The recall notice of Poway Unified School District Trustee Andy Patapow was invalidated today for the second time since Friday, again because some signers were not registered at the addresses listed.
The recall proponents, should they continue their efforts, would once again have to restart the process and serve notice to Patapow — for a third time.
If the difficulty in collecting ten or so valid signatures is any indication, how does this bode for collecting thousands?
It’s a fair question.
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Admin note: When Rostra broke the news on Friday that the first recall notice was invalidated, supporters of the effort made comments (see below) that our reporting was incorrect, noting that it was only a simple correction of addresses that needed to be taken care of, and that the recall was proceeding. For the record, it was never reported here that the recall proponents could not start the process again, it was reported that the initial paperwork was invalidated by the Registrar of Voters — which it was.
The FACT now, as it was previously for the first, is that the second Notice of Recall was invalidated today by the Registrar of Voters.
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Below story updated — Tuesday, October 13, 10:37 am…
Poway schools recall of Patapow back in play
As anticipated, the effort to recall Trustee Andy Patapow from the Poway Unified School Board has been restarted, despite a hiccup along the way. The San Diego Union-Tribune has a detailed story.
As reported here on Friday (see below), the Registrar of Voters invalidated the initial “Notice of Intention” due to voter registration discrepancies, which have now been cleared up.
The proponents say they re-served Patapow with a new notice on Saturday morning.
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Below story updated — Friday, October 9, 4:55 pm…
BREAKING: Poway schools recall petition tossed — some proponents aren’t registered voters
Rostra has received confirmation from the San Diego County Registrar of Voters that the “fledgling” recall petition against Poway Unified School Board Member Andy Patapow (as reported below on Wednesday) isn’t even fledgling — it’s DOA.
Invalidated.
Apparently, some of the petitioners that signed the “Notice of Intention” to circulate recall papers aren’t voters at the address listed in the document.
A further search of voting records suggests Chris and Kimberley Garnier — two of the main proponents of the recall — may not be registered at all or are inactive in the official voter file. (Previously registered voters may be placed in an inactive file if the Registrar tries to mail them something, with no response — this typically happens after a history of not voting.)
There is no question, however, for now this recall effort is officially invalidated.
Those legal requirements to be registered to vote if you’re going to be involved in the election process — what a complete pain!
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Original post — Wednesday, October 7, 2:23 pm…
BREAKING: Poway Schools Trustee Andy Patapow facing recall effort
Recall papers were served yesterday against Poway Unified School Board member Andy Patapow.
Republican Patapow says he was given an early warning — or what some may call a threat — on Saturday by a fellow board member, Democrat Charles Sellers, as detailed below.
This appears to be a power play by Sellers and possibly fellow Trustee Kimberly Beatty to replace Patapow with another Democrat.
Of further interest, the District in February obtained a three-year workplace violence restraining order against one of the recall proponents, Chris Garnier, because of alleged threats to school employees. Garnier’s in-laws, Keith and Linda Wilson, are also listed in the recall petition. Keith Wilson was recently escorted by security from a public board meeting for disruption of the meeting. Those in attendance note Wilson used profanity during the incident.
The text below is from an email Patapow sent to all board members, principals, and others:
On Saturday, October 5th, I received a phone call from Board member Charles Sellers, asking me to meet with him.
At that meeting, Mr. Sellers informed me that a petition to recall me from the Board of Education had been completed by a member of the public – and that he – Charles – was delivering the message that I could step down voluntarily if I wanted to avoid the embarrassment of a public recall petition.
Mr. Sellers shared a print copy of the petition with me, but did not allow me to see the names of the petition signers.
Mr. Sellers gave me a “decision deadline” of Monday.
Mr. Sellers called me at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, asking if I had made a decision. He then texted me, saying that the deadline for my decision was extended to noon on Tuesday.
At 1:50 p.m. today (Tuesday), the author of the petition, Mr. Keith Wilson, served me a “Notice of Intention to Circulate Recall Petition” at my home.
10 individuals signed this petition. They are:
- Keith and Linda Wilson
- Chris, Kimberley, Dr. Ramona and Winslow Garnier
- Brooks, Monica and Virgil Iler
- Anjum Razvi
Mr. Keith Wilson listed the following reasons for recalling me:
- I voted for the Capital Appreciation Bonds (CABs)
- I have accepted gifts from the bond underwriters
- I have refused to fire any financial consultants or district employees responsible for the CABs
I am sharing this information with you tonight because the “Notice of Intention to Circulate Recall Petition” must be filed with our local newspaper and I wanted you to be informed before your read about it in the newspaper.
As allowed by law, I will be submitting a response to this recall petition to the County of San Diego Registrar of Voters within the next seven (7) days.
I have honorably served our District for the past 50 years. 20 of those years have been as a Member of the Board of Education.
I am proud of my contributions and proud of my record. Most of all, I am proud to work with and for PUSD’s outstanding students, teachers, classified personnel and community members.
Andy Patapow
Board of Education