Recall Drive by Bacharach Foes Falls Short by 409 Signatures

A citizens’ committee attempting to oust veteran Rancho Palos Verdes City Councilwoman Jacki Bacharach failed Thursday to muster enough voter signatures to force a recall election, City Clerk Jo Purcell reported.

Purcell estimated the Recall Bacharach Committee turned in petitions with 4,866 signatures, 409 short of the 5,275 needed to hold a recall election.

Bacharach learned the news moments after returning from a San Francisco business trip late Thursday.

“I am pleased, but not surprised that the citizens of our city were not willing to accept the big lie,” she said in a telephone interview.

Her husband, Bob Bacharach, who led the anti-recall fight, said he was “relieved it’s over.”

The city clerk immediately handed the petitions back to committee members. She said the signatures are considered “dead” and cannot be used again.

According to one recall leader, the drive, which took weeks, is over for now.

“I’m disappointed and relieved it’s over,” spokesman John Arand said. “I personally don’t have any plans to carry on.”

Bacharach’s opponents contend the three-term councilwoman is pro-development. They also accuse her of acting behind the scenes to prevent Councilman John McTaggart from becoming mayor.

Bacharach attributed the recall effort to “special interests,” who failed to defeat her in the last election. She called the drive a “misguided attempt to intimidate the people of Rancho Palos Verdes.”