End time nears for El Dorado County recall against supervisors, DA and auditor

On October 27, 2015, Sue Novasel, the County Supervisor representing South Lake Tahoe, Meyers, Tahoma and Pollock Pines was served a “notice of intent to circulate a recall petition” by a group of citizens who said they are “tired of the corruption and cronyism that has plagued our county for years.” It wasn’t only Novasel, but all five of the County Supervisors, Shiva Frentzen, Ron Mikulaco, Michael Ranalli and Brian Veerkamp.

Auditor-Controller Joe Harn and District Attorney Vern Pierson are also the subject of a recall initiated by a group, Neighbors Against Corruption out of Shingle Springs.

El Dorado County Total Recall, the group organized by Dan Kelly of Placerville and four others to recall the five supervisors, has a few weeks left to gather the needed signatures.

"We won't know how many signatures we have until its all done," said Kelly. "It is going as planned at this time, its just a matter of getting the people out gathering signatures to turn them in."

According to Justin Canning, Elections Technician for the County, 20 percent of the voters registered need to sign the petition to recall. In District 5, which includes South Lake Tahoe and Meyers, 3,530 people(as of today) would have to sign the recall paperwork to have Supervisor Novasel put on a recall ballot late this summer, or in early fall.

Canning said that it is 20 percent of the voters in a district registered on the day the signatures are turned in, and in Novasel's case that is March 29, 2015. People may sign the voter registration cards when signing the petition, as long as they are turned in by the March deadline he said.

The signatures for the recall Veerkamp are also due on March 29, with those for Mikulaco and Frentzen on March 31, and Ranalli on April 12.

Those seeking to recall Horn and Pierson, since they serve the whole county, must have 20 percent of the county's registered voters sign their paperwork by May 22.

Besides the general lack in trust of all elected officials serving in Placerville, the recall group has taken issue with the fact that Novasel’s Form 700 filed prior to the November 2014 election was different than the one she filed post-election in February of 2015.

Every elected official and public employee who makes or influences governmental decisions is required to submit a Statement of Economic Interest, also known as a Form 700, to the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC).

“I don’t want to appear as a disgruntled candidate,” said Kenny Curtzwiler, who opposed Novasel in the November 2014 election. “I brought all of these Form 700 issues up prior to the election.”

The recall committee said Novasel's husband Robert owns property in Meyers, and his company has loaned money to people who may want to do business with the county. This would be a conflict of interest they say, and will make Novasel recuse herself from votes about Meyers and in issues where these clients are concerned.

“I haven’t had to recuse myself from any votes so far,” said Sue Novasel. “I didn’t vote on the Vail Master Plan submitted to TRPA because I didn’t want to cause any public outburst of worries, but I didn’t have to do that. I don't see anything coming up that I will have to recuse because of my husband's lending company.” Novasel's daughter worked for Vail Resort at the time of the vote.

An initial FPPC investigation of Novasel’s Form 700 was conducted in June of 2015 which cleared Novasel of any wrong doing, but it lead County Counsel to remove Novasel from working on the Meyers Area Plan. The Board of Supervisors appointed Brian Veerkamp of District 3 to represent Novasel’s District 5 in those matters. At the time, Novasel said she was disappointed because a plan for Meyers had been something she’d been involved in for over 20 years.

A second FPPC investigation stemming from a complaint filed on August 17 by Sue Taylor of Pollock Pines was still in active status according the California FPPC on January 27, 2016.

A complaint those behind the recall had was her lack of availability to talk about issues.

Novasel said she has an office located locally at 924B Emerald Bay Road and said she meets with constituents there as often as possible. She said anyone can call 530-573-7918 to set up an appointment with her assistant Judy, as Sue is in Placerville or at meetings with the nine agencies she was assigned as part of her supervisorial commitments. She also said she plans on a town hall meeting this spring and is at the monthly Tahoe Paradise Park Board meetings held in Meyers.

Twenty-one people signed the notice to recall Novasel, one from Pollock Pines, the others from Meyers.

Should the recall groups get the needed signatures to have a new election, the next steps will happen rather quickly. If the signatures are turned in on the final date for Horn and Pierson, their election could be held on the same ballot as the November primaries since one has to be held between 88 and 125 days from the day the Board of Supervisors receives the Election department's certification of signatures. A special election would have to be called for any of the supervisors if the recall effort is successful.

The cost of a special election would be about $80,000 for the first recall, according to Canning. Subsequent district elections would be approximately $20,000 each. He said they are using the estimates from the 2014 special election held to replace Ray Nutting, the ousted four-term supervisor from District 2.

"All we’re doing in this recall is asking for a new election," said Kelly. "The incumbent can still run, its not like we’re taking them out of office, we just think there are people who can do better."

"We want supervisors to be more representative of the public, not of special interests, Kelly continued. "We're giving the electorate an opportunity to voice their opinion. The County wastes more money in five minutes than this recall will cost."

The recall groups are a mixture of Democrats, Republicans, Jeffersons and Independents according to Kelly.

"I am thrilled to see that people are paying attention to whats going on and being active," said Kelly. "If the recall succeeds or not, its good people are getting involved in the process. They are asking questions, reading and paying attention and I hope this has a lasting effect."

For more information on the recall, the issues and individual complaints against all five of the supervisors being recalled, visit www.edctotalrecall.org.