Friday, October 25, 2002
Page 3
Board of Supervisors Set Tuesday To Consider Approval of South Gate Recall Vote
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Body:Los Angeles County supervisors have set a vote for Tuesday on whether to place the recall of four South Gate city officials on a Jan. 28 ballot.
The county Registrar-Recorder’s Office last week certified petitions for the recall of city Treasurer Albert Robles, Mayor Xochilt Ruvalcaba, Vice Mayor Raul Moriel and Councilwoman Maria Benavides.
Recall proponents have worked for nearly a year to get the four ousted from office. The dispute between recall backers and the council majority, who are aligned with putative city boss Robles, led to the removal of the elected city clerk from her election duties and a series of courtroom battles over the appropriateness of the typeface in the recall petitions.
The Registrar-Recorder had custody of the petitions for months on the order of the Los Angeles Superior Court, then conducted the review—-normally a city function—-under legislation signed by Gov. Gray Davis in August that specifically targeted South Gate.
Secretary of State Bill Jones has decried what he calls “serious allegations of official misconduct and voter intimidation” in the small city southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
Under state elections law, voters casting their ballots on whether to recall an elected official simultaneously vote on candidates to succeed to office, should the recall be approved. Office-seekers have until Nov. 15 to file.
Copyright 2002, Metropolitan News Company