THOUSAND OAKS : Mayor, Recall Group Trade Accusations

Thousand Oaks Mayor Frank Schillo and a leader of a group that wants him out of office traded accusations Thursday about delays in the approval of a recall petition.

The dispute is the latest episode in a bitter fight between recall leaders and the two officials they oppose, Schillo and Councilman Alex Fiore.

The two councilmen support the city’s planned civic arts plaza, a $63-million development that includes a new city hall, performing arts auditorium and forum to be built at the former Jungleland site.

Opponents of the project notified Schillo and Fiore on July 9 that they intended to circulate petitions to have the councilmen removed from office.

City Clerk Nancy Dillon said she rejected two sample copies of the petition because they contained changes that are not permitted under the state elections code.

The recall committee had reordered a list of Schillo’s accomplishments, a list he said was written to emphasize his political record. He refused to allow his altered statement to be circulated.

Heinrich (Corky) Charles, one of the leaders of the recall campaign, said the list was altered merely to fit more signatures on a single page. He agreed to restore Schillo’s statement to its original form.