Zeanah’s Lawyers Call Petitions Invalid

Calling recall petitions “clearly deficient” and in violation of the state Election Code, attorneys for City Councilwoman Elois Zeanah demanded Thursday that they be declared invalid.

In a letter to City Clerk Nancy Dillon, attorney Raleigh H. Levine said that recall petitions against the slow-growth councilwoman break at least four state regulations. The letter requests and demands that Dillon notify members of the recall group Yes! Recall Elois Zeanah that their petitions will not be accepted in their current condition.

“There are several large errors in format,” Zeanah said. “One or all of them should demand that the current signatures be declared invalid.”

Her position is reinforced by a letter from the secretary of state’s office. That letter says that having signatures and the reasons for a recall on different sides of the petition sheets is a breach of election law.

Recall reasons and signatures should appear on the same side of a piece of paper “to prevent concealing facts from voters who are asked to sign,” wrote elections counsel Oliver Cox in a letter to Zeanah backer Dan del Campo.

Nevertheless, both state and city officials said Wednesday that such disputes are typically resolved in the courts.

Dillon and recall proponent Peter J. Turpel could not be reached for comment about Zeanah’s letter. They have previously said that the petitions are valid.

Specifically, Zeanah’s attorney says the petitions violate the Election Code in the following ways:

* Reasons for the recall drive are on one side of a petition page while the signatures are on the flip side.

* Zeanah’s response to charges against her was shortened while reasons to recall her were not.

* Addresses of recall backers were omitted.

Thousand Oaks is in the midst of a recall frenzy, with three city officials--Zeanah, Mayor Judy Lazar and Councilman Andy Fox--under the threat of ouster.