A Mini-Civics Course On Recalls

Talk of recall is in the air. Steve Greenhut called for one today over at Orange Punch, and Sup. John Moorlach told Peggy Lowe he'd support (but not lead) one.

During the public comments, the Supervisors queried Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley about the benchmarks for qualifying a county-wide recall.

Kelley said it would be necessary to gather the valid signatures of 151,409 registered OC voters -- or 10% of registered voters -- within a six-month period. I learned the 6 month window is in jurisdictions with more than 100,000 registered voters. I presume the time frame is shorter in smaller jurisdictions.

Sup. Campbell said he thought the requirement was 10% of the votes cast in the previous election, but Neal Kelley said that was the standard for judges.

Campbell then asked County Counsel Ben De Mayo if OC, being a charter county, could adjust the requirements. De Mayo said he couldn't answer for sure without further research, but he believed that to be the case.

Comments

[Bye-Bye Mike]

No need to change the rules. Getting 151,000 OC voters to sign a recall petition ought to be a piece-of-cake, especially if Scott Baugh and the OC-GOP get on board.

Great bit of information. Please continue to update readers on the recall process. I would like to know more about it. Can any registered voter begin a recall? Where does a recall get started? I have already seen a website asking for signatures, but how do you know it is the real deal?

[Bye-Bye Mike]

The Secretary of State has a very informative publication entitled Recall of State and Local Officials.

It can be found on her website at: www.sos.ca.gov/elections/recall.pdf

Given the requirements for serving Mr. Carona, printing his rebuttal, publishing notice, approval of form by elections official, etc., the petitions presently being circulated can not possibly be valid.

[fouse, gary c]

Rotten Fruit in Orange County -Part IV

Yesterday (November 5), indicted Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona appeared for arraignment and pleas in Federal Court (Santa Ana). Also appearing were his two accused co-conspirators, Debbie Carona (his wife) and Debra Hoffman (his alleged mistress). After entering his plea, Carona met with reporters outside the courthouse and announced that he would not resign his office since he was not guilty of corruption and bribery charges against him. After telling the reporters he was going back to work (a la Bill Clinton) and wishing them God Bless, he then headed for his waiting suv. According to KFI (radio) reporter, Eric Leonard, Carona suddenly stopped when he remembered that he had left his wife behind. ("Oh, I forgot my wife.") They then proceeded hand-in-hand to the suv and were whisked away.

Today, as calls for his resignation mounted, Carona's office announced that he will take a (paid) 60 day leave of absence. The same day, Orange County supervisors voted against putting a ballot measure on the February ballot that would have enabled them to fire the sheriff (who is elected). So, as things stand now, Carona will take a 60 day paid vacation, then return to run the OCSD. The trial has been originally scheduled for December, but most observers predict it won't take place until summer 2008.

Meanwhile, stories continue to mount about the sheriff's personal life, in which he is pictured as a serial womanizer. Actually, these stories have been going around about Sheriff Mike for years. Now everyone is getting in on the action, including KFI (LA) talk jocks, John and Ken, all but exhausted from reporting on the circus called Los Angeles under Antonio Villaraigosa et al, and now having on opportunity to laugh at OC for a while. Being a fan of John and Ken, I look forward to the yuks coming our way at Carona's expense.

Sadly, however, the situation in OC is anything but funny. It appears we are in for the long haul. We, the citizens and the deputies who work under Carona, are going to have to deal with this muck until he is finally gone from the scene. We will have to witness the spectacle of "America's Sheriff" standing before the cameras announcing how he has taken down another major criminal while ducking questions about his own criminal case. Carona could spare us a lot of the aggrevation by simply stepping down, but he won't. It's all about Mike.

gary fouse
fousesquawk

[steadfast]

Pleeeeease, John and Ken, CRAP radio, it should be KNI for the national inquirer. Those guys are just looking for ratings by covering all the smut that has been woven around the sheriff by that sleezeball, Jaramillo. Do those guys care that the sheriff has been so active in screening the illegal aliens in jail? No. It doesn't serve their purpose for the moment.

The sheriff has done a great job for a long time and he needs our SUPPORT NOW.