Marylee Shrider: Kern needs to shake off recall fever
| Friday, Jun 20 2008 06:22 PM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 06:20 PM
Is it my imagination, or is Kern County suffering from a severe outbreak of recall fever?
Calls to “kick ’em to the curb” have become the knee-jerk norm in recent weeks, whenever an elected official — usually a conservative elected official — makes a decision or statement not popular with those who don’t share his or her views.
It’s becoming quite the trend. And an ugly one at that.
The effort to recall City Councilman Ken Weir, last I heard, is plodding along, with signature gatherers trying to convince the good people of Ward 3 that Weir’s proposal to fire Planning Commissioner Russell Johnson was egregious enough to warrant his removal from office.
Weir’s proposal may have been ill-advised, but certainly within his purview and not nearly as “disruptive to the functions of the Planning Commission and the City Council” as supporters of the recall would like voters to believe.
Other damning examples of Weir’s incompetence, as cited by those who instigated the recall effort, include the councilman’s poor “attitude” and his one-time use of the “In God We Trust” city seal on his campaign literature.
Wow. Maybe we could skip the recall and go straight for the tar and feathers.
In other recall efforts, a few poor sports in Pine Mountain Club have pledged to start a recall against newly re-elected Supervisor Ray Watson in what basically sounds like a bad case of sour grapes.
And somebody, identified in media reports as “a man,” picked up forms to initiate a recall against Auditor-Controller-County Clerk Ann Barnett, ostensibly over her decision to end wedding ceremonies at the county clerk's office.
Barnett has served her constituents well in her eight years in office and exercised the discretion of that office when deciding to halt all county-performed wedding ceremonies. In order to bump Barnett from office, “the man” will have to come up with about 38,000 signatures of registered voters in conservative Kern County, to get a recall measure on the ballot.
He should buy sunscreen. He’s going to be out there for a while.
Most recently, there is Chad Vegas, a pastor and Kern High School District trustee, who — gasp! — had the nerve to write a letter to county supervisors, insisting they support Barnett. If the recent barrage of letters to the editor are any indication, those offended by Vegas’ sentiments want to see him recalled, reproved and run out of town. Or at least out of office.
There’s no question it was a real barn burner of a letter, one the local media characterized as “threatening.” And what was it about the letter that was so threatening?
“Please know that I will work vigorously to remove from office any supervisor that does not support her (Barnett) in this difficult time,” Vegas wrote.
I asked Vegas precisely what he meant by “remove.”
“I meant that come election time, I will campaign vigorously against them,” he said. “And it’s not a threat. It’s a promise.”
Wow. Not exactly a pistol to the temples, as threats go, but apparently enough to send the more delicate among us on a frantic search for smelling salts.
So Vegas wrote a snarky letter to some elected officials. It’s one of those things involved citizens do. So the gentle approach isn’t something Vegas is particularly fond of. Is that reason enough to call for his removal as a trustee, for an investigation into his church? Hardly.
Weir, Barnett and Vegas are able and dedicated public servants. They have faith in their core philosophies and will not be swayed, a trait that is as admirable as it is controversial.
If Kern County is very lucky, they may stick around for a while.
Opinions expressed in this column are those of Marylee Shrider, not The Californian. Her column appears Saturdays. Reach her at mshrider@bakersfield.com or 395-7474.
