THOUSAND OAKS : Organizers Revive Recall Campaign

Organizers of a campaign to oust two Thousand Oaks city councilmen set a recall campaign in motion again Tuesday night after missing a crucial deadline last week.

The group failed to file copies of its petitions to recall Mayor Frank Schillo and Councilman Alex Fiore within a 10-day period that ended Friday, City Clerk Nancy Dillon said.

To revive the process, organizers again served recall notices on the two councilmen and with the city.

The city is trying to build a $63-million city hall and arts auditorium at the corner of Conejo School Road and Thousand Oaks Boulevard, the site of a former wild-animal park called Jungleland.

Opponents of the project last month announced a recall campaign against Fiore and Schillo, claiming that the two ignored thousands of voters who signed petitions to place the Jungleland issue on the ballot. Both deny the charge.

Joan Gorner, a spokeswoman for the recall organizers, blamed Schillo for the group’s failure to meet its deadline.

Gorner said Schillo did not provide a copy of his rebuttal to the group’s charges within a seven-day period last month. When the group did receive it, the rebuttal was not in the proper form, she said.

“We’re hoping this time he can get it right,” she said.

However, Dillon said Schillo did file his response with the city in the proper form and within the deadline.

By filing written rebuttals with the city clerk’s office, targets of a recall campaign may have their responses circulated with the recall petitions.

To place a recall question on the ballot of a special election, petitioners must gather about 8,500 signatures.

Organizers of the recall campaign have twice tried and failed to force the city to hold a special election on Jungleland.

The last time was in March, when the council rejected a 7,913-signature petition calling for a public vote on the project. City officials said they were not legally obligated to hold an election on the Jungleland project.