Eric Perrodin, Lillie Dobson, Craig Cornwell and Alita Godwin recall, Compton, California (2010)

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Compton Mayor and City Council recall
Officeholders
Eric Perrodin Lillie Dobson Craig Cornwell Alita Godwin
Recall status
Did not go to a vote
See also
Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2010 Recalls in California California recall laws Mayoral recalls City council recalls Recall reports

An effort to recall Eric Perrodin, Lillie Dobson, Craig Cornwell and Alita Godwin from their positions as city officials in Compton in Los Angeles County was officially launched in February 2010. The recall effort was abandoned and did not result in a recall election

Background

• Eric Perrodin is Compton's mayor.
• Lillie Dobson is on the Compton City Council
• Craig Cornwell is the city's elected attorney
• Alita Godwin is the city's elected clerk.

Perrodin opponents first began discussing a recall in August 2009.

William Kemp was active with the recall effort.

Perrodin recall

Perrodin angered some in the City of Compton by spearheading an effort to revive the Compton Police Department. In 2004, voters overwhelmingly rejected Measure D, which asked them whether they wanted to re-establish a police department in the city. Currently, policing services are provided to the city under a contract with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.

Perrodin was investigated in 2006 for threatening to violate a local newspaper's first amendment rights after the paper printed an investigative report about a contract given to a Perrodin associate.

On September 5, the Los Angeles Times ran an article about Perrodin headlined, "Compton mayor, whose salary for his part-time post is unusually high, misses many meetings." The article says that Perrodin attended 59 of 162 scheduled sessions of boards and commissions in the year, which means that he missed 64% of them. Perrodin is paid $63,000 for his work as mayor. He also works full-time as a deputy District Attorney.

Dobson recall

The recall notice filed against Lillie Dobson in February 2010 alleged that:

• Dobson voted to re-establish a Compton police department despite voter opposition
• She violated California law and the city charter by voting on contracts and jobs awarded to her campaign contributors
• She supported increased water utility fees.
• She supported Measure L.

Godwin recall

The recall notice filed against Alita Godwin in February 2010 alleged that Godwin failed to conduct city elections in a fair and professional manner.

The recall petition targeting Godwin said:

"During the April 2009 Municipal Election, City Clerk Godwin did not send a sample ballot with an accurate nor complete description of the Measure L ballot initiative....Ms. Godwin also failed to provide Measure L election ballots in both English and Spanish, a violation of California State Election law. [In addition] the Office of the City Clerk does not provide public information to citizens in a professional or timely manner."

Godwin acknowledges that when sample ballots for the April 2009 election were mailed out, that the language on the sample ballots included a limited version of Measure L. Godwin says that when she was informed of the problem, she sent a postcard to residents advising them that the sample ballot was defective. Later, she mailed residents a complete outline of Measure L and City Attorney Craig Cornwell held a special meeting to clear up the confusion caused by the erroneous sample ballots.

Path to the ballot

Recall papers were filed with and rejected by election officials four times since May 2010. The recall group ultimately retained an attorney and filed a fifth set of recall papers in August 2010.

See also

• Recall campaigns in California
• Political recall efforts, 2010
• City of Compton Charter Amendments, Measure L (April 2009)
• Mayoral recalls

External links

• Website of the City of Compton