Carson Mayor Jim Dear has a name for the row of photographs of his predecessors at City Hall: "The wall of shame."
"It's incredible the amount of corruption we've had over the decades," said Dear, who was elected in 2004 on a promise of reform after former Mayor Daryl Sweeney was convicted in a bribery scheme.
But now Dear finds himself the target of a recall election led by opponents waging what they call a "David and Goliath battle" against the mayor, whom they accuse of favoritism and cozying up to developers.
"My philosophy is that you can't serve the many when you're financed by the few," said former Mayor Vera Robles DeWitt, one of the leaders of the recall campaign.
Dear acknowledges that he is pro-development but said that is not the same thing as being corrupt.
"It's almost like a bad movie, where all of the villains have gotten together and are trying to get me out of office," he said.
Both campaigns have their work cut out for them. Officials expect a low turnout in Tuesday's election, with less than 10% of the city's registered voters expected at the polls.
As a result, dozens of volunteers on both sides of the recall effort have spent the last few days canvassing neighborhoods, campaigning door to door, trying to win over high-propensity voters.
"With a low turnout, we need to concentrate on these people because the average person is not going to be voting," Dear said.
"Walk and call and walk and call," Barbara Post, a pro-recall supporter, said last week in explaining the group's campaign strategy. "We have a solid group of people that are so dedicated to walking."
The recall is the culmination of a two-year effort, much of it rooted in legal battles by residents suspicious of the mayor's relationship with developers.
They are particularly critical of the large campaign donations Dear has received from developers and other business groups such as Watson Land Co., which contributed $36,000, and Hopkins Real Estate, which gave $15,000. Dear has collected at least $125,000 in total contributions.
Carson Citizens for Reform submitted 12,000 voter signatures last year in support of the recall campaign but fell 86 signatures shy after Dear organized his own campaign that resulted in hundreds of withdrawal cards from petitioners.
But Citizens for Reform sued, arguing the withdrawal cards were invalid. A judge ruled in May that the group had collected enough valid signatures and the recall election could proceed. Organizers of the effort said they are operating on a shoestring budget.
