Hawaiian Gardens Ruckus Traced to Political Feuds : Councilwoman Becomes Sole Target of Recall

City Councilwoman H. M. (Lennie) Wagner has become the lone target of a recall ruckus that broke out in February and for a while involved all five council members.

Wagner’s opponents, who last month filed a recall notice that was rejected because of technical deficiencies, are preparing new petitions in an effort to force a special election.

‘Not a Puppet’

“If I’m not going to be a puppet and acquiesce, then this is what is going to happen,” Wagner said, complaining that the recall effort is aimed at her because she is an independent voice on a council controlled by Mayor Kathleen M. Navejas.

“That’s why a lot of people voted for me, because they thought I would be a free thinker,” said Wagner, who was elected last spring in a contest in which 10 candidates competed for three seats on the five-member council.

Recall fever, which can be traced to long-standing political feuds in the city, broke out on the City Council in February when recall notices were served on Navejas and two of her council allies, Rosalie Sher and Venn Furgeson. Navejas and her supporters then served recall notices on Wagner and Councilman Donald Schultze. Navejas accused the two council members of cooperating with political enemies of her and her husband, Carlos, a former mayor.

Schultze quickly made peace with the Navejas forces, meeting with Carlos Navejas and issuing a public statement accusing Wagner of conspiring with opponents of the mayor and her husband.

Notices Disqualified

City Clerk Carol Dorfmeyer, however, disqualified all of the recall notices, saying they contained technical errors.

There has been no apparent attempt to revive the recall effort against Navejas, Sher and Furgeson. Navejas supporters, however, have since filed another recall notice against Wagner. The notice was certified by the city clerk, who is reviewing the proposed statement to be printed on top of the petitions.

Once the petition statement is certified, recall backers have 90 days in which to gather about 850 signatures, which would force the council to schedule an election. If the recall is successful, a second special election will be held to elect Wagner’s successor.

“Getting signatures is not a big deal,” Wagner said. “But I don’t think they will win the election.”

She points out that the recall notice filed against her does not mention malfeasance in office. It accuses her of being “negative and indecisive,” of being influenced by “former council members,” of “ruining the reputation of our city,” of describing some city residents as “low-lifes” and of seeking advice from “Maggie Vineyard, as to how to obtain free publicity.”

Vineyard, former head of the Chamber of Commerce, and her husband, Richard, a former council member, have insisted they had nothing to do with the recall effort against Navejas.

Navejas could not be reached for comment this week, but has made it clear in past interviews that she and her husband regard the Vineyards as political enemies bent on regaining the power they lost when Richard Vineyard was defeated in last spring’s council election.

“There’s a big vendetta between Maggie Vineyard and Kathleen Navejas and I’m caught in the middle of it,” said Wagner, who claims she had nothing to do with the original recall effort against Navejas.

Those signing the recall notice against Wagner included two Navejas appointees, Recreation Commissioner Helen A. Rosas and Mary Corrales, a member of the Public Safety Commission. Corrales’ son, Benny, also signed the recall notice.

Corrales, who ran for election herself last spring and lost, says that at the time she supported Wagner for one of the three open council seats but has since broken with her because Wagner’s personality changed after the election.

“Her attitude has changed tremendously,” Corrales said. “She orders people around in City Hall as if they were servants.”

Art Perez, another Navejas appointee on the Public Safety Commission, did not sign the latest recall notice but signed the original notice against Wagner and has been active in organizing the recall. He insists that personal vendettas are not part of the recall effort.

Wagner is a recall target, he said, because she is not representing the interests of the residents, many of whom need such social services as job placement, food banks and drug rehabilitation. Wagner says that she is attentive to such needs.