Despite speculation that technical mistakes could derail the
effort to recall two San Juan Bautista councilmen, recall leader
Rebecca McGovern said she turned in more signatures than needed to
force the issue onto a special ballot.
San Juan Bautista – Despite speculation that technical mistakes could derail the effort to recall two San Juan Bautista councilmen, recall leader Rebecca McGovern said she turned in more signatures than needed to force the issue onto a special ballot.
McGovern, who filed the notice of intent to recall Mayor Arturo Medina and Vice Mayor Charles Geiger in March, delivered 296 signatures to recall Geiger and 285 signatures to recall Medina to the city clerk’s office on Tuesday. She needed to gather at least 270 signatures for each man.
This is the first of the three recall efforts in the county to make it to this stage. Efforts against District Attorney John Sarsfield and Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz are still in the signature-gathering phases.
McGovern initiated a recall attempt against the two city leaders, whose terms expire in November of 2006, because they voted, along with City Councilman George Dias, to fire former City Manager Larry Cain in March. McGovern hopes to oust the two men with a recall election, and that two new council members will reverse course and re-appoint Cain.
“Larry had experience in every area, he’s a native of this county and his roots are here,” McGovern said. “And he’s going to stay here and we don’t have to worry about his running off with some young lady.”
Cain, who Geiger said was fired because he failed to communicate with council members and was derelict in his job duties, did not return phone calls Tuesday.
Geiger and Medina believe that McGovern’s recall attempt will never make it the ballot because of a technical error in signature gathering. McGovern didn’t list the 10 proponents’ mailing addresses or post office box numbers on the notice of intent, although California law states that if a proponent cannot receive mail at their home they must provide an alternative mailing address – such as a post office box.
Deputy City Clerk Patricia Paetz said the city cannot force McGovern to re-file the notice of intent and informed the long-time political gadfly of the problem that could invalidate her work. Paetz is in the process of certifying the signatures and will give them to the San Benito County Election’s Office by Friday. The county has 30 days to certify the signatures and review all the paperwork, she said.
“Before they deem whether we can have a recall election they will let us know if all the paperwork is in line,” Paetz said.
If McGovern’s signatures qualify, the petition will be sent to the city council to certify the results and set a date for a special election, San Juan City Attorney Patrick Whitnell said.
While Geiger is confident the recall won’t go to an election, he’s not worried if it does. He believes McGovern and her supporters didn’t truthfully inform people about why she initiated a recall, he said.
“I honestly feel that maybe 50 to 75 people who signed it didn’t know what it was all about, and I think a lot of people were forced to sign it through intimidation,” Geiger said. “In an actual election they won’t be forced because their ballot is secret.”
Geiger also doesn’t believe McGovern told people how much a recall election could cost the cash-strapped city.
San Benito County Registrar John Hodges estimated that a special election could cost San Juan about $20,000.
“There’s only $25,000 in San Juan’s checking account that pays all the bills for the city,” Geiger said. “We’re not paying our bills on time already, and now you want to turn around and pay $20,000? Just wait until the next election and vote us out.”
Medina also believes the notice of intent is invalid and McGovern should be required to start over. And although he conceded she worked hard to gather enough signatures, he believes she coerced residents to sign by feeding them lies and untruths. He believes rumors that the men had a hidden agenda and tried to hide information from the public helped McGovern’s campaign.
“Someone gathering signatures, who knew who I was, proceeded to call Geiger a liar and a cheat,” Medina said. “That’s what they were telling other people of why they should recall him. I don’t know what other people gathering signatures were saying, but I was disappointed by that.”
Dias, who also voted to oust Cain but wasn’t a target of McGovern’s attempt, is more than disappointed with the recall. He’s angry.
He said he hopes the signatures don’t qualify so the council can get back to the business of running the city instead of dealing with a recall attempt.
“Becky’s crew keeps going on with this recall and it’s not letting all five of us do our job. We’re kind of holding our breath, if we do something Becky doesn’t like, is she going to come after us, too?” Dias said. ” She’s like the puppet master and we cut her strings and she doesn’t like it. I hope she doesn’t make it and I hope people call Hodges up and tell him to take their names off the petition. It’s out of hand.”
Whether McGovern’s signatures qualify or not, the city council is attempting to take care of the business of getting a new city manager in place. And although the council is beginning the interview process for new city manager candidates this week, McGovern won’t be satisfied with a new one – she wants Cain back.
“I’ve been through eight different city managers and I can honestly say Larry was the best of them all,” McGovern said. “There’s always going to be a few mistakes and a few things that lapse, but all in all, he was the best.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
