Feuding Council Members Face Recall Threat
A referendum on Hawaiian Gardens’ bitter political feud may be in store for city voters.
Four of five City Council members could face a recall election in October if city and county workers verify more than a thousand signatures turned over to City Hall Monday.
Recall petitions first rolled in about a week ago against Councilwoman Kathleen Navejas. She has returned the favor by leading a recall effort against her political adversaries--Mayor Lupe Cabrera and council members Robert Canada and Robert Prida.
The signatures have yet to be counted or verified, City Clerk Domenic Ruggeri said. Navejas’ opponents contend that her opposition to the city’s first card club, approved by voters in November, has worsened the city’s desperate financial crisis. They insist that she drop her lawsuit alleging election irregularities so that the casino may open and start sharing revenues.
The councilwoman, however, blames Cabrera, Canada and Prida--the council’s voting majority for months--for bringing the city to the edge of bankruptcy. She says they ignored the city’s recent $4-million budget deficit while approving 7% raises across City Hall and a 19% pay increase to members of the city’s new police force.
Canada dismissed the recall threat as a mere distraction.
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