Signature Dispute in Capo Unified Recall

Backers of a failed effort to recall Capistrano Unified School District trustees accused county election officials Wednesday of not counting thousands of voters’ signatures.

“Each of these voters expected their voice would be heard, but they weren’t,” said Michael Winsten, chairman of the recall committee. “The voters of Orange County deserve better. Democracy deserves better.”

More than 177,000 signatures were gathered last year in an attempt to recall all seven school trustees, an effort fueled in part by residents’ unhappiness with board decisions that shifted attendance boundaries and construction projects that included a new administration center.

But in December, the county registrar of voters ruled that Capo for Better Representation failed to gather the 20,421 valid signatures required for each trustee’s recall petition to be put on a ballot.

After inspecting the signatures, the recall committee released a report Wednesday alleging that the registrar’s office improperly rejected thousands of signatures for a variety of reasons, including outdated addresses and petitions on which signature gatherers wrote voters’ addresses.

Spokesman Thomas Russell said the report had been sent to a variety of state and local agencies for review and that recall proponents had no current plans to go to court to overturn the registrar’s decision. He said that instead they would focus on the November reelection efforts of three trustees.

Registrar spokesman Brett Rowley said the office was reviewing the lengthy report, but stood by its December ruling.

Recall proponents also said that the Orange County district attorney’s office was investigating unspecified complaints against the 50,000-student South County district filed by residents. A district attorney’s spokeswoman confirmed the office was reviewing a complaint but declined to say what it alleged.

A district spokesman dismissed the recall committee’s allegations as baseless.

“We’re tired of being bullied again and again by essentially what is a small group of malcontented NIMBYs who can’t admit that they’re wrong,” said school district spokesman David Smollar, noting that Capistrano Unified was one of the top-performing districts in the state.

“We are known for our record of excellence. That is the only fact among the pack of untruths and innuendos that this small group is peddling to anyone that will listen.”