Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen responded to allegations of racism in an exclusive sit-down interview with KCRA 3's Stephanie Lin. "It's absolutely untrue," said Singh-Allen. "They made these ridiculous claims during the campaign and they're rehashing them now."In March, a group calling themselves the Elk Grove Hmong Americans initiated a recall effort against Mayor Singh-Allen. The co-founders of the movement, Mia Foster, Marie Vue, and Sai Vang, are accusing Singh-Allen of making what they consider a racist statement on social media that they say triggered hate against the Hmong community. "She called our Hmong system 'intimidating,'" said Foster. "She doesn't get to generalize about someone else's culture."In the social media post made back in June 2020, Singh-Allen calls out then-Elk Grove mayor Steve Ly, who is Hmong, to acknowledge the "patriarchal clan system" that is "a controlling and intimidating system used to attack and silence" local women. "I have never said anything racist towards the Hmong community or the culture. My statements were completely directed at the former mayor and his associates and his use of the clan system and patriarchy to bully and harass women," said Singh-Allen.KCRA 3 spoke with several of those women last year. "I don't believe she's a racist person at all, or towards the Hmong culture," disclosed one local Hmong woman who works in Asian American advocacy groups. She requested KCRA 3 keep her identity private out of fear of retribution. KCRA 3 asked the anonymous source about the Hmong clan system, which is used to help resolve conflicts and give economic and social support."The Hmong culture, if we're going to be 100% completely honest ... can be ," said the woman. "But we have to take into consideration that each clan operates completely differently.""Bobbie is not racist," added Linda Vue, once former Mayor Steve Ly's campaign manager.She told KCRA 3 exclusively she was subject to bullying by his supporters last year."I think this is retaliation because they didn't win the election," she said. But, recall organizers say, this has nothing to do with the November race, when Singh-Allen ran and won against Steve Ly. "This is not about an election," said Foster. "Maybe the next time she wants to make a blanketed statement about any other community, maybe she'll think twice."In March, Mayor Singh-Allen joined other local elected leaders to condemn anti-Asian hate and pass a resolution addressing xenophobia in Elk Grove. "I'm an Asian American immigrant myself. As a school board trustee for over eight years, I was known as a champion for immigrants, for communities of color," said Singh-Allen, who added she is continuing to focus her efforts on economic recovery for the city of Elk Grove. "That's what the voters elected me to do. At the end of the day, I'm not going to give light to something ... completely false."Singh-Allen has received a slew of endorsements from other elected leaders, from Congressman Ami Bera to State Controller Betty Yee, in response to the allegations of racism."It's really unfortunate that some residents in our community continue the seek to divide us," said Assemblyman Jim Cooper in a written statement. "The recent recall effort of our newly elected Mayor of Elk Grove is an attempt to spread disinformation and falsehoods by those who aren't happy with last November's election results."Recall organizers have 160 days to gather the 10,000 or so required signatures to continue the recall effort.