WESTMINSTER

For the second time in two months, a recall petition against City Council members has been rejected because it failed to meet legal requirements. Long Kim Pham of Newport Beach served all five council members last month with papers informing them of the recall campaign, but the documents were rejected by the City Clerk’s office this week because Pham didn’t follow requirements to file two blank copies of the petition with the council members and he didn’t file proof of publication of the notice within 10 days of receiving the April 20 response from the elected officials.

Pham faults the council members for not getting involved in the 53 days of protests over a Little Saigon store owner’s Communist flag display; the council has said it was only following the city attorney’s advice to stay neutral. In March, Pham served a notice of recall against only Councilman Tony Lam, but that too was rejected because the length of his written explanation for the petition exceeded legal limits.