Recall Campaign Jolts Glendora

Glendora has a reputation as a folksy community. A place renowned for its bougainvillea vines, old-style downtown and antique shops.

High school basketball, and bears and deer wandering into town are what usually count for excitement.

But a recall campaign against three City Council members has jolted the once sleepy town into the political fast lane.

By a simple majority, Mayor John Harrold and councilmen Richard Jacobs and Paul "Sonny" Marshall could be ousted from office Tuesday in the community of 49,415, set in the foothills 27 miles east of Los Angeles.

The three are advocates of slow growth in a 19.5-square-mile city traditionally favorable to developers of upscale homes in its foothills.

Glendora Citizens for Responsible Government accuses the three of abusing their power since becoming the governing majority on the five-member council last spring.

"It's a sad mess they've made of the city," said Bob Kuhn, a former mayor and recall advocate. "They kicked out dozens of volunteer city commissioners to make way for their cronies. They fired a popular city manager and secretly hired a city attorney."

The recall group has raised more than $200,000 in its effort to oust the three men, making for plenty of lawn signs and mailers. That is nearly 10 times as much as the incumbents have garnered.

Art Ludwik, one of the owners of Glendora-based Rainbird Sprinkler Manufacturing Corp., and his wife have contributed and loaned the recall campaign about $80,000.

"The same arrogance and brashness that led 7,400 registered voters to sign the recall petition has led to a broad range of contributors to give to the campaign," said Doug Tessitor, the recall committee's spokesman.

Harrold, Jacobs and Marshall, however, say the recall is driven by a small group of development-friendly leaders.

"This is a recall election engineered by an arrogant elitist ruling class from their country club," said Jacobs, a retired professor of environmental studies at Cal Poly Pomona.

Jacobs doesn't like his chances in the election. "It is a beautiful test," he said. "I think they are going to win. Money does win elections."

On their anti-recall Web site, the three categorize their critics as "The Fat Cats" and "The Sore Losers." They warn: "Don't Let Wealthy Developers and Special Interests Buy Glendora's City Council." The three portray themselves as the protectors of the foothills that have gradually disappeared as homes climbed up the canyons in recent years. They also seek to capitalize on the city's class and geographic divides.