Garofalo Gets Formal Word of Recall Push

A group of Huntington Beach residents gave Mayor Dave Garofalo notice Monday that they will try to recall him.

At a City Council session, resident Sandra Cole presented the mayor with a written statement of intent, the first step toward a recall vote.

“We feel that his presence on the council is an embarrassment to the community,” said Cole, who is leading a campaign to remove the mayor.

Garofalo accepted the paperwork but made no comment.

The mayor is being investigated by the Orange County district attorney, the grand jury and the state Fair Political Practices Commission in connection with possible conflicts of interest.

The allegations of conflict center on the mayor’s publishing business, which produced the city’s visitor guide from 1993 until the contract was terminated earlier this year. Under that arrangement with the Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau, Garofalo’s business kept all profits from the guide’s advertising revenue.

Garofalo voted on the city’s funding for the visitors bureau in four of his six years on the City Council. Though he sold the business in 1998, he continued to collect a consulting fee from it.

Under state law, residents who wish to recall a public official must give notice of intent, to which the official may respond within seven days. Huntington Beach requires 20 signatures on the notice of intent; Cole’s document contained 30, officials said.

Next, the recall group must publish its intent in a local newspaper, then collect valid signatures from 10% of the city’s registered voters, or about 20,000. The soonest that a recall election could be scheduled is April 2001, officials said.