SIMI VALLEY : Trustee Assailed for Backing Recall of Ely

Timothy Hirschberg, a trustee with the Ventura County Community College District, has drawn criticism from some of his colleagues for contributing $100 to a campaign to recall Trustee Tom Ely.

College board President Greg Kampf said Hirschberg has a right to contribute to the Ely recall effort, but he is concerned about the timing of the action.

Kampf said Hirschberg should have waited at least until the district attorney’s office has completed its investigation of Ely for possible misappropriation of public funds.

“I’m surprised that Tim is already contributing to that fund,” Kampf said. “My concern is the timeliness of doing such a thing prior to the board receiving the district attorney’s report.”

Trustee Pete Tafoya agreed. “We all have to wait until the verdict is in,” he said.

“Our board is not responsible for determining criminal intent or disciplining people,” Tafoya said. “From that perspective, I think board members should not donate to campaigns to get rid of other board members.”

But Trustee Greg Cole said he did not think Hirschberg’s action was inappropriate.

“He’s within his rights to make a donation to whatever political action group he wishes. That’s his prerogative,” Cole said.

Vivienne Lewis, treasurer of Citizens to Recall James (Tom) Ely, said the group has collected about $1,800 toward their campaign.

Lewis said the citizens group, which launched its recall campaign in May, has collected about half the 9,901 signatures of registered voters in the 4th Supervisorial District needed to force a special recall election.

The 4th District includes Simi Valley, Moorpark, Somis and the Santa Clara Valley.

The group has until Oct. 25 to gather the necessary signatures, county election officials said.

If they are successful, the Board of Trustees would be required to call a special election sometime next spring, county officials said.

Ely’s troubles began in March when it was revealed that he owed one Nevada casino $3,000 and had been sued by another over $8,000 in gambling debts.

The Board of Trustees commissioned an audit of Ely’s financial records, which found that he had charged $8,422 in questionable expenses for business trips he took during the past three years and another $6,978 in claims submitted without proper documentation.

Ely has maintained that the audit is flawed and that he did not violate district travel policies.

Soon after receiving a copy of the audit, the district attorney’s office launched an investigation.