Agoura Hills : Rulings Have Mixed Impact on Recall

An Agoura Hills anti-tax group that is trying to recall three City Council members suffered a setback recently when the state Court of Appeal ruled that voter registration cards turned in by the group were invalid.

However, the court ruled in the group’s favor on two other key points, keeping the effort to recall council members Ed Corridori, Denis Weber and Fran Pavley alive.

The group launched the recall effort against all five council members after they adopted a utility tax in 1994. The anti-tax group later turned in what it said were enough signatures to force a recall election, but the city threw out hundreds of signatures and pronounced the recall a failure.

The recall group sued, but after the city and county clerks refused to reverse the decision, the case ended up before the Court of Appeal. (Because Councilwoman Louise Rishoff was reelected last November, she is no longer subject to any previous recall attempt. And a former councilwoman, Joan Yacovone, did not run for reelection last November.)

The recall group’s recent setback came when the court ruled last week that voter registration cards turned in late were invalid. But the court ruled in the group’s favor on another point and ordered Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Diane Wayne to review some of the recall petition signatures that had been thrown out. In another ruling that bolstered the group’s hopes, the court validated some of the signatures that had been thrown out.

An attorney for the city, Greg Stepanicich, said it could be months before Wayne announces her findings. Meanwhile, both sides said they may ask for a rehearing.