Sacramento Bee: Recall targets Sierra trustees

In bombshell a week before election, backers of Placer drive accuse college officials of wasting money, hurting morale.
By Kim Minugh -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:01 am PDT Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Placer County leaders launched a recall effort Tuesday against Sierra College trustees Jerry Simmons and Aaron Klein, saying they have wasted taxpayers' money, damaged the institution's reputation and demoralized its employees.

Former county Supervisor Rex Bloomfield, one of 10 people who signed the recall petition, said the trustees are "a malignant cancer that must be removed to preserve the health of Sierra College."

Klein and Simmons, the board president, called the effort a political trick a week before the primary election designed to hurt Simmons' effort to unseat a fellow Republican, incumbent Placer County Supervisor Robert Weygandt.

"Community leaders told me before I filed for this election that Robert Weygandt would play dirty, but I had no idea just how low he could sink," Simmons said in an e-mail.
Weygandt said he knew the recall effort was coming, but played no part in its orchestration.
Some recall backers said their efforts are rooted in concern for the college but acknowledge they don't want Simmons to win the supervisor election.

Weygandt said the unrest at Sierra has driven some of Simmons' critics to assist his campaign. "Certainly, we've been more than happy to use that ... energy but in a way that is perfectly appropriate with a campaign," he said.

The recall effort comes in a race already drawing attention because developer Kyriakos Tsakopoulos, whose family has been a prominent supporter of Democratic politicians, is backing Simmons' campaign.

Also on Tuesday's ballot is a $78.2 million bond measure to repair 40-year-old facilities at Sierra's Rocklin campus. Some have expressed concern that turmoil at Sierra could hurt the bond's chances.

The 10 who signed the recall petition included five current or former county supervisors or mayors.

Though most have expressed support for Weygandt, only two have given financial assistance -- $300 from former Auburn Mayor Cheryl Maki and $100 from former Placer Supervisor Harriet White -- between July 2005 and May 2006, according to campaign financial disclosure forms.
Klein's and Simmons' terms on the Sierra board end in 2008. The recall, intended for the November ballot, is the second such effort aimed at Klein.

At the heart of the debate is the trustees' role in the departure of former college President Kevin Ramirez, which stemmed from Klein's allegations of financial misconduct. Those allegations were rebutted in a March report by the Placer County grand jury. Critics say the ouster itself was financially irresponsible, leading to a $600,000 buyout for Ramirez and the hiring of a new president at a higher salary.

More recently, Sierra employees and community members have said they consider Simmons' leadership style to be intimidating and threatening. Trustee Dave Creek has asked for a board vote next month on whether Simmons should remain president.

Simmons, Klein and their supporters -- including Assemblyman Tim Leslie, R-Tahoe City, and the Placer County Republican Party -- charge that the recall effort has been strategically timed to impact next week's election.

"This recall attempt is being launched by Robert Weygandt's liberal political allies just seven days before election day in an attempt to distract voters from Weygandt's record," Simmons said.
Simmons declined to respond to specific allegations about his leadership.
Klein defended his record as a trustee. "Sierra College is better off for the work I've been doing with trustees (Nancy) Palmer, (Scott) Leslie and Simmons," he said.

Simmons and Klein have seven days to file a response, said Ryan Ronco, county assistant registrar of voters. After several procedural steps, recall proponents have 160 days to collect signatures; Ronco estimates 25,000 to 27,500 will be needed for the recall to qualify.
The 10 signers of the recall petition are Bloomfield, White, Maki, Rocklin Mayor George Magnuson, Placer County Republican Central Committee member Laura Hancock, Lincoln Planning Commissioner Allen Cuenca, former Roseville Mayor Mel Hamel, county agriculture advocate Joanne Neft, retired teacher and former Sierra student body President Shirley Russell and West Placer Municipal Advisory Committee chairwoman Terry Dee Webb.

None of the 10 is a Sierra faculty or staff member, but some at the college are relieved to see the effort.

"I think the community is hearing us when the board wouldn't," said Johnnie Terry, president of the college's faculty senate. "At the depths of despair, the cavalry is showing up."
In February 2004 -- one month after Ramirez left Sierra -- some faculty members began discussing a recall of Klein. They abandoned the effort in March, saying they did not want to engage in the same personal attacks used by Klein.

Some say the recall launched Tuesday is likely to have more success because of the mounting frustration within Sierra and the outside community.

"I think the first one was to put them on notice," said Anthony Maki Gill, president of the college's classified senate and son of Cheryl Maki. "This recall has bipartisan support. … This recall has gained momentum after watching the antics of the last year and a half."
Klein said he is confident this recall will meet the same fate as last year's.
"This one is going to fizzle out like the last one did, if not faster," he said.
Klein and other Placer County figures echoed Simmons' suspicions that the timing of the recall effort is suspect.

Assemblyman Leslie issued a statement slamming the recall as "bogus" and as a "dirty campaign tactic." "This is the lowest type of political maneuver that I have witnessed in all my years of public service," Leslie said.

Dean Forman, chairman of the Placer County Republican Party, issued a statement saying the party stands by Simmons and Klein. Klein is a member of the party's central committee; Simmons serves as secretary.

U.S. Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville, issued a statement Tuesday night that he would oppose the recall because "it will only further distract attention from the issues and priorities on which we should be focused."