Republican Assembly gave Klein $35,942 to run for the nonpartisan Sierra College board.

Klein recall effort folds
Backers say cost of special vote would be too damaging to college
By: Ryan Sabalow, Journal Staff WriterThursday, March 10, 2005 12:19 AM PST

Aaron Klein
After only a month and a handful of meetings, the group seeking the recall of Sierra College Trustee Aaron Klein has decided to call it quits.Kent Pollock, the part-time Sierra College journalism instructor spearheading the recall effort, issued a press release early Wednesday morning saying his organization had decided a recall wasn't in the best interest of the college.The recall's hefty price tag, estimated to be close to $325,000 - and the controversy associated with gathering signatures and campaigning against the newly elected trustee - would do more harm than good."We can't afford to do any more damage to Sierra College," he said. "A recall would have done so."Klein said Wednesday he was happy that the college could begin to move forward without the distractions of a costly recall effort.

"I am obviously grateful I won't have to spend the time dealing with the recall, no matter how confident I was of the eventual outcome," he said.Pollock said in earlier interviews his group had met several times to discuss the logistics of recalling Klein and was moving to appoint a steering committee to lead the charge against the 26-year-old trustee.The Web sites http://www.recallaaronklein.com/ and http://www.recallaaronklein.org/ had also been purchased, he said.Pollock said the group decided to hold back on its efforts because it would be hypocritical to use the same personal defamation tactics during a recall campaign that he alleges Klein used to paint a negative image of former President Kevin Ramirez."We earnestly, truly want to put this behind us," Pollock said. "No one has a stomach for picking a fight. We want the college to move on."

Even the most vocal of Klein's detractors have lost the recall fever.Joe Medeiros, biology instructor at Sierra College, one of the first to discuss a recall effort, also changed his tune.Medeiros agreed that it's time to move forward, but he's still mistrustful of Klein."He's going to have to prove his merit," Medeiros said. "So far he deserves a D-minus - he's that close to flunking."Klein's supporters say the recall had slim chance of success and was for all the wrong reasons."They were a vocal minority who didn't have enough support," said Sierra College counselor Hank Akana. "The people who voted in Klein ... wouldn't have supported it anyway."

Pollock, Medeiros and others called for Klein's recall in January, saying the trustee had pressured Ramirez to resign because of a right-wing Republican Party conspiracy ultimately led by U.S. Rep. John Doolittle, R-Rocklin.According to financial disclosure statements from the Placer County Elections Department, the Placer County Republican Assembly gave Klein $35,942 to run for the nonpartisan board in November's elections. Klein denies having a partisan agenda, but few can deny he has become a polarizing figure at Sierra College. After sending e-mails and speaking critically of Ramirez to faculty and staff, Klein filed a complaint with the Placer County Elections Department, stating Ramirez had used unethical means to fund campus bond measures. Ramirez denies any wrongdoing, and the complaint has been forwarded to the California Fair Political Practices Commission. The commission has yet to issue a ruling.

Close to a week after Klein filed, Ramirez announced he wished to retire. After nearly a month of closed-door meetings, Ramirez received a $405,000 retirement settlement. He is to remain as "President Emeritus" until this summer, while Morgan Lynn serves as interim president until a replacement can be found.Combined with state retirement benefits, Ramirez is in line to collect more than $10,000 a month for the rest of his life, Sierra College officials said. If Ramirez lived to be 86 years old, he would receive more than $3.5 million from State of California employee paychecks. Klein's critics cited these high costs as reason enough for the recall effort against the newly elected trustee. Soon after retiring, Ramirez received word that he would receive the Harry Buttimer Distinguished Administrator Award - the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a college administrator, further raising the ire of Klein's critics.

In spite of his frustration, Pollock said the bickering at Sierra needs to stop. "Ramirez said he was retiring to get the focus back on the college and its incredible accomplishments," Pollock said in the press release. "We're dropping the recall effort for the same reason. "Klein had similar sentiments."I prefer to look forward to making Sierra College the No. 1 community college in America," Klein said. "It's time to work together. There's no limit what a united Sierra College can achieve."