Garofalo recall effort stalled by technicality

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- An attempt by residents to recall Mayor Dave

Garofalo has hit a snag, hinging on proof that paperwork was served

properly.

All that is standing in the way is a signature verifying that copies

of a letter of intent and petition to recall the mayor was hand-delivered

to Garofalo.

“The proof of service should have been signed by [Sgt.] Janet Perez,”

said Sandra Cole, a 44-year resident who is spearheading the effort.

Cole said she gave the recall paperwork, which included 30 signatures

of support, to Perez, the City Council’s sergeant-at-arms, during the

public comments portion of the Oct. 16 council meeting and was guaranteed

it would be given to Garofalo. But, when asked to sign the proof of

service, which is required by the city clerk to keep the process rolling,

Perez declined.

“I feel like she is deliberately protecting him,” Cole said of Perez,

adding that she hired a professional process server to deliver the papers

to Garofalo. “I’d deliver them myself, but I think he would avoid me.”

Perez said she didn’t cooperate with Cole for other reasons.

“I declined to sign the proof of service because I was unintended

bearer of this news,” Perez said. “This is a political issue that I don’t

need to be involved in.”

Meanwhile, the mayor has been working closely with City Clerk Connie

Brockway to go over what his responsibilities are in the recall process.

“I’m just waiting for these papers to be served properly,” he said,

adding that until that happens he is not required to make any formal

response to Cole and her supporters. “Until then, I’m looking forward to

campaigning for myself when the time comes.”

Once Cole has the proof of service that a copy of the recall papers

were delivered to Garofalo, she must submit that with the originals to

the city clerk within a week. The mayor will have seven days from the

time the recall papers are filed with the city clerk to respond in

writing. Cole must then publish the intent in a local newspaper before

the process can move forward.

This is not the first time that Cole and Garofalo have faced off.

The mayor contends that Cole, who is serving as treasurer for Ocean

View School District school board candidate Barbara Boskovich, has been

attacking him throughout the six years he’s served on the council. She

admits to personal disagreements as well.

But the recall, Cole added, stems only from the mayor’s performance

record as city official.

The paperwork claims Garofalo turned over a confidential employee list

to developers, accepted gifts despite the city’s gift ban, used his

influence as a city official to buy a new home, concealed ownership in a

local bank on state-mandated disclosure forms, profited from a city

contract and voted in favor of advertisers in the Huntington Beach

Conference & Visitors Bureau’s visitors guide.

The mayor is being investigated by the Orange County district

attorney’s office, the Orange County Grand Jury and the state’s Fair

Political Practices Commission for possible conflicts of interests

surrounding his publishing business, David Garofalo & Associates.

The business published the visitors guide, which is distributed by the

city-funded visitors bureau, starting in 1993, and he allegedly reaped

profits from advertising revenue. He sold the company to friend Ed Laird

in 1998 but was kept on as a consultant.

When the recall intent is published, Brockway and Cole will agree on a

suitable petition form. Then, Cole said her group will have 165 days to

gather signatures from 10% of the city’s registered voters to warrant a

special election in April.