Outcome of Oust Zeanah Drive Too Close to Call

Foes of Councilwoman Elois Zeanah have turned in nearly 14,000 signatures to oust her--and every single one will have to be checked to determine whether a Zeanah recall measure will qualify for the ballot.

Yes! Remove Elois Zeanah, which needed to gather valid signatures from 10,169 registered Thousand Oaks voters, submitted 13,978 signatures to the city clerk’s office last week, culminating six months of intense, often emotional petitioning in neighborhoods and shopping centers throughout town. The signatures were then sent to Ventura County elections officials for verification.

Typically, a random sampling is enough to determine whether a petition drive has netted enough signatures. But a check of 500 Zeanah recall signatures Monday found the issue too close to call, and every signature must now be verified, said county elections chief Bruce Bradley.

“It wasn’t enough to fail, but it wasn’t enough to pass,” Bradley said of the random count, adding that he will have the final tally July 18. “We’re going to have to check them all.”

The random sample found that 75.4% of the 500 signatures were valid. That would technically result in enough signatures--104% of the total needed--to force an election.

Under state elections law, however, random sampling can only be used to decide the outcome of a signature drive if the results are either less than 95% or more than 110% of the necessary signatures. Otherwise, all the signatures must be scrutinized.

Members of the anti-Zeanah group are confident the signatures will pass muster, said spokeswoman Barbara Sponsler.

“We know we have enough,” Sponsler said. “We have been checking the signatures all along, and a high percentage are verified.”

Zeanah was on vacation and could not be reached Monday for comment.

But Councilwoman Linda Parks, one of her strongest allies, said that Thousand Oaks voters are tired of months of recall rhetoric and will not vote Zeanah out of office even if the measure does qualify.

She accused the Zeanah recall group of trying to purchase greater influence in Thousand Oaks politics, noting that the group accepted contributions from out-of-town interests and used paid petitioners.

“I think it would be a real sad day for the city and the nation when an outside interest can come in and buy an election,” Parks said. “The money’s from outside the city. So are the signature gatherers, and it’s an insult to democracy that this is being perpetrated on our city.

“But I really don’t think she will be recalled, even if it makes the ballot,” she added. “I just don’t see our residents doing that.”

In addition to Zeanah, Mayor Judy Lazar and Councilman Andy Fox are also facing recall. The group trying to oust them, Residents to Recall Fox and Lazar, has yet to turn in its signatures.

Zeanah’s foes contend she should be recalled because she opposes all growth, refuses to work with her council peers and constantly accuses city officials of corruption and deceit without any factual basis.

Zeanah’s supporters contend that the only reason Zeanah is being targeted for recall is because she opposes excessive growth and is not afraid to challenge other council members or city officials when she disagrees with them.

If Yes! Remove Elois Zeanah’s measure makes the ballot, the group would probably continue campaigning for the councilwoman’s ouster, Sponsler said. But, she added, the group has no plans to back any particular candidate to replace Zeanah.

Under a recall election, voters would not only decide whether they want to oust Zeanah but who would fill her seat.

“That has been a decision of the committee from the beginning not to support anyone,” Sponsler said. “We’re just hoping to get the city back on track, the track it’s been on for most of the past 30 years, and that means removing Elois Zeanah.”