Group Again Serves Fox With Recall Papers

THOUSAND OAKS — Because of a procedural error, the committee looking to recall Thousand Oaks Councilman Andy Fox had to serve him with another set of papers Tuesday, a week after its initial attempt.

Tommi Denney, one of the leaders of a group of slow-growth activists, had to serve Fox a second time at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting because they gave him the original copy of the 21 recall signatures they needed to begin the effort.

According to state election laws, the original must be filed with the city clerk’s office; the elected leader should receive a photocopy.

Kitty Radler, one of the organizers of the recall drive, which also seeks to oust Mayor Judy Lazar, said the committee made the same mistake when serving Lazar last week.

After the organizers discovered their error, Radler said, the group wrote letters to Fox and Lazar asking for the originals to be handed over to the city clerk. Lazar complied, but Fox told his detractors that he had lost the document--a story they find extremely unlikely, she said.

“Judy Lazar had the class to return them,” Radler said. “Andy Fox claims he lost them, and we had to get the [other] 20 signatures again, which was no problem.”

Fox said Tuesday that he, indeed, could not find the papers but added that he had not looked very hard.