Bell residents take first steps to recall council members

Petitions to recall four Bell council members who were earning six-figure salaries were submitted Tuesday to the city clerk by a local residents group.

After initially calling for the resignation of Luis Artiga, Oscar Hernandez, Teresa Jacobo and George Mirabal -- council members who pulled in an annual salary of about $100,000, which included thousands for sitting on boards that never met or met only briefly -- the Bell Assn. to Stop the Abuse has since been focused on recall efforts.

Councilman Lorenzo Velez, who was earning only $8,000 a year and has been critical of his colleague’s paychecks, is not a target of the recall.

Working with an attorney versed in recall efforts and whose services come pro bono, the group is prepared to begin gathering signatures once their petition is approved by the city attorney.

"We’re confident that we dotted all our I’s and crossed all our Ts," BASTA representative Denise Rodarte said in a statement Wednesday.

According to state law, 25% of Bell’s registered voters must sign the petitions and an elections official must verify the signatures to qualify for a recall. Bell has just under 10,000 registered voters. The group would need to collect roughly 2,500 signatures of registered Bell voters.

The recall group would have 90 days to collect the signatures.

If the signatures are verified, the council would have 14 days to call an election in which voters would decide the fate of the council members.

A BASTA meeting is scheduled for Wednesday evening and would include a presentation on the recall process, said Cristina Garcia, one of the group’s leaders. "People are anxious to hurry up and get this part done and get involved."

-- Corina Knoll

Photo: Residents outside a Bell City Council meeting last month. Credit: Robyn Beck / AFP /Getty Images.

Comments

[james andrews]

Why? If you want to recall some real criminals go after the Board at LA Unified that spent $578 million dollars to build 1 school. Go after the LA City Council for not funding the pension obligation and kept letting the bill run to Billions. Go after Barbara Boxer (call me Senator) for spending us into a depression.

[Kyle in Santa Barbara]

If they had a shred of honor or dignity left, the city council members would simply resign and save the taxpayers all this trouble. Shame on them!

[dan]

Its about time......recall these crooks then pull their pensions!

[sethook]

This whole mess could have prevented had the people bothered to go to the polls when the Charter issue was on the ballot. Hope they show up this time, if they can get 2500 legit signatures.

[McDowdle]

YEAH!

[MPOA]

The recall in Maywood is also moving forward. If the rumors are true and Felipe Aguirre gets indicted soon, Gordado and Ana Rizo are next. If they are smart they will resign because the DA is less likely to prosecute them if they are no longer in office. Think about it ladies, you can either go home or go to jail.

Verela might as well pack a lunch and the puppet strings that Aguirre controls and take off too. Verela has no business as a council member, he just takes up space, a lot of space.

[so]

I applaud you Bell residents! Do away with injustice and cheats....!!

The residents of Pasadena City need to take a lesson from you and go after and stop the parking scam/scheme artists that burden the law abiding, decent and hard working residents in certain areas of the city. Untold millions are made by the city of Pasadena which charges RESIDENTS in various locations throughout the city to park in front of their homes/apartments....We (yes, I'm a RESIDENT of Pasadena) residents support the city enough by supporting the city's businesses etc...Why burden us with these scams seeing that we have a recession to deal with already?....

I've tried reporting this to the L.A. Times to investigate but I was given a deaf ear.....REMEMBER, POLITICS & POLITICIANS=LIES!!.....

[MEXIAMERICAN]

HOW EMBARRASSING THAT POWER BRINGS GREED AND WE'RE TURNING OUT TO BE A CORRUPT LITTLE MEXICO !!! SAD.

[peter wolf]

Good !! After recall, then indictment. After Indictment, then sentencing. After sentencing, then jail.

[peter wolf]

James Andrews: You are correct. But don't stop at Boxer. How about Feinstein, Waters ( if she's not in jail yet), Jerry Brown ( bought and paid for by the public employees unions)? 35+ years of Democratic control of the state assembly has brought California to the brink of economic extinction, sky-hgih taxes, sky-high unemployment, rock-bottom credit rating, and the CEO Magainze's award of 'Worst State To Do Business In'.
Anyone who votes for Democrats in November in this state needs to be psychoanalyzed.

[Lena Rybachuck]

This people really have no shame or respect for tehmselves or others, they are plain THIEVES any way you slice it, get them the hell out and put in prision ! Bastards, scumm of humanity .

[RizzoGoToPrison]

What? they've not been recalled yet?
Put all these crooks in Prison as well as the corrupt mayor fernandez, no pensions, and at the same time prosecute them to recuperate all money stolen over all these years

[Reddbeard]

Bout time you guys wake up and take back YOUR city.

[Bob]

James, the $578 million dollar school must be the arts school downtown, right? That school is sooo cool. It puts LA on the map again. I love it!

[Robert in Bell]

I think the outrage is valid and residents should move forward with efforts to recall these crooked council members. The Abuse ends here!!!! I'm ready for the fight to take back our City!!!

[Kate Acosta]

BASTA you shout ??? A coalition of former Bell City Council candidates and The Bell Police Association with Special hidden agenda, that want to capitalize power after their big defeat in the 2009 election, in a time when the City of Bell is passing for the worst crisis since its formation as a City on 11/07/ 1927. The spokeswoman for the BASTA coalition Cristina Garcia said: "Right now, the community's really focused on getting things right and creating better governance". Which governance I ask ? Do you mean your new BASTA form of governance ? Do you mean the governance of former "Losers" candidates : ALI SALEH and NESTOR ENRIQUE VALENCIA ? STOP BASTA now before it's too late, STOP the Conspirators !!!!!

[Kate Acosta]

BASTA you said ???? Who really are those BASTA organizer ?Where they come from ? What is their agenda ?Why are they spending so much money in publicity around the City of Bell ?Thousands of Flyers,T-Shirts,Banners , Street Signs,Home Phone Calls and other accesories.Where all that money is coming from? Thousands and Thousands of Dollars. Why they are so desperate to Recall those Council Member? Why they denounce the high salaries of the City's workers and administrators "but" don't denounce and not even mention the high salaries of The Bell Police Department ? Almost $ 6 Million a year. Why? I just wonder why ? I smell DANGER in all this. STOP BASTA now before it's too late, Don't Trust them, STOP the Conspirators !!!!!