Spellman's preliminary recall response submited to County Elections Office

District 5 Supervisor Darren Spellman's response to the recall petition is due at the County Election Dept on Tuesday March 5, 2012. When he completed comprising his response he submitted his response to media outlets. The following is his response:

Recall Response (March 2012)

Legally it only takes twenty unhappy voters to file recall paperwork, but I will never make excuses for defending the thousands who elected me, rather than seeking approval from the political in crowd.

The voters want lasting solutions, not just band-aids, for important issues in our county.

Letter from Sharon Romano re:Spellman recall response

I see that you have a link on the Copper Gazette to Spellman’s Calaveras West Blog post, “Russ Thomas recall scoundrels exposed,” which is full of inaccuracies and, as his style, full of name calling. I would like to make sure you have the entire timeline and the background story that’s going on.

Spellman response to recall via Spellman Blog

http://calaveraswest.com/2012/02/29/russ-thomas-for-supervisor-recall-scoundrels-exposed/

Letter from Tilman Sherman re: Spellman served with intent to circulate recall petition

There are a lot of misunderstandings about the recall process. To legally sign

the petition to recall Spellman, you must be a registered voter and live in

the “old” District 5. In order to sign you need not have voted for Spellman,

nor voted at all in the election that brought him to office. Getting the

required number of signatures on the petition doesn’t recall Spellman, it puts

the matter on the ballot. Candidates wishing to replace Spellman for the

remainder of his term will also appear on the ballot. Should the recall be

successful, the supervisorial candidate with the greatest number of votes will

immediately replace Spellman.

The recall committee has carefully timed this recall effort to get the issue on

the November 6 general election ballot, so it will NOT be necessary to hold a

costly special election.

The recall committee is looking for additional people who are willing to

circulate petitions, distribute literature, and put up flyers. The recall

committee is making every effort to minimize expenses, however would

gratefully accept donations to help cover costs of publishing the required

legal notices, printing petitions, and other necessary expenses.

More details about why this recall is necessary, information about Spellman’s

poor performance, and how to sign up to help with the recall may be found

at www.RecallSpellman.com. You may also call (209) 890-9939, or send an

email to info@recallspellman.com.

You can make a difference! Take action – sign, walk, call, donate!

SAN ANDREAS, CA, FEBRUARY 28, 2012: Just prior to Tuesday’s Board of

Supervisor’s meeting, Darren Spellman was served with the “Notice of Intent

to Circulate Recall Petition.” The proponents of the new recall (those

initiating the intent to recall) are Valley Springs and Copperopolis

constituents of the former District 5 that elected Spellman in November

2010.

Recall signatures fall short

According to Becky Andahl from the Calaveras County Elections office the amount of signatures collected on the petitions for the recall of Supervisor Darren Spellman equalled 1336. The signatures will not be verified or checked for duplicates due to the fact that the number required for a recall was not met.
There is no comment at this time from Michael McDaniel regarding the outcome of the recall effort.

County Elections Office still awaiting signatures

As of 1605 hours the Calaveras County Elections Office was still awaiting the recall signatures for the recall of Supervisor Darren Spellman.
According to sources the amount of signatures collected to date varies between 1200 and 1600, with a total of 1702 valid signatures needed.
The elections office stated that whether the amount of required signatures was reached or not, the paperwork with all the signatures collected must be submitted.
The Elections Office will have a count of signatures by noon 11-29-11.

Last Day for Spellman Recall

The deadline for the collections of signatures for the recall of District 5 Supervisor Darren Spellman is today, 11-28-11 at 5:00 pm.

According to statments made in the press over the past few weeks by Michael McDaniel, former District 5 Supervisor hopeful and one of the leaders in the forefront of the recall, the numbers needed have not been met. McDaniel and recall supporters have until November 28, 2011 to collect 1702 valid signatures of registered voter residents within the previous District 5. “Our goal is to collect 2000” said McDaniels, hoping to offset the possible invalid signature potential.

