Zeanah Recall Petition Drive Gets Underway for 2nd Time

Paid petitioners are back at the supermarkets gathering signatures to oust Councilwoman Elois Zeanah, and a rival group looking to recall Councilman Andy Fox and Mayor Judy Lazar may not be far behind.

Thousand Oaks is once again a political war zone. And the recall frenzy consuming this city figures to divide the community heading into the upcoming Conejo Valley Days, considered the greatest signature gathering event of the year.

“Conejo Valley Days is a family event, it’s in its 41st year, and we want to keep it that way,” said Mary Lou Miller, general chairwoman of Conejo Valley Days. “We don’t want people to get pestered in line.”

Miller said the event’s steering committee has met with city officials and representatives from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department to try to avoid trouble at the tradition-filled festival.

The committee members have tentatively decided to allow signature gathering, but only in one small area, not throughout Conejo Creek Park.

The recall campaigns faded earlier this year after Yes! Remove Elois Zeanah gathered more than 15,000 signatures, only to have them thrown out by Superior Court Judge Joe Hadden because of legal problems with the petition.

A group calling itself Residents to Recall Fox and Lazar stopped its retaliatory ouster, but revived its efforts when it became clear that Zeanah’s foes would continue their campaign.

Judging from the response Monday outside the Vons supermarket on Avenida de los Arboles, Round 2 of the recall effort figures to be just as divisive as the first.

“I find it preposterous,” said Mary Franke Baum, who described herself as a Zeanah supporter, wheeling her groceries to her car after swatting away signature gatherers as if they were gnats. “The voters voted this person in, and I see no negligence on her part. I don’t think the recall is justified.”

Warren Gunis, 70, who moved to Thousand Oaks 33 years ago, signed the Zeanah recall petition this time after refusing to sign the last effort.

“I observed Zeanah on television, and that changed my mind,” Gunis said. “She picks fights with the other council members, and I have to say, no council has been tougher on development than the one we have now. That’s not much of an issue anymore.”

Rather than using out-of-town petition gatherers who drew criticism in the first effort, Yes! Remove Elois Zeanah has hired a Thousand Oaks firm, Kimball Petition Management Co., to help collect the 10,000 signatures needed to place a recall measure on the ballot. The firm apparently has hired Labor Ready, a temporary employment agency, for workers and has been canvassing for signatures since Friday.

“It’s going OK,” said one signature gatherer outside Vons, who declined to give his name. “I’m not pushy. I’m just here for the people that want to sign. I’m not going to twist anyone’s arm.”

Yes! Remove Elois Zeanah spokeswoman Barbara Sponsler said the group is relying on volunteers to gather most of the signatures, but hired the paid petitioners to help speed the process. She said they are using about 10 paid petitioners, but did now know how much they are being paid.

“We had no intention of using paid petitioners, but Mrs. Zeanah altered the political process so much we had no choice,” Sponsler said. “We are hoping, for the benefit of the community, to get the signatures and get off the streets. We want to get it over with.”

Meanwhile, Residents to Recall Fox and Lazar received approval from Thousand Oaks on Monday to begin gathering signatures to oust Fox after submitting a revised recall petition.

However, the group still has some procedural hurdles to overcome before they can begin circulating petitions to recall Lazar, and has not decided if it will start the Fox ouster campaign or wait until it can petition for the recall of both elected leaders, which could be at least another week.

“We don’t know what we’re going to do yet,” said Kitty Radler, one of the group’s leaders. “But we don’t have the money to hire signature gatherers, that much we know. We don’t have the money to do that, even if we wanted to.”