Lynwood’s Richards Vows to Fight Recall Effort

Lynwood Councilman Paul Richards said Thursday he will challenge a voter recall effort against him because proponents -- including two council members -- have used illegal methods and violated his rights as an elected official.

Recall supporters, who deny the accusations, have gathered more than 3,800 signatures that were verified by the county earlier this week. The recall effort, they say, is a grass-roots effort with wide support.

But Richards said recall backers hired nonresidents to gather signatures and that circulators lied about how many they had collected. Richards, who has been on the council for 17 years, also said he was not properly served with the recall notice when it was launched in December.

He said his complaints were ignored by city officials appointed by the then-council majority and that the process was “rigged� from the start.

“This is just beginning,� said Richards, who said he would reveal more details when he files a lawsuit within two weeks.

“There is going to be so much ... to underscore the corruption that took place in Lynwood, it’s going to make heads spin,� he said.

Recall supporters, including rival Councilmen Arturo Reyes and Ramon Rodriguez, denied the accusations and said Richards is desperate. They said they launched the recall effort because Richards has been corrupt in steering contracts and jobs to relatives and for alleged malfeasance.

“To use a Spanish phrase, ‘Esta tirando patadas de un ahogado’ -- He’s kicking like a man who’s drowning,� Rodriguez said.

Richards’ announcement came as more details emerged about another recall-related controversy. City Clerk Andrea Hooper took nearly one week to pick up the signature verification results from the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder’s office.

County officials received the petitions in late April and finished verifying the signatures May 1. The results, showing that proponents had gathered enough signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot, were ready for pickup May 6, said Kris Heffron, chief deputy of the registrar’s office.

Hooper’s office picked up the petitions six days later on May 12, Heffron said.

Hooper said she never spoke to county officials and was not notified that the results were ready until she received a fax from the county late in the day on May 8.

The delay fueled recall proponents’ concerns that Hooper is trying to stall the effort for Richards’ benefit.

Hooper has denied those allegations and said she plans to present the results to the council at Tuesday’s meeting.

If the recall goes forward, a special election could take place in September or October.