There has been no reply from Michael McDaniel as to the progress of the petition.

Spellman recall tables set up in Copper

Over the weekend a few stations were set up throughout town to collect signatures to recall District 5 Supervisor Darren Spellman; one manned by recall supporters and one manned by former District 5 Supervisor Russ Thomas at the Lake Tulloch Shopping Center.

As early as July 2011 Rancho Calaveras resident Michael McDaniel, 64, stated that he would begin a recall effort to remove Supervisor Darren Spellman from office. By 8-29-11, in a telephone interview with Michael McDaniel he stated that the recall had been “approved and on the move (the County) has approved our petition and verbiage and have given us the green light to start collecting signatures.”

Recal supporters have until November 28, 2011 to collect 1702 valid signatures of registered voter residents within the previous District 5. “Our goal is to collect 2000” said McDaniels, hoping to offset the possible invalid signature potential.

In a recent statement to the Calaveras Enterprise McDaniel said that the number of signatures collected to date in the Rancho Calaveras area was estimated at approximately 1000 with another couple of hundred from the Copperopolis area.

To contact Darren Spellman email dspellman@co.calaveras.ca.us

To contact Michael McDaniel email survivormicusmc@gmail.com

To contact Russ Thomas rthomas@gossamercrossing.com

Copper Gazette comes under fire from Michael McDaniel

Recently the Copper Gazette has come under fire for reporting what Michael McDaniel claims to be “spurious mis- information” regarding the Spellman recall effort.

In an effort to report true and factual information the Gazette utilizes direct quotes from parties involved and documented information from the County elections office. However, it is not uncommon that once a person sees in writing their verbal response to a question they have misgivings about their response.

On October 20, 2011 the Gazette asked McDaniel to clarify what, if any, was the state’s involvement in the recall process, with regards to a comment he had left on the Copper Gazette referring to “state experts (advising) our local officials.” McDaniel responded, “Madeline (County Clerk Recorder) checked with the state to clarify as how a recall should be done in relationship to a district undergoing boundary changes. If it fell under the new boundary lines we would be well on our way to an election recalling Spellman, as our numbers from this side of old district five are going Like gang busters. Copper area being harder because people feel they already got rid of him. Also bad reporting with unsupported facts like the cost of the election and changes in the recall effort without verifying facts just adds to it. But then again maybe that is your goal?  Not sure at this point. Any time you report anything regarding me without verifying it with ME Your crossing a thin line.”

The Gazette asked for McDaniel to verify what he meant by ‘your crossing a thin line’. No response was received at the time of this writing.

According to McDaniel's reference to issues, the issue began when the Copper Gazette printed an article containing a statement from previous District 5 Supervisor Russ Thomas claiming that he was “taking the lead” for the recall effort. Both McDaniel and Thomas deny this claim. On October 7, 2011 in a telephone interview Russ Thomas stated he was taking the lead and was waiting for the paperwork. He also expressed disappointment at the lack of coverage in the Gazette for recall booths in Copper. At the time of Russ' call the Gazette was not aware of any such booth to date in Copper.

On October 8, 2011 Thomas, educated in political campaign laws, paid cash for a space at the Parks and Recs Flea Market, an open air sale for household items, and set up a recall booth possibly putting the 501c3 in jeopardy. When the Copper Gazette pointed out the jeopardy Thomas may have put the organization in he did not respond. Mr Reid, a spokesperson for Parks and Rec was asked about the possible jeapardy, he stated, “We were unaware of the potential damages that could incur. We are very sorry if this offended anyone and it will never happen again at a CP& R function.”  McDaniel signatory on the petition for recall and educated in campaign laws, declined to comment regarding knowledge of the booth. 

