LAGUNA NIGUEL : Organizers of Recall Against Eddie Rose Begin Signature Drive

The drive to recall Councilman Eddie Rose began Thursday with campaign workers canvassing homes and shopping centers across the city.

The Citizens To Recall Eddie Rose have 120 days to gather signatures of 6,102 registered voters to qualify the recall for the ballot.

“We’re out on the streets, in the grocery stores and the shopping centers,” said Cheryl Alpert, leader of the drive. “We’re hitting everything that moves.”

Alpert said the organizing committee has 35 volunteers who have divided the city into four sections, with a team leader in each quadrant.

The recall group says it will try to collect at least 7,500 signatures in case some petition signers turn out not to be registered voters.

The campaign began after Rose sent what many residents believed was a racially biased letter about the O.J. Simpson verdict on city stationery to local newspapers.

But Alpert said recall workers will emphasis Rose’s overall record as councilman since being elected in 1994. “He hasn’t done anything he promised,” Alpert said. “He has been a detriment to the council.”

Rose has accused his fellow City Council members, particularly Mayor Mark Goodman and Councilwoman Patricia C. Bates, of sparking the recall.

“This is a thinly veiled attempt to muzzle the freedom of expression of anyone who disagrees with the gang of four on our council,” said Rose, referring to the other four council members.

Several people on the qualifying petition to recall him either live in Bates’ neighborhood or were on Goodman’s political campaign committee, Rose said. “It’s pretty easy to recognize where this is coming from. It all adds up.”

In the past, Goodman and Bates have denied any involvement in recall efforts against Rose.