OXNARD : Group Fails in Bid to Force Recall Vote

An Oxnard group has failed to collect enough signatures to place a measure on the November ballot to recall City Councilwoman Dorothy Maron for her role in the ouster of former City Manager David Mora.

Ray Tafoya, spokesman for Community Concern, a group that includes representatives of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People and the Assn. of Mexican-American Educators, said Friday that the group came about 400 signatures short of the 9,129 required.

The group, which had been collecting signatures since March, had until 5 p.m. Friday to submit them to City Clerk Mabi Plisky.

Community Concern has accused Maron of being unresponsive to its request to review the decision to remove Mora, who is Latino.

Mora, blamed by some for Oxnard’s financial crisis, was asked to resign in December by the City Council after a 3-2 vote of no confidence. Councilmembers Maron, Geraldine (Gerry) Furr and Ann Johs voted against Mora, with Maron providing the swing vote.

Tafoya has accused the three councilwomen of using Mora as a scapegoat for their policy decisions. He said the group will try to unseat Johs when she seeks reelection in November. Tafoya said Furr, who is serving her first term on the council, will not be targeted because the group wants to give her another chance.

Tafoya said the group will strongly oppose Maron when she runs for mayor in November. He said Maron has lost the support of the Latino community.

“She must think the Latino community is awful dumb if she thinks she can slap them on the face and they will turn the other cheek,” he said.

Maron, however, has said she does not believe the recall drive has hurt her base of support, saying that she believes those who signed the petition are “a minority of the minority.”