Spellman Recall effort sees new leadership

The effort to recall District 5 Supervisor Darren Spellman saw new leadership last week when former District 5 Supervisor Russ Thomas stepped up to the plate and "took the lead" in the recall effort. The effort originally was spearheaded by Valley Springs resident Michael McDaniel who lost a bid for the District 5 Supervisor seat in 2006 to Thomas. Thomas, a longtime political activist and Copperopolis resident, was unseated by Spellman in 2010 by the voters of District 5 by a margin of 13%. Thomas and McDaniels, former political advesaries, are now allied on the recall effort.

In a recent interview regarding the recall effort McDaniels stated "all I can say at this point is that it is going very well" and that his "total commitment right now is to gather the needed signatures and that can only happen if every citizen in Copperopolis realizes the importance of this recall and finds a person with a petition and signs it."

Questions have arisen lately as to the legalities of the who can and who cannot sign the petition. While McDaniels stated that the recall effort had been cleared by the state and county personnel for correctness, the question remains, if the Board of Supervisors approved the new district boundaries at the July 12, 2011, BOS meeting, would the filing of the recall paperwork in early August and final clearance by the County August 26, 2011actually be limited to registered voters within the new District 4.

July 12, 2011 ORDINANCE adopting the adjustment of the boundaries of supervisorial districts as

required by Election Code Section 21500; Technology Services.

According to the California State Association of Counties "An ordinance is a local law adopted with all the legal formality of a statute." A statute is most often effective at the day following the adoption with some special implementation restrictions for certain ordinances. According to Spellman, this particular ordinance was effective 30 days from the majority vote.


To contact:
Darren Spellman dspellman@co.calaveras.ca.us
Michael McDaniel survivormicusmc@gmail.com
Russ Thomas rthomas@gossamercrossing.com
Calaveras County Elections Madaline R. Krska, County Clerk  (209) 754-6376; (209) 754- 6733

By, C. Maness

More interest in District 5 seat if recall succesful

The number of interested parties for the possible position vacated by a successful recall effort of District 5 Supervisor Spellman is growing. Currently those that have publicly made their announcements of interest are Michael McDaniel, Marti Crane and most recently David Tunno.

 Michael McDaniel, the driving force for the Spellman recall, is a community activist and Vietnam veteran. McDaniel claims that Spellman has not completed the job he was hired to do. His current goal is to “get the signatures” needed to recall Spellman, stating that, “As long as there are qualified people to run, which there seems to be, I will not run. None of this is even relevant if we do not reach our 1,702 signatures by Nov 28.” He further stated, “I want to make it very clear that I will not approve or disapprove of anyone. I'm not hand picking anyone.”

Marti Crane, a Volunteer center of Calaveras County Executive Director, feels she brings to the table a “keen sense of community and (an ability to) develop collaborative working relationships.” Receiving the coveted 2011 Calaveras County Female Senior of the Year award, reinforced the notion that though she has served, she has also been mentored and feels “it’s time to move forward and give back what so many have shared with me.” Mrs. Crane also has stated that, “We all work from the same budget – it’s one (county) budget. Just because we have districts, that does not mean that we have to have boundaries.”  

David Tunno, a prolific author of investigative articles ranging from FEMA issues to CALPERs, and an experienced researcher of human responses in the legal realm, has recently thrown his hat in the ring as “a choice for his (Spellman’s) replacement.” With little background history in his press release, Tunno states he will set up a website for more information and promises a “surprise announcement” included in his candidate statement on the ballot material.

Calaveras Taxpayers Association - remaining non-political

Recently, with the District 5 seat in question, the Copper Gazette approached the Calaveras Taxpayers Association and asked if support for a candidate or the recall effort was forthcoming from their association. Their response was:

“We are issue oriented supporting honesty, transparency and limited - constitutional government. We try to be respectful to all our elected leaders and candidates.

In the case of recall, CCTA would favor this if there was evidence of wrong doing or fraud. In the case of the current recall effort, we are neutral as we see no evidence of laws broken and encourage maximum public communication between the sides. Our members have varied opinions on this subject.

