Sheriff Asked to Investigate Recall Efforts

City officials have asked for a criminal investigation by the Sheriff’s Department into the eligibility of petition circulators used by recall organizers trying to unseat Councilman Robert A. Curtis.

City Atty. Scott Field said the city was alerted by the county registrar of voters that the Coalition to Recall Robert Curtis allegedly hired petition circulators who are not registered voters in Mission Viejo--a potential violation of the state election code.

Sheriff’s Lt. George Johnson said the case was turned over Wednesday to the district attorney’s office. If accepted, it would mark the second time the pro-recall forces have been investigated by the district attorney for election violations. The first incident, an alleged infraction involving a campaign mailer, is still being studied by the district attorney.

However, even if abuses are found, the yet-to-be-scheduled recall election will still be held, Field said.

“That was my major concern,” he said, “and my conclusion is that it doesn’t affect the (recall) petition.”

County Registrar Donald F. Tanney agreed, saying that past court decisions have validated signatures gathered by illegal petition circulators. “The courts have ruled that people who signed (petitions) did so in good faith,” Tanney said. “They have no way of verifying the status of those who are distributing the petition.”

Curtis, an assistant district attorney in Riverside, said he is aware of the past cases but does not agree with their conclusions.

“I don’t think you should count signatures that have been obtained in violation of law,” he said. “This only sheds light on the unethical tactics used in this campaign.”

Helen Monroe, leader of the coalition, denied her group intentionally recruited non-residents. Her group paid the petition circulators from the recall campaign fund, which so far has collected at least $156,000, largely from businesses and developers, including the Mission Viejo Co.

“To the best of our knowledge, we made every attempt to determine (the petition circulators) are residents of Mission Viejo,” she said. “We did everything in our power to make sure the petition was legal.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Wallace J. Wade said he would need more information from the Sheriff’s Department before deciding whether to investigate.

“I’m a little hesitant to jump in the middle of a recall controversy without more facts,” he said.

After months of rumors that the signatures had been collected improperly, Wednesday’s action was the first official move taken against the coalition by the city.

Field said City Clerk Ivy Zobel was first contacted by the registrar last month after the pro-recall group narrowly qualified for the ballot.

Coalition members suffered through two days of uncertainty last month when the registrar of voters threw out thousands of their 12,001 signatures and declared the petition just short of the 7,770 voters needed. However, after one more day of intensive double-checking, the registrar’s office counted 7,960 valid signatures, enough to send the recall issue to the voters.

While checking voter residency, registrar workers also apparently discovered that some coalition petition circulators were not registered voters, Field said.

The City Council is expected to vote Monday on setting a special election date for the recall. City staff has recommended that the recall election be held Feb. 27.

The city clerk’s office estimated that the vote would cost taxpayers $60,000.