Lynwood : Recall Petitions Against 2 Councilmen Rejected

Notices of intention to circulate recall petitions filed last month with the city clerk against two Lynwood councilmen who voted to rename Century Boulevard have been rejected.

City Clerk Andrea Hooper said the petitions were rejected for several reasons, including the fact that they were not properly filled out. The petitioners signed the notices but failed to print their names, which is a requirement, Hooper said.

Recall leaders also did not file a report with the clerk’s office that Councilmen Robert Henning and Paul R. Richards were served with the notices of recall, which also is a requirement, Hooper said.

Hooper said that recall papers should not have been filed against Richards because the law does not permit recall attempts against elected officials with less than six months remaining in office. Richards is up for reelection in November.

The notices can be filed again, Hooper said. Recall leaders could not be reached for comment.

Some residents and business owners have objected to the council’s renaming a 3 1/2-mile section of Century Boulevard in the northern part of the city. The council voted 3 to 2 to rename the street in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Mayor Evelyn Wells, Henning and Richards voted in favor of the renaming. Recall petitions were never filed against Wells, who also is up for reelection in November.

Henning and Richards were accused in the petitions of not giving proper notice to residents and businesses along Century Boulevard before voting in February for the renaming. The petitions also asserted that the renaming will place a major financial burden on the boulevard’s businesses because they will have to reprint letterheads and labels.