Dateline Carson – And then there were eight – days until the slightly bizarre recall election against plain-talking City Clerk Jim Dear.
“I have a good feeling we will prevail,” says Vera Robles DeWitt, principal organizer of the second recall attempt against Mr. Dear and a long-running critic.
“People have really rallied.”
Problem is, the perceived wider, louder opposition to Mr. Dear – transcending the badly failed ’08 recall try – is not quantifiable, not that polls necessarily are a drop-dead barometer.
How can Ms. DeWitt tell that enthusiasm and commitment to the cause are stronger than ’08?
“By the number of people who are calling and stopping by to pick up signs or to walk precincts,” she says.
Critics of Mr. Dear can reel off a bushel of reasons that he should be driven from the city clerk’s office after serving as mayor of Carson for more than a decade.
Two of the most popular:
- That probes have demonstrated that Mr. Dear allegedly has mistreated employees, and
- That he is guilty of ethics violations, having won the job because it pays five times the salary of the mayor’s chair and gives a healthy boost to his city pension benefits.
Ms. DeWitt said Mr. Dear openly boasted about the financial benefits that awaited him in the clerk’s office, and that, she said, is just it right.
The Carson City Council – rife with Dear critics – last month asked the County District attorney to investigate Mr. Dear for having defeated the incumbent city clerk under an ethical cloud – a challenge that may resemble trying to trap smoke with one hand,
Ms. DeWitt said her side has a good excuse for ‘08’s lopsided failure. Litigation by recall proponents consumed a year’s time. By then, too many anti-Dear voters had lost interest, she said.
On April 18, 2008, in the midst of the recall campaign, the following story appeared in the Los Angeles Times:
A longtime Carson activist, whose head-smack of a political opponent was captured on video and spread worldwide on YouTube, reached a settlement Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Compton to avoid criminal prosecution and the possibility of a six-month jail sentence.
The 43-second video clip of last year’s Carson City Council meeting shows Vera Robles DeWitt giving then-Public Works Commissioner Jan Schaefer a swat on the back of her head with a handful of papers after she passed the commissioner in the aisle of the council chamber. After a brief pause, Schaefer screams and tumbles from her seat to the floor.
Under the settlement, Ms. DeWitt agreed to be put in an 18-month diversion program, under which she will pay $1,500 in restitution costs, take 52 hours of anger management classes and participate in 100 hours of community service. A restraining order issued against Ms. DeWitt must be resolved in civil court with attorneys for Ms. Schaefer.
“She’s glad the situation is behind her,” said attorney Robert S. Ernenwein, who represents Ms. DeWitt. “This was ridiculously overblown.”
Ms. DeWitt owns Carson Bail Bonds and is a former city mayor.
