The Union: Recall launched against trustees

Simmons and Klein target for recall
By Dave Moller, davem@theunion.com
May 31, 2006

Sierra College Trustees Aaron Klein and Jerry Simmons, who helped oust former president Kevin Ramirez, were affixed to the political bull's-eye themselves Tuesday in the form of a recall.

The Placer County elections office confirmed that a notice of intent to recall the pair was filed. Klein said the recall was an 11th-hour attempt to scuttle the Placer County supervisorial campaign of Simmons against longtime incumbent Robert Weygandt.

Klein said the 10 people who signed the recall notice are, "a collection of supporters of Simmons' opponent (Weygandt) and the election is just seven days away. It's a politically-motivated recall that will fizzle out just like the last one."

Shortly after Ramirez stepped down in January of 2005, under a cloud of political fund misuse allegations from Klein and Simmons, an attempt to recall Klein failed.

The Union was unable to locate Simmons for comment Tuesday.

"My campaign is not involved in this," Weygandt said Tuesday. "If that were true it wouldn't explain half of the recall effort. We're focusing on my election and my record."

However, Weygandt said, he endorses the recall.

"It's justified and warranted," he said.

Recall intent signer and former Placer County Supervisor Rex Bloomfield said the recall was indeed political as Klein said.

"The voters need to know what type of person he (Simmons) is before they vote," Bloomfield said. "He attacked a distinguished president of the college for personal gain."

College journalism instructor Kent Pollock, who sent a press release about the recall to The Union, agreed.

"It would be irresponsible for (the signers) not to share their feelings with the voters," Pollock said. "Everywhere (Simmons) goes, conflict follows."

Pollock said Simmons has tried to muzzle board detractors amongst the college faculty and was using his college trustee position as a springboard for higher office. He said most of those signing the recall intent were fellow Republicans of Klein and Simmons.

Rocklin Mayor George Magnuson said he signed the recall intent because, "I'm concerned that the reputation of the college seems to be going downhill. I'm very disturbed about the morale problems they're having," ostensibly, he said, caused by Klein and Simmons.

During Klein's race for the college board in 2004, he and Simmons said Ramirez had laundered and misused more than $100,000 to get a college bond issue passed. Ramirez denied that allegation.

In late March of this year, the Placer County Grand Jury disputed the pair's charges against Ramirez, saying they were "utterly without merit." The grand jury said Klein brought the allegations to them before fully investigating and, "the facts speak in total opposition to the complaint."

The grand jury said the college foundation failed to report all the donations it received to pass the bond issue, but had done so out of inexperience and not because of some political conspiracy.

Klein, who represents the Colfax and Nevada City areas for the college, said that statement proved something was amiss and the violations were not minor as the grand jury indicated.

"The Ramirez issue is long since over," Klein said Tuesday. "I'm focused on the future and our budget is balanced for the first time in four years."

It was unclear late Tuesday just how many voters signatures will be needed to get the recall on a ballot. Robin Bjerke at the Placer County Elections Office said that 10 percent of its registered voters, or about 17,500, would have to sign under state law.

Because Nevada County has between 50,000 and 100,000 voters, 20 percent would have to sign here, Bjerke said. That would be 12,717 signatures from the county's 63,583 registered voters.

The college district takes in all of Placer and Nevada counties and a portion of Sacramento and El Dorado counties, but Bjerke was unsure how many voters in those counties would need to sign for the recall to succeed.

The formal recall intent notice said college enrollment and foundation contributions have declined since Klein and Simmons targeted Ramirez.

Sierra College public information officer Sue Michaels said there has been a decline in enrollment, but it also may have been because college tuition has increased. She said the foundation could not run down contribution figures late Tuesday and would have them in the near future.

To contact senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@ theunion.com or call 477-4237.