People Are Asking: Who Are the Recallers?

by Jack McCurdy

Who are the recallers? More and more people in Morro Bay seem to be asking that question, confounded by the vitriol and false charges that have been hurled against Mayor Jamie Irons. Who would do that in a small, friendly, and pleasant community like Morro Bay? (See: Council Majority Attacked)

One thing is clear: the people seeking to recall Irons are not your common folk of Morro Bay. They are 70% Republican while the voter registration in Morro Bay is a clear majority of 39.8% Democratic, with 31.5% Republicans, a nearly 33% majority over Republicans. These data show the recallers are a small minority. They are members of a Republican Party manipulated by the Tea Party, who admittedly don't believe in majority decision-making. Yet they are trying to oust the mayor — who as a Democrat represents the majority of residents — and, in effect, take over the City Council.

They are well-heeled and are used to dominating Morro Bay. (See: Is Money Behind the Recall Effort?)

Presumably, the recallers for the past three months have been circulating flyers, calling on people to sign the recall petitions and going door to door to qualify the measure for for the ballot. There has been little reported evidence that they have gone door to door or made phone calls to residents.

If they haven't, time is getting very short — or it may have run out as far as time for effort. The deadline for submitting signed petitions to the City Clerk is Thursday, January 16. They need to submit a whopping 1,754 signatures of registered voters with only two weeks to do so.

Then the City Clerk has 30 days to check the validity of those signatures and if valid, the petitions could be presented to the City Council on February 25 and reportedly no later than March 7. If the petitions are certified between January 29 and March 7, the recall election must be scheduled on June 3, the date of the statewide primary election. Recallers had said they wanted a special recall election in order to remove Irons forthwith, regardless of the cost to taxpayers, and not wait until his term expires in December.

But if the petition is turned in and certified before January 29 or after March 7, then it cannot be held on June 3 and a special recall election would need to be called, the city clerk's office said.

Signers of the First Recall Petition and Their Party Affiliations

William Peirce, REP
Ronald Burkhart, REP
Coy S. House, DEM
Gary L. Owens, REP
Keith Taylor, NPP (NO PARTY PREFERENCE)
Hank Roth, IND
John W. Lewan, DEM
Gayle B. Bickford, REP
Richard Grantham, REP
Joseph T. Attinello, REP
Danny R. Costley, REP
Lupe G. Sylvester, REP
Roland A. Kessling, DEM
Bridgett M. Kessling, DEM
Brenda Fennacy, REP
John E. Fennacy, REP
Joanne H. Tobias, REP
James R. Tobias, REP
Meredith Fennacy, REP
Linda L. Donnelly, REP
Justine J. Thomas, REP
David L. Thomas, REP
Maureen Kispersky, DEM
Gretchen Kehler, DEM
Edward James Sylvester, REP
Phillip Kispersky, REP
James Searby, REP
Thomas Pauley, REP
Joli Truelson, AMERICAN INDEPENDENT
John P. Fennacy, REP

(Listing from City Clerk's and County Clerk-Recorder's offices. They are a matter of public record.)

Morro Bay Voter Registration

39.8% are Democrats and 31.5% are Republicans.
See more details at MB City voter registration: