GOP Group to Seek Trustee’s Recall

A conservative, Republican political organization will launch a recall effort against Ventura County Community College District trustee Allan Jacobs for his support of embattled Chancellor Philip Westin, officials said Friday.

The Ventura County Republican Assembly is targeting Jacobs, a board member for more than 10 years, because of recent comments he made in local newspapers in support of Westin, said Mike Robinson, president of the Republican Assembly.

The chancellor is at the center of a political firestorm sparked by allegations of excessive spending. During a four-year period, Westin charged the college district more than $119,000 for business-related expenses, according to district records.

“The issue is fiscal mismanagement of the school board and failure to oversee Chancellor Westin’s expenses,” Robinson said

“Mr. Jacobs has said a few things in the newspaper that were distressing.... He said he didn’t think it was time for Westin to resign and that he [Westin] should work on his public image and not necessarily his spending.

“If you are going to maintain the status quo after everything that’s happened, then we don’t want you to represent us.”

Jacobs said Friday the group has every right to launch a recall effort.

“I’m not sure they represent the entire community,” Jacobs said.

“I hope they know what they’re wishing for. I’m apolitical. I don’t have any political agenda, and I don’t think this is a political issue. I listen to the public.”

The announcement by the Republican group is the latest development in a growing controversy involving Westin, who, according to records, spent tens of thousands of dollars over the four years on meals, computer equipment and car repairs.

Trustees voted 4 to 1 in May to renew Westin’s contract, giving him a four-year pact two months after learning of the allegations over his spending. Trustee John Tallman voted against renewing Westin’s contract.

The Republican group plans to formally announce the recall effort at a news conference Monday, when it plans to file a notice at the county registrar’s office to begin the process.

Jacobs would have seven days to issue a statement in response. Then, to gain a spot on the ballot, the group would have to collect 8,000 signatures in the county from registered voters who support the effort.

Jacobs, 72, a retired associate superintendent with the Simi Valley Unified School District, said he stands by his previous statements that Westin should remain chancellor of the three-campus college district and that the board should adopt policies that keep Westin’s spending in check.

“To the extent that he [Westin] can be effective--and that’s still an open question--I’m not willing to throw out a guy because of some decisions he’s made that I don’t agree with,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs, a Republican first elected to the nonpartisan post in 1991, said people should look at the district’s accomplishments before making a decision.

“We have outstanding faculty and personnel, the financial health of the district is reasonably good, we passed a bond issue, we have excellent transfer rates, graduates get jobs, and we have open access,” Jacobs said.

“We have 100,000 good things, and it’s this one thing people disagree with.

“I think we can get by it and continue, but people have to look at the context of the district and the good job it’s doing.”

Three of the board members--President Norman Nagel, John Tallman and Art Hernandez--face reelection in November.

This is one reason, Robinson said, why Nagel and Hernandez are not being targeted for recall.

Robinson, an aide to state Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks), said his organization does not know enough about trustee Bob Gonzales’ position on Westin to warrant a recall effort at this time. Gonzales is midway through his four-year term.

Joe Giardiello, McClintock’s district director, managed Gonzales’ reelection campaign in 2000, Gonzales said.

Gonzales added, however, that he and Giardiello have not been in touch for months.

Meanwhile, trustee Hernandez this week called for a special meeting of the college board to discuss Westin’s future. A board majority has agreed to a meeting, but a date has not been set.