LA PALMA : Signatures Challenged, Candidate Withdraws

After most voter signatures on his campaign filing papers were challenged, Christian Basquette has withdrawn as a City Council candidate, City Manager Pamela Gibson said.

“He withdrew voluntarily after he realized he did not have sufficient signatures,” Gibson said. “Twenty signatures are needed, and it turned out that 16 of the signatures were by people who claimed they didn’t know him and didn’t sign his document. Therefore the document is not valid.”

Basquette, 25, said in an interview that he was the victim of people who signed his papers while purporting to be someone else.

“I stood in front of shopping centers and asked people to sign,” Basquette said. “Unbeknownst to me, some of these people were not who they claimed to be.” He said he did not know about the false voter signatures until he was notified by city officials.

Basquette, who owns a marketing business, said he had run for the City Council in 1990 and 1992 and never before had trouble filing. He noted that because the filing deadline for the Nov. 8 election is past, he can’t get on the ballot this year. “That’s OK,” he said. “I’m young. I still have plenty of time.”

Basquette’s withdrawal leaves four candidates for two open council seats. They are Kenneth Blake, Alta E. Duke, Gerald L. Patton Sr. and Charlene Hatakeyama. No incumbent is running.