The effort to recall a San Jose City Councilmember could cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars if the issue fails to make it on the November ballot.

It has been 14 years since a San Jose City Councilmember was last recalled from office.

Now Councilmember Madison Nguyen faces a campaign to kick her out of office over the naming of a business district.

The battle over Little Saigon has been settled but the biggest casualty could be the political future of Nguyen.

Her opponents are still angered by the way she handled the naming of the Vietnamese Business District.

Last week her opponents filed a notice of intent to recall Nguyen.

"Obviously I don't believe in this effort," Nguyen said. "Energy should be generated to help the district become more vibrant."

But not all recall efforts are successful or even easy.

"Recalls can backfire," said Terry Christensen, a political science professor at San Jose State University. "They tried a recall against Dianne Feinstein when she was mayor (of San Francisco). She survived the recall, went on to a huge re-election victory as mayor and went on to the U.S. Senate."

Members of the committee who want to remove Nguyen were not available for comment.

But they will need to get about 3,000 signatures to qualify for the recall ballot.

"A lot of people are going to want to sign the recall petition but you have to live in the district and you have to be a registered voter," Christensen said.

Though Nguyen is hoping her opponents do not gather enough signatures she sees the recall as a chance to reach out.

"I think this is also a good opportunity for me to again go out to the community and talk to residents to let them know about all the things we've (done) during the last two and half years," she said. "And get reacquainted with all the residents and let them know this recall is a waste of time."

If the recall makes it onto the November ballot it will cost the city about $30,000. If it ends up being a special stand-alone election it could cost the city up to $500,000.