Davis Backers Sue Over Recall Petitions

[dusty64]

Jul 15, 3:57 PM (ET)

By ERICA WERNER

(AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A group fighting the Republican-led drive to oust Democratic Gov. Gray Davis filed a lawsuit Tuesday that alleges signatures on recall petitions were gathered illegally.

Attorneys for Taxpayers Against the Governor's Recall told a news conference that recall proponents violated the law by using petition circulators who were not registered California voters and did not witness signatures being signed.

They said the alleged violations may have been widespread enough to invalidate the recall drive - even though proponents claim to have gathered over 1.6 million signatures, nearly twice the amount needed to get the measure on the ballot.

"Based on everything we've heard and seen it could well not be a valid election," said attorney Wylie Aitken.


Recall backers insisted all signature gatherers were registered voters as required and gathered signatures lawfully. They called the lawsuit a frivolous attempt to "derail the Democratic process."
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20030715/D7SA5PGG2.html

[stopthegop]

1. this seems to smack of panic..

or desperation...

[ronnykmarshall]

3. Not really,

I think they want to uncover how the signatures were obtained. The majority of the people collecting the signature were not from California and only registared to vote in the state just to get paid for doing this.

I hope Davis' folks blow the lid off this bull shit.

[stopthegop]

7. just out of curiosity..

how do you know the majority were from out of state?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

14. There was a large article in the LA Times last week in which several

petition gatherers admitted they were out of state pros doing the work.

[stopthegop]

22. thank you n/t

.

[shanti]

25. actually

these are standard tactics for repukes. bus 'em in!

[twilight]

16. your are right

that is what was going on here and I turned them in. They were registering people as a front and had the recall tables out in front for people to sign. They were being paid by 'private sources' and told the places where they set-up that they were 'volunteers'

Absolute frauds and crooks ...

Davis is not a crook ...

He got embedded in a BS energy crisis ...

Hurrah today one of the culprits filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy - Mirant!

Why doesn't someone investigate them! They are a shill of ENRON ...

:dem:

and an :grr: one at that!!

[Democat]

12. Requiring them to not break the law is "desperation"

These crooks are trying to overthrow the goverment of California, and you attack those fighting against them?

Desperation is trying to overthrow a legal election with extreme right wing money and hate radio.

[stopthegop]

13. I'm not attacking anyone...

and don't forget latest polls show 33% of Dems in favor of the recall also...

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

17. Until you confront thenm with a Repub governor especially Simon..then the

polls change significantly.

[expatriot]

2. Hopefully lawsuits like this, winnable or not, will push it back to March

Especially with the power crisis that is coming back to CA this summer b/c of the heat...

[ronnykmarshall]

5. Power crisis??

Where did you hear this? We haven't been warned of any problems this summer.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

15. Problems with three power sources as we speak and a line that was knocked

out yesterday up north by a logger.

[twilight]

20. its coming alright

Because of the lack of natural gas now *fart* :evilgrin:

Actually an employee of the now bankrupt Mirant told me last year that another energy crisis was coming soon and how lucky I am that I don't like in a McMansion like she does as the bills are very low for this small place I live in.

Right around the corner alright!

Properity is right around the corner ... Herbert Hoover




:kick:

[shanti]

27. there's no power crisis now

n/t

[Nottingham]

4. I hope they are right!

:bounce:

[dusty64]

6. I especially enjoyed this quote

"One-point-six million people can't be wrong. They've spoken, they should have a chance to go to the polls," said Monica Getz, spokeswoman for Rep. Darrell Issa."

I guess the fuc#ing ELECTION they had last year doesn't count, THEY'VE ALREADY SPOKEN! The depths the repukes go to in order to push themselves on us knows no bounds and they seem to be able to get away with anything.

[Frances]

8. I live in Sunnyvale CA

and there was a petition that was presented to our city council. It was rejected for complicated reasons, but it was rejected.

If Bush had not used desperate legality measures in Florida, he would not be president. If he were not president, Cheney and the energy companies would not have raped California, and California would not have the problems it has today.

[baffie]

9. A friend yesterday said they used deception

They had a sign posted saying the petition was about something else, but the petition they handed to her was about recalling Davis. Without a doubt, they were counting on people just assuming the petition matched the sign and signing without reading it. And I'm sure a lot of people did.

Anyone have a link so I can contact this committee?

[twilight]

24. link to stoptherecall.com

I am sure they wouldn't mine me posting part of the information from their site as they were posting the whole thing on the GD forum a couple of weeks ago:

------------------------

The recall is not about California's future ... it's about Darrell Issa's future.
The recall campaign was going nowhere until Issa arrived with his open checkbook Issa is trying to hijack the recall process so that he can be elected Governor Darrell Issa is aligned with the extreme right wing of the Republican Party Darrell Issa has put in more than $1,000,000 in an attempt to buy a spot on the ballot.

