For several months now, San Benito County residents have been
getting a small taste of what it feels like to be a celebrity.
Often, when walking through the door of a local store or even just
ambling through downtown, average citizens are being asked for
their autograph.
Hollister – For several months now, San Benito County residents have been getting a small taste of what it feels like to be a celebrity. Often, when walking through the door of a local store or even just ambling through downtown, average citizens are being asked for their autograph.
But the people asking for autographs aren’t star-struck fans. They are signature gatherers, working for one of the ubiquitous recall efforts that seem to be becoming a permanent part of the county’s political landscape.
Last weekend, a group of about 30 volunteers began gathering signatures for their effort to force a recall election against District 5 Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz, and on Monday, the group held a press conference kicking off the effort.
Proponents of De La Cruz’s ouster, a group calling itself Citizens for Responsible Local Government, have expressed concern about allegations that De La Cruz committed election fraud in the District 5 supervisor’s race. The group also objects to what they believe was a frivolous $5 million lawsuit De La Cruz filed against the county and later dropped.
“Are we mad? You bet we are. We don’t like cheaters,” said San Juan Bautista resident Ruben Lopez, one of the group’s spokespeople who was also campaign manager for Bob Cruz, De La Cruz’s opponent in the heated District 5 race in March of 2004.
“If we citizens don’t do anything about this corruption and cheating, who’s going to do it,” he said.
De La Cruz characterizes the recall effort against him as an attempt by sore losers to change the will of District 5 voters at the taxpayers’ expense.
“Basically, they’re not happy with the way the public voted,” he said. “I hope the average constituent feels that it (the recall effort) is basically a grudge.”
The Citizens for Responsible Local Government need to collect about 1,100 valid signatures from District 5 constituents in the next two months to force a recall election. The group hopes to collect at least 1,500, Lopez said.
The cost of the a recall election, if the group collects enough valid signatures, could not be ascertained before press time, but De La Cruz estimated it would cost the county about $100,000.
“I hope average taxpayers understand that if they put their name down, basically their committing $100,000 for a personal grudge,” he said.
Lopez said that the cost of the potential election should not stop people from doing what they think is right.
“Liberty isn’t cheap. Honesty isn’t cheap” he said. “This is about honesty … there shouldn’t be a price tag.”
Just as the De La Cruz recall petition effort was getting underway, the group hoping to recall District Attorney John Sarsfield – led by De La Cruz’s former campaign manager, Ignacio Velasquez – handed some 7,000 signatures to the county clerk.
The county has 30 days to verify the signatures, but County Registrar John Hodges said he doesn’t think his office will need the full month. If at least 5,296 signatures are valid, the county will likely attach that recall election to state special election Nov. 8.
With all of the recall attempts, many people have trouble keeping up with whom is trying to recall whom.
Hollister resident Helen Chouinard sees the high volume of recalls as a commentary of the effectiveness of politicians in office.
“I wish their behavior did not seed the desire for a recall,” she said.
The history of recalls in the county suggest both efforts face uphill battles. Of the eight to 10 recall attempts in San Benito County in the last two decades, only one has been successful, according to Hodges.
In 1990, three San Juan Bautista City Council members, Bruce Freels, Sam Hill and Kurt Larrecou, were successfully recalled during a special election.
Luke Roney covers politics and agriculture for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected]
