Recall Elections

Surviving an attempt to oust him might have been the easy part for Jim Toledano, Orange County Democratic Party chair, who now faces the task of uniting a deeply split party less than six months before a presidential election. On Tuesday, the day after a close vote to remove him from his post, Toledano said: "Now we have to pick up the pieces. . . . The bottom line is, we have an opportunity to carry Orange County for Bill Clinton, so the job is to mobilize our resources."

Perhaps they were overconfident. After all, it was easy as pie to recall Assemblyman Paul Horcher, so the thought of picking off another enemy lawmaker seemed like no big deal. But in the end, things did not work out so well for the Republicans. On Tuesday, Democratic Assemblyman Michael J. Machado easily defeated a GOP effort to evict him from office.

Under siege by fellow Republicans, Assembly Speaker Doris Allen has dumped an Orange County attorney because of his GOP ties and hired a Los Angeles law firm in the hope of undoing the state party's endorsement of a recall effort against her. Dana Reed, a Newport Beach attorney and former director of the Orange County Transportation Commission, said Wednesday that Allen fired him a day earlier.

Former Rep. Mike Huffington of Santa Barbara announced Thursday that he is not only endorsing the recall of Assembly Speaker Doris Allen (R-Cypress), but will back it financially and walk precincts to help unseat her. Huffington, who narrowly lost a bitterly fought campaign for the U.S. Senate to Democrat Dianne Feinstein last fall, said his decision to back the recall was prompted by Rep.

Former Santa Barbara Congressman Michael Huffington announced Thursday that he is not only endorsing the recall of Assembly Speaker Doris Allen (R-Cypress), but will back it financially and walk precincts to help unseat her. Huffington, who narrowly lost a bitterly fought campaign for the U.S. Senate to Democrat Dianne Feinstein last fall, said his decision to back the recall was prompted by Rep.

The city's political war over the recall of three officials escalated Friday with a court skirmish over just what will be on the recall ballot. The city government requested that Orange County Superior Court either throw out or modify recall advocates' arguments against several advisory measures on the Nov. 7 ballot. Judge William F. McDonald ruled that the matter should be continued until Sept. 1. At issue is what state law allows people or groups to state in their ballot arguments.

Petitions to recall three La Puente councilmen have been rejected by the city clerk for a second time. Meanwhile, the city clerk has approved a separate recall petition against Councilwoman Sally Holguin-Fallon. City Clerk Linda K. Groves has informed Skunk Busters for Better Government that the wording on their petitions do not meet state requirements. The group wants to recall Councilmen Joe V. Alderete , Louis Perez and Edward L. Chavez.

Turning up the heat on Assembly Speaker Doris Allen, the California Republican Party agreed Friday to endorse an attempt to recall the Orange County lawmaker and lend the party's name and financial clout to the effort. The party's board of directors voted 11-0 during a telephone conference call Friday morning to back the recall against the Cypress Republican.

Turning up the heat on Assembly Speaker Doris Allen, the California Republican Party agreed Friday to endorse an attempt to recall the Orange County lawmaker and lend the party's name and financial clout to the effort. The party's board of directors voted 11 to 0 during a telephone conference call Friday morning to back the recall drive against the Cypress Republican.

Residents attempting to recall Agoura Hills City Councilwoman Fran Pavley said their organization has changed its donations policy and will accept contributions from 11 businesses embroiled in a lawsuit against the city. Recall group leader Barbara Murphy said Friday she recently accepted a $200 contribution from one of the businesses, which she declined to identify.