Central Los Angeles : RECALL ROUNDS
The latest political battle is over, but the war goes on in Bell Gardens.
Election officials on Friday rejected a petition to recall Mayor Maria Chacon and Councilman Ramiro Morales on charges of corruption and cronyism.
But petitioners on Tuesday vowed to challenge the rejection, while the targets of the recall said they will ask the district attorney’s office to investigate the campaign.
The recall was the third in four years in Bell Gardens, which has acquired a reputation for contentious politics.
The county registrar rejected 463 signatures to recall Chacon and 376 to recall Morales, according to Deputy City Clerk Marta Solano. In addition, officials accepted 191 signatures from voters asking to have their names removed from the recall petitions.
Recall campaigners will challenge the rejections, possibly in state courts, said campaign manager Laird Halverson.
For her part, Chacon called for reconciliation, but added that she will seek an investigation of alleged improprieties on the part of recall campaigners.
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