Steiner Recall Bid Fails; Organizers Plan to Try Again

A recall effort against County Supervisor William G. Steiner failed Monday because backers of the movement did not meet legal requirements to put the issue on a ballot.

Stuart Stitch, a spokesman for the Orange County Recalls Committee, said the problem was largely financial, explaining that the group did not have enough money to publish a public notice of the recall in a local newspaper, as required by law.

“We don’t have that many donations coming in,” Stitch said. “We have people willing to circulate petitions, we just didn’t have the money to publish the notice.”

He said the group soon will have the funds it needs to start the process all over again.

“We’ll do this until we get it right,” he said, adding that he plans to file new recall papers against Steiner within a month.

Steiner said he believed the recall effort was actually “a bluff to try and get me to resign.” He said he’ll leave office under his own terms and won’t be pressured to step down.

“We’re not going to let our guard down if I’m served again,” Steiner added. “I will fight the recall effort. I don’t intend to lose any sleep over this.”