Issa's fund raising for the recall violates McCain/Feingold
McCain/Feingold bars federal officials from raising money for soft money campaigns, whether for state or federal campaigns
Issa has made numerous public statements indicating that he is raising money for the recall campaign "I don't expect to be the largest donor. I certainly won't be the only donor." Issa said, adding he already has several pledges ranging from $50,000 to $100,000. (AP - 5-6-03)

The recall is an attempt to get taxpayers to foot the bill for a Republican-led "do over" of an election held just seven months ago.
The recall is blocking efforts to solve the state's budget crisis
In these tight budget times, vital resources should be used to help real Californians, not to bankroll the ambitions of an opportunist who is out of California's mainstream.

A recall campaign is a formula for permanent gridlock in Sacramento and an endless cycle of divisive elections. California families don't need another election. California families need leaders who will put their needs ahead of personal ambition.

much more here .... including an anti-recall petition!

http://www.stoptherecall.com/


:dem:

[MindPilot]

10. Well, Duh! The recall group bulk-mailed petition forms

to everybody in the state with instructions to photocopy them and get signatures. I personally got two of those mailings. I just grabbed a Magic Marker and scrawled across one "You want to help the economy? Recall George Bush." and "You lost. Get over it." across the other and mailed 'em back.

[slackmaster]

11. I didn't get one

Haven't even seen anyone gathering signatures.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

18. I have ..I yell at them and call them lying sore losers at supermarket

entrances...I have convinced people NOT to sign petitions...several times

[twilight]

21. I called the supermarket and complained!

That's what I did and the store manager ran the piece of slime off!

:kick:

[MindPilot]

19. Maybe I got yours

I'm not sure what mailing lists they used. It certainly wasn't registered republicans because I've been registered Dem for at least a couple years, and I was Green before that.

[Piperay]

23. I was confronted several times

by petitioners and in all the times I have been asked to sign a petition I have never come across such rude and obnoxious signature gathers as the recall Davis ones. :mad:

[hippiechick]

26. " ...a frivolous attempt to 'derail the Democratic process.'" ???

WTF????? :wow:



Their hypocrisy is stunning !!!!


:hippie:

[Hell Hath No Fury]

28. A local article today...

spelled out the counties where petitions were being turned in in large numbers.

Surprise surprise, the VAST majority of petitions were coming from San Diego, Orange, Riverside and Sacramento counties, all notorious right-leaning areas of CA.

A whopping 5000 signatures were turned in from SF county.

Issa and the GOP are going DOWN.

[twilight]

29. just found another link to the story ...

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Supporters of California's embattled Gov. Gray Davis filed a lawsuit on Tuesday challenging the Republican-led signature-gathering process aimed at forcing an unprecedented recall election to oust the unpopular Democrat.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by Taxpayers Against the Recall asks local registrars to set aside thousands of recall petitions allegedly collected illegally by out-of-state signature gatherers. The request could help the governor by delaying a special election.

"When the people of California approved their recall process in 1911, they surely did not anticipate that it might be invoked by signature-gatherers from out of state willing to lie under penalty of perjury," the lawsuit said.

more here ...

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/reuters20030715_591.html


Do I see the word PERJURY!? :bounce:

:dem:

[DoveTurnedHawk]

30. Kick

DTH

[Sal316]

31. This was in my local paper this morning.

<snip>

The suit cites Kim Theresa Dickson, who gathered 965 signatures last fall in challenging Tempe's smaoking ban. Many of the signatures she gathered have been called into question in a lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court.

Dickson has at least four felony convictions, including forgery, and is a fugitive on other forgery charges in Ohio."

<snip>

Guess if you can't beat 'em fairly, forge your way to the top!
(pun intended!)

Sal

[PROGRESSIVE1]

32. The Repugs are evil!!!

Yes, I know that is obvious but the Dem's should ensure that every signature is valid!!!

[Muddleoftheroad]

33. Still this looks lame

Like it or not, they've gathered nearly 1.6 million signatures. Based on the way California allows petition drives, it looks like manuevering to try and stop it or delay it.

[Democat]

34. They are trying to make them obey the law!

I still don't understand how filing a lawsuit to make sure that the right wingers aren't breaking the law is bad.

Did you also complain when Judicial Watch sued Dick Cheney to make him release the energy papers?

Would you complain if someone sued Bush to make him follow the law?

They are trying to stop the right wingers from illegally stealing a legal election.

We should support this attempt to stop right wing corruption.