SAN CLEMENTE : Recall Effort Lacks Enough Signatures

A group seeking to recall four City Council members failed to gather enough signatures by Friday’s deadline to trigger a special election on the issue.

The group had targeted Mayor Truman Benedict and council members Joseph Anderson, Scott Diehl and Candace Haggard for recall, largely because they had voted to abolish the city’s 65-year-old Police Department and contract with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Leaders of Citizens for a Better San Clemente said Friday that they collected a “significant” number of signatures but fell short of the estimated 4,840 needed for each council member.

“We do have enough signatures to prove there are a lot of dissatisfied people in San Clemente,” recall organizer Dennis Daum said.

To protect those who signed the petitions, the group will not turn the signatures it did collect into the city clerk’s office.

Council members targeted for recall said they were pleased, but not surprised that the effort failed.

“I have, from the beginning, felt their recall petition was utterly without merit,” Anderson said.

The four council members have long defended their decision approving the change in law enforcement service, which went into effect July 1, saying it will save the city $2.1 million annually and increase street patrols.

“I have not had a single complaint about the quality of service provided by the Sheriff’s Department since (the change) became effective,” Anderson said. “They’re doing a fine job. The community is pleased with the service they’re being provided.”

Diehl challenged those involved in the recall to turn their energies into a “positive effort to deal with the problems in San Clemente instead of pointing fingers at others.”

“We see a lot of discontent with government without there being the positive aspect of saying, ‘Here’s how to do it better,’ ” Diehl said. “This recall seemed to dwell on the negative. I’m sorry to see that. It hurts me when our community gets ripped apart.”

Benedict and Haggard were unavailable for comment Friday evening.

A press release by Citizens for a Better San Clemente said: “The eye of the political hurricane has just passed through, the remnants are yet to be felt by Scott Diehl, Candy Haggard, Joe Anderson and Truman Benedict.”

The lone council member not targeted in the recall effort, Thomas Lorch, voiced his disappointment about its failure.

“Six years of 4-to-1 votes?” asked Lorch, who is often the lone man out on council action. “Obviously I’d like to see a change on the City Council.”

The recall group pledged to continue collecting signatures to try to get an initiative on the ballot that would overturn the council’s decision abolishing the Police Department.

Members have until early October to gather signatures from 10% of the estimated 24,000 registered voters in the city to put the initiative on a special election ballot.