VENTURA : Husband of Recall Subject Chastises Two

The husband of a county Board of Education member targeted for recall has chastised two Ventura councilmen for signing a petition to remove her from office.

Herb Miller--whose wife, Angela Miller, is the subject of a recall effort--told Councilmen Gregory L. Carson and Gary Tuttle that they should not have signed the recall petition.

“You should know what a disruption of the public process and a waste of taxpayer dollars this recall motion is,” said Miller, who told the council that he was speaking for his wife.

“The truth is, parents need something better for their children in the county of Ventura,” Miller said. “Using a company whose primary business is abortion to teach our children about safe sex is like asking a tobacco company to teach our kids about smoking.”

Carson and Tuttle signed a recall petition against Miller after she and a majority of the county Board of Education voted to bar Planned Parenthood and AIDS Care workers from county-run sex education workshops. Board member Wendy Larner also is being targeted for recall.

Both council members on Tuesday defended their positions. “I’m a private citizen and I stand by my signature,” Tuttle said.

Carson said he has received numerous calls and letters of support from constituents who support ousting Miller and Larner from the Board of Education.

County schools Supt. Charles Weis has publicly opposed the recall because a special election would cost more than $100,000.

Ventura Councilmen Jack Tingstrom and Jim Monahan also oppose the effort and plan to participate in an anti-recall rally Sunday.