Recall Elections

Three years ago, Madison Nguyen became the fresh new face of Vietnamese American politics, an upward-bound city politician in San Jose. She was splashed on magazine covers; the chosen one who seemingly held the hopes of the city's emerging Vietnamese community. Now she is in a fight for her political career, targeted by Vietnamese Americans who believe she has betrayed them. Voters will decide on Tuesday whether to unseat the 34-year-old councilwoman.

In what may be the first attempt in California to unseat an entire school board, high school students and supporters who want to oust all five members collected enough signatures to put the issue before voters, the Tuolumne County clerk said Friday. The students organized the recall campaign as a civics project after the board of the Big Oak Flat-Groveland Unified School District voted to get rid of their popular math teacher, a former professional football player.

When the school board in this rural community voted to get rid of popular math teacher Ryan Dutton in September, the students at Tioga High School were so upset, the entire school boycotted class the next day. Then they decided to save his job. What started as a civics class project soon became much more: a campaign to remove all five board members of Big Oak Flat-Groveland Unified School District.

Maywood voters will go to the polls today to decide whether to recall three of five City Council members and adopt an ordinance that would boost the qualifications for police chief and discourage nepotism in city hiring practices. Supporters of the recall drive and Measure M said their campaign stemmed from the council's decision in February to appoint Al Hutchings, who was convicted of theft and resigned from the Los Angeles Police Department, as the city's interim police chief.

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen rejected on Tuesday a petition submitted by the state prison guards' union for a recall campaign against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, saying it did not meet legal requirements. In a letter to Mike Jimenez, president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn., an aide to Bowen said the petition, submitted Sept. 29, failed to include the response Schwarzenegger filed nearly two weeks earlier to the union's intention to try to recall him.

California's powerful prison guards union overwhelmingly reelected its president here Thursday after a contentious race that became a referendum on the group's decision this month to launch a recall campaign against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Though there had been some dissension among members about the recall, 447 union delegates who voted at the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn.

Carson voters have let embattled Mayor Jim Dear keep his job -- at least for six more months. Opponents of Dear who accused him of being in the pocket of developers saw their recall measure defeated in Tuesday's special election by roughly 1,200 votes. Only about 7,600 voters cast ballots. Dear, who received large contributions from developers for his campaign, said he is pro-development because it makes economic sense for his city. "Essentially this recall election is the kickoff to my reelection campaign," Dear said.

Residents went to the polls Tuesday to decide if Mayor Jim Dear will stay in office. The special recall election was ordered by the City Council in May after a judge ruled that Carson Citizens for Reform, a pro-recall group, had collected enough signatures and that the election should proceed. Four candidates are seeking to replace Dear if he is recalled: former mayors Michael Mitoma and Gilbert D. Smith, former planning commissioner Oscar B. Ramos and resident Adrianus Hoogendam.

President Evo Morales appeared to have won a sweeping victory Sunday in a nationwide recall election that the leftist chief of state crafted as a means of consolidating support against fierce conservative opposition. Partial unofficial results based on quick counts at polling places indicated that between 56% and 63% of voters cast ballots in favor of Morales and Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera, according to local television stations. Those totals easily exceeded the 46.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will beef up its presence on Malibu's beaches this weekend in response to online threats of continued violence involving paparazzi and locals, officials said Wednesday night. The decision to add extra officers to the half a dozen who normally patrol the city's 27-mile shoreline came after investigators reviewed hundreds of messages on the gossip websites X17 and TMZ. "The common theme seems to be that one of the weekend days the two sides are going to come together," said Capt.