Hawaiian Gardens : Recall of Mayor Fails; Move to Oust Councilman Pending
A move to recall Mayor Kathleen Navejas has collapsed after recall proponents failed to meet last week’s deadline for filing a recall petition, according to the city clerk’s office.
Resident Joe (Cabrera) Zermeno had sought to oust Navejas on charges of corruption and abuse of power. Navejas had denied the charges.
A second recall petition, aimed at Councilman Domenic Ruggeri, is still circulating in the city. The deadline for filing it is Monday.
Recall notices were served on both council members at an April 28 meeting. After Zermeno served Navejas with a notice, she had it copied, crossed out her name, printed Ruggeri’s name and asked resident Rene Flores to sign it. Flores then gave the notice to Ruggeri. Navejas claimed Ruggeri was behind the recall against her, which he denied.
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