County: Patapow recall election could cost $540,000+

A recall election on Poway Unified School District board member Andy Patapow could cost the district over $500,000, according to a county official.

In an email sent to this newspaper, Keith Wilson, who is heading up the effort to recall Patapow from the school board seat he has held for 20 years, said that the recall is going “very well” and that he anticipates getting the required 10,767 signatures needed to get the recall on the ballot by April 1. The signatures need to be obtained and verified by April 26, which is the county-set deadline.

The number of required petition signatures represents 10 percent of the number of registered voters in the district.

If the signature goal is met and the signatures are verified by the county Registrar of Voters Office, an election would be held between 88 and 125 days following verification. Potential replacement candidates would be placed on the ballot as well. Voters would be asked whether a) Patapow should be recalled and, b) if so, which replacement candidate should be elected.

Patapow, who is 80 years old, is up for reelection in November and has said he will not run again.

If the recall effort does gather all required signatures and has them verified as valid by the deadline, it could hold a special election to the recall.

The district woiuld need to hold a special election for the vote, said Elvira Vargas, elections manager for the Registrar of Voters, because it will most likely not be able to make it on the June ballot, depending on if they take 30 days to verify all the signatures. She estimated the cost of the election at between $540,000 and $640,000.

Members of the recall committee include several outspoken critics of the school district, who contend that Patapow should be removed from office because of his role in the passing of the contentious capital appreciation bonds or CABs, because he has never “adequately” explained his votes, because he allegedly received gifts from the bond underwriters who sold the CABs and because he never fired anyone associated with the CABs.

Patapow has denied any wrongdoing. In a statement included in the petition to recall him from office, Patapow wrote “I vote consistent with my conscience, my commitment to the students of this District, and my responsibility to taxpayers,” and “Please do not support this recall. With less than one year remaining on my final term, this is a waste of taxpayer dollars and distracts from serving our kids.”

The recall effort hit a minor speed bump in December after eight of its campaign signs were removed by the city for violating the city’s sign ordinance for being placed too close to city-owned property. It later turned out that some of the signs were not violating code and should not have been removed.

Patapow has also said that he feels that he is being targeted because he, along with two other board members, support Supt. John Collins. The recallers plan to replace him with an anti-Collins board, securing enough votes to have the superintendent fired, Patapow said previously.