AGOURA HILLS : Effort to Force Recall Vote Fails

A group trying to oust all five members of the Agoura Hills City Council has failed in its effort to collect enough signatures to force a recall election, according to City Clerk Pat Manning.

The recall group leader, Barbara Murphy, said Friday after receiving the news that she plans to challenge the results of the validation process, which was conducted at the Los Angeles county clerk/registrar recorder’s office.

Manning, who informed Murphy of the results by letter, did not say how many signatures the group lacked on each of the five petitions it filed about two weeks ago. Manning said the recall group legally has the right to challenge the results.

“You can bet we will challenge immediately, Monday morning,” Murphy said. “We painstakingly verified the signatures on the petitions and determined that we had sufficient signatures.”

Councilwoman Fran Pavley said she was relieved at the results.

“I feel like a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” she said. “I feel like now I can get back to work on projects that will help Agoura Hills, instead of worrying about a recall.”

The group needed 2,045 signatures--or 20% of the city’s registered voters--to force a recall election, according to city officials.

Murphy’s group, Citizens Against New Local Taxes, launched the movement last summer, after the council levied a 4% utility tax on residents. Pavley and other council members maintained all along that the latest recall effort was financed by local merchants angry at the council for supporting an ordinance banning freeway signs, an accusation the recall group denies.