?"

Avenal was once an oil town but today the nearby prison is a major employer, as is the agriculture industry - the majority Latino city describes itself as the pistachio capital of the world.

The community has always been a tight-knit, said Delila Barajas, a recall organizer who is now running for city council. People here are humble and family-oriented and eager to help one another out, she said.

Nearly everyone offers a slightly different answer about when exactly things got off track, but most point to the city's move to create its own fire department last year. Avenal had long received fire services from Kings county, but announced last year it would instead establish a volunteer city fire department as the cost of county services was slated to significantly increase.

The decision hit a nerve. People in the community have deep ties to the county fire department, said Ginger Wallis, another organizer of the recall who is now running for council. But it also put into relief larger frustrations with the mayor and the city council.

The county district attorney would eventually sue Avenal, alleging the council committed multiple Brown Act violations by allegedly discussing plans about proposed city fire services during closed-session meetings where the public is not permitted.

It was part of a broader trend, Barajas said. "I saw a lot of disrespect to our community," she said. As residents spoke at meetings city council members filed their nails, used their phones and spoke to one another, she alleged. "It was the lack of attention."

In California, voters can seek to remove elected officials from office via a recall if they can collect enough signatures from voters supporting a recall vote. The city sued to stop the process, but it moved ahead. Voters ultimately overwhelmingly backed the recall of four council members: mayor Alvaro Preciado, and city council members Leticia Gamez, David Reynosa and Pablo Hernandez.

The recalled officials and city manager cast doubt on the recall from the beginning, Barajas said, arguing organizers had misled people when seeking signatures, and that the election was unlawfully administered by the county.