Westlake Village : Recall Group Submits Revised Petition Form

A group trying to recall two Westlake Village City Council members was back on track last week after clearing up a snafu over a petition form the group had turned in to the city.

The recall was launched against Kris Carraway and Doug Yarrow after they voted in April to approve a PriceCostco store in Westlake Village.

City Clerk Laura Johnson had refused to accept the group’s petition form against Carraway because part of Carraway’s answering statement was missing from the form, which was printed by the recall group.

In the missing passage, Carraway wrote that recall leader Frank Abundis had said on a radio talk show that he “would tax each household $500 to $600” to raise the $3 million the city would would have to pay in liability if it reneged on the PriceCostco development agreement.

Abundis said that the recall group omitted that part of Carraway’s statement because it was misleading. What he really meant to say, he said, was that the council could assess individual households $500 to $600 to raise the money.

“I don’t have the power to tax anybody,” he said. “How can she say, ‘Frank Abundis is going to tax you’?”

The group has turned in a new petition form that includes all of Carraway’s answering statement, Johnson said. “It looks to be OK,” she said.

Johnson said she will send it back to the recall group, which will then have 90 days to gather signatures from 25% of the city’s registered voters. Meanwhile, she said, the recall group has until Dec. 18 to collect 1,276 signatures against Yarrow.