LYNWOOD : Missed Deadline Dooms Council Recall Effort
A recall effort against three City Council members has been dismissed after organizers missed a deadline to turn in recall documents to the city clerk’s office.
Organizers served recall papers recently on Mayor Paul H. Richards II and council members Louis Byrd and Louis J. Heine, but then failed to comply with a requirement that they deliver copies of the recall documents to the city clerk’s office within a week, said Deputy City Clerk Rita Manibusan.
The recall documents listed a variety of accusations against the council members, ranging from mismanagement of funds to improperly making decisions in closed sessions. The councilmen denied the allegations.
The documents also questioned whether Richards lives in the city.
Recall organizers distributed copies of a deed showing that Richards owns a home in Cerritos. Richards said he owns homes in Lynwood, Compton, Carson and Cerritos, but that he lives in Lynwood. Richards said his mother lives in the Cerritos home.
Richards said a key recall organizer, activist Benjamin Miranda, has had various business and legal disputes with the city.
Miranda has vowed to launch another recall effort.
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