LAKE COUNTY – A union-led recall effort to unseat four county supervisors may not make it to the ballot until next year, according to the Lake County Elections Office.
As Lake County News has reported this week, California United Homecare Workers, the union representing local In-Home Supportive Services providers, has confirmed that its membership voted to proceed with the recall of Anthony Farrington, Rob Brown, Ed Robey and Jeff Smith.
Union President Tyrone Freeman said 584 IHSS workers, out of 1,379 at last count, voted on the recall, with 540 for and 44 against.
Freeman wrote to union members last month asking for their support after the Board of Supervisors voted to approve a $1 an hour wage increase for IHSS providers who were included in a worker registry. To be included in that registry, they must undergo drug tests, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid training, and background checks.
While the union has stated it plans to go ahead with the recall, it hasn't yet contacted the local Elections Office to begin what will be a lengthy and complex process.
Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley told Lake County News Wednesday that so far she has not been contacted by any union or community members about filing the necessary paperwork.
The effort is a lengthy one, Fridley explained. “They just can't go out and start collecting signatures. There's a process.”
First, recalling four supervisors requires four separate recall efforts and petitions, Fridley said.
She pointed to state Election Code, which requires recall proponents file a notice of intention, including a statement explaining the recall's grounds. At least 20 recall proponents, all of whom must be registered voters within the supervisors' district, must sign that initial document.
It used to be that only one recall proponent was needed to start an action, said Fridley. “It's a little more strict there, as it should be.”
She added, “There's quite a few steps involved in order to even get to the process of collecting signatures.”
The official who is the target of recall then may file an answer to the recall. Within another 10 days after that answer is filed, the recall proponents must file two blank copies of their petition with the elections official, who has 10 days to determine if the documents are complete, as Election Codes explains.
If the documents aren't complete or correct, the elections official must notify the filers and they have another 10 days to file corrected copies. The official and the recall proponents must repeat the filings and corrections until no more corrections are needed.
Once the election official rules the petition is complete, Fridley says the clock starts ticking. From that point on, she said, the recall proponents have 90 days to collect the necessary signatures.
Within that 90-day period, the recall effort must collect valid signatures from 25 percent of the registered voters in each district in order for the effort to reach the ballot, said Fridley. The numbers of registered voters in each district as of the last report to the Secretary of State, which Fridley said was made Feb. 10, are as follows.
– District 1: 6,787 registered voters; 1,697 signatures needed for recall.
– District 2: 5,192 registered voters; 1,298 signatures needed for recall.
– District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing is not up for recall. (For the sake of trivia, her district contains 6,527 registered voters, with1,632 voters constituting 25 percent).
– District 4: 6,319 registered voters; 1,580 signatures needed for recall.
– District 5: 6,914 registered voters; 1,729 signatures needed for recall.
Elections Office staff must then validate those signatures, which they have 30 days to do, said Fridley.
Once all signatures are verified and all the necessary work is done, the Board of Supervisors must then call the election, said Fridley, which must take place between 88 an 125 days after the election is ordered.
As to how much the recall effort might cost local taxpayers, Fridley was hesitant to give a number, because until she has a better idea of the timeframe, she won't know if it can be consolidated with a regularly scheduled election, or whether a special election will need to be called.
A normal statewide election, she said, costs $100,000 for the county to carry out, although that's significantly more than a special election.
“Something like this, it's hard to predict, because we don't know if they're going to do all four districts,” she added.
For a recall election to be held this year, the last day the election could be called in order to take place this November is Aug. 10, Fridley said.
Since it's already July, Fridley said she doesn't think it will take place in November. “It's going to be next year.”
Three of the supervisors – Farrington, Brown and Robey – are already going to be on the June 3, 2008 primary ballot, said Fridley. The recall could take place then or earlier in the spring.
The last time a county supervisor was recalled was Nov. 7, 1978, when District 1 Supervisor and Board Chair Robert M. Jones of Clearlake Highlands was removed from office.
Archived documents provided by Fridley as well as news reports from the time reported that a group of five citizens from Lower Lake and Clearlake Highlands set the recall in motion.
They put forward a laundry list of complaints, including being unresponsive to his constituents and lack of concern over police protection. Chief among their complaints was that Jones had supported a salary increase for the board after a Measure, “B,” forbid raising supervisors' salaries.
Jones responded to all the complaints, saying the board had a salary reduction – from $860 a month to $800 – and that the board raise only was meant to correct that reduction.
Nonetheless, he was removed from office. At about the time of the election, another recall effort citing the raise issue was pointed at then-board members Ray Mostin and Gene Lovi, the latter deciding to resign as of Jan. 1, 1979.
That recall didn't go forward, and other recall efforts launched since then have failed, Fridley said.
In the cities, recalls also have taken place. In March 1978, four Lakeport Council members were reportedly recalled. In 1983, the entire Clearlake City Council – including Councilman Ed Robey – were recalled as well, according to documents Fridley provided.
Not long after that, Robey was reportedly reelected to the Clearlake City Council.
What the recall effort will look like
Freeman said the recall effort will include conducting polls in supervisorial districts – except Rushing's District 3 – and finding “community partners” to help the union push forward with its plans.
Three of the supervisors under fire – Farrington, Brown and Robey – are up for reelection next year, so why not wait until the election to launch the campaign?
Freeman said the union chose this route because it's not about candidates, but issues. “You only lose community support when you start talking about candidates.”
However, candidates are an issue, especially if you have four empty seats. Freeman said the union will put together community groups to find and screen potential supervisors.
Election Code stipulates that candidates planning to run against incumbents in the recall can't file before the election order is issued, and must file to run 75 days or more before the election takes place.
Imperial County recall moves ahead
While the recall effort in Lake County hasn't begun on paper, a recall effort the union announced last week is definitely under way.
Debbie Porter, election coordinator for Imperial County, told Lake County News that a number of individuals filed the notice of intention on July 3, the same day the union announced the recall effort.
Private individuals filed the paperwork, said Porter. The union, she added is “not doing it under their own name.”
The four supervisors under fire in Imperial filed their responses as of July 9, Porter said. Now, the recall proponents have until July 19 to file their blank petitions.
Because Imperial has a much higher number of registered voters than lake – 52,312, said Porter – in some districts signature gatherers will have up to 120 days to meet the necessary percentage of registered voters, based on Election Code formula.
“I think it's probably next year,” Porter said of when the election will take place.
Imperial County, she said, hasn't had a recall effort in years.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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