Davis OKs County Control of South Gate Voting

Gov. Gray Davis on Monday signed urgency legislation forcing South Gate to hand over control of its special elections to the county.

The bill, which the Legislature passed unanimously, addresses concerns of Latino leaders and Secretary of State Bill Jones that city officials have thwarted a voter recall drive.

“It was an unsettling picture of local politicians and alleged election abuses,” Davis spokesman Russ Lopez said of conditions in South Gate. “This bill had substantial support from a lot of different legislators and area leaders, and the governor agreed that something needs to be done.”

Treasurer Albert Robles and his three council allies drew criticism for replacing the elected city clerk with their own appointee after residents launched a recall drive last year.

Jones has accused the appointee, Julia Sylva, of manipulating the electoral process. He also said an arson attack on the business of a recall proponent and an unsolved shooting have created an atmosphere of voter intimidation. The unusual legislation was introduced after the city defied Jones’ order to let the county run its special elections.

“State government is exactly in sync as far as protecting the integrity of the recall election process in the city of South Gate,” said William Wood, chief counsel for the secretary of state.

City officials have denied charges of electoral manipulation and call the state action an infringement on local politics.

The law, which only applies to South Gate, requires any recall or special election through 2003 to be administered by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s Office.

Mayor Xochilt Ruvalcaba said Monday that the city has already tried to let the county take over the special elections, and that the county has so far refused. But county Registrar Conny McCormack said her office is prepared to conduct the recall election if it proceeds.

Residents have collected more than 8,000 signatures in the recall drive against Robles, Ruvalcaba, Vice Mayor Raul Moriel and Councilwoman Maria Benavides. They accuse the officials of corruption, which the officials deny.

To force an election, the signatures must be verified, but that process stalled earlier this year after city officials threw out the recall petitions, saying they were flawed.

A Superior Court judge said the petitions were valid, but the city has appealed. If an appeals court upholds the ruling, an election could be held as early as December.

“Without this legislation we didn’t have any confidence that the persons in charge of elections in South Gate would do anything to move the ball forward, and in fact would do exactly the opposite, so that the recall election would continue to be delayed,” said Stephen Kaufman, an attorney for the recall proponents.