David Tunno has done extensive work exposing the FEMA and CalPERS problems in our county and CCTA has helped promote his work in those efforts. Although he is not part of CCTA leadership, we frequently agree with positions he has expressed before the Board of Supervisors. CCTA has been appreciative of several positions Darren Spellman have expressed in support of the constitution, property rights and limited government.

If the CCTA President or officers announced who they favored, we would tend to lose our status as a non-political citizen advocacy group. If we are successful in our educational efforts on issues, the public will be better informed and may tend to support the best candidate supporting those issues.”

Spellman response to David Tunno

On 9-21-11 the Copper Gazette wrote Supervisor Spellman
Dear Darren,
This evening Mr David Tunno announced that he would run for the District 5 Supervisor seat if the recall efforts against you were successful.
Do you have any comment?

On 9-21-11 Darren Spellman responded:
I shouldn't be surprised, but I am disheartened.
David Tunno is an intelligent person and I have known for some time that he harbored ambitions to run for office and I suspected he might run against me in the next election.
Because David is admittedly smarter than I am and well versed in the legal profession I know he finds my "guy next door" mentality to be annoying and beneath public office, but considering his perspective is based on the far away world of Los Angeles where he moved to this county from only 2 short years ago, I can see why he thinks the way he does. Things are much different in Los Angeles than they are in Calaveras County.
I grew up in a small rural farming town in San Joaquin County and live in a rural town today. My small town habits of "calling 'em like I see them" and admittedly being less than polite to politicians that are fleecing my friends and neighbors may not be gentrified or polished like the Lawyers he is used to working with, but we live in a small rural county and people are not so concerned as much with their elected representatives being polished as much as they are concerned about them being down to Earth and honest.

Recall Concerns Still Abound

The process of recalling an elected official has been available to voters since 1911. Specific grounds for recall are required in only eight states – California is not one of them, any registered voter can begin a recall campaign for any reason. Furthermore, ALL names of the signers of the recall petition are public information.

Russ Thomas, previous District 5 Supervisor, is in support of the Spellman recall effort stating that, “Darren Spellman has proven himself to be a recalcitrant public official.  His frequently-reported public actions justify his removal.” While Betsy Duncan, Real Estate Agent and community activist stated that she is opposed to a recall “because it is costly and divisive during a time when we cannot afford either. Also because he (Spellman) has not done anything egregious.”

If the recall effort, that could possibly cost the taxpayers up to $30,000, comes to fruition, then a candidate for the vacant position must run for that office at an additional expense to the taxpayers. Currently there are two candidates that have publicly announced their interest in running for the vacated District 5 seat if the recall effort succeeds: Marti Crane and Michael McDaniel.

Marti Crane, executive director of the Volunteer Center of Calaveras County, was recently quoted in the Calaveras Enterprise as saying, ““We all work from the same budget – it’s one (county) budget. Just because we have districts, that does not mean that we have to have boundaries.”

Recall is a Go – Interview with Michael McDaniel

In a telephone interview 8-29-11, Michael McDaniel, the driving force behind the  Supervisor Spellman recall effort, stated that the recall has been “approved and on the move.”

According to McDaniel, Calaveras County “has approved our petition and verbiage and have given us the green light to start collecting signatures.”

McDaniel and recall supporters have until November 28, 2011 to collect 1702 valid signatures of registered voter residents within the previous District 5. “Our goal is to collect 2000” said McDaniels, hoping to offset the possible invalid signature potential, saying that supporters of the recall don’t want anything “to hamper the recall” effort.

When asked when signature collection would begin, McDaniels stated, “Signatures will begin to be collected by the end of this week.” He also asked for those who wished to become involved to contact him at 981-7200.

In an earlier interview with Supervisor Spellman, Spellman felt that the recall effort was hampering his effectiveness as a Supervisor, stating, “There are so many things I am working on, it (the recall effort) takes away from my ability to be as effective as I could be.” He also asked that voters contact him with any questions and wishing to dispel rumors, he says, “talk to me.”

Spellman can be reached via email at  dspellman@co.calaveras.ca.us