SAN CLEMENTE : Lawyers ‘Called Off’ in Political Feud

A political feud on the City Council that almost ended up in court has apparently been resolved.

Initially, Councilman Thomas Lorch threatened to sue Councilman Scott Diehl because Diehl had accused him of instigating a recall campaign to remove four council members from office. The charge that the recall is “a shabby political trick” by Lorch “and a handful of his cronies” was contained in Diehl’s written response to the recall.

But in a new, revised statement on the recall drive, Diehl deleted his earlier allegation, a move that has calmed the dispute between Diehl and Lorch.

“I felt like I needed to get more information out than just dealing with Tom,” Diehl said. “I think the average citizen is very wise and able to see between the lines about what’s going on.”

Diehl said: “Hopefully a majority of the citizens will concur with the four of us that this recall is a bad idea and that it is very divisive for our community.”

In response to the new statement, Lorch said he is going to “call off the attorneys.”

“There’s no question I’d like to see a change in the majority of the council,” Lorch said. “But I’m not involved with the recall.

“At this point, I think Councilman Diehl was smart enough to get his response back to the issues,” Lorch said.

Diehl’s latest official response to the recall drive comes after he was served with an amended notice of a group’s intent to recall him, along with Mayor Truman Benedict and council members Joseph Anderson and Candace Haggard.

Of the four, only Diehl chose to submit a new response, while the others resubmitted their original responses. The statements would be included in a ballot if the recall reaches an election.

The latest war of words between the two councilmen concerns the broader controversy over the council’s 4-1 decision in February to abolish the city’s 65-year-old Police Department and contract for service from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

The change in police power, targeted for July 1, is expected to save the financially strapped city about $2 million in the first year and increase street patrols. The city, with a $20-million operating budget, is facing a $6.35-million shortfall the next fiscal year.

A group of residents and business owners, angered by the council’s decision to disband the local force, initiated a recall against the four council members who voted for the change.

Members of Citizens for a Better San Clemente have set April 12 as a tentative date to begin collecting signatures to qualify the recall for the ballot. They also seek signatures for a voter initiative to overturn the council’s decision to close the Police Department.

The group must collect more than 5,000 signatures from registered voters in San Clemente within four months to force a recall election and more than 3,700 in six months for the voter initiative.

Supporters of the targeted council members are also organizing to fight the recall and initiative drive.

On Friday, a fund-raising party sponsored by the San Clemente Political Action Committee will be held at Casa Romantica at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 per person for the event, called “A Night Not to Recall.”