(May 24) The county of San Bernardino is compensating seven of the county’s cities for hosting landfills or trash transfer stations.
The San Bernardino County Department of Public Works Solid Waste Management Division oversees the operation of the county’s landfills as well as the trash transfer stations for its regional solid waste management system.
According to San Bernardino County Director of Public Works Gerry Newcombe, “The Solid Waste Enterprise Environmental Mitigation Fund was established on May 22, 1989 when the board of supervisors adopted Ordinance No. 3334 which established a $1 per ton surcharge. The fund provides separate accountability of that portion of the tipping fee designated as a resource for addressing solid waste facilities’ impacts on local communities.”
Newcombe continued, “Following the creation of the fund, an agreement defining distribution and use of collected fees was developed and subsequently approved by the Solid Waste Advisory Task Force on September 19, 1991 and the board of supervisors on March 23, 1992. Agreements with each city in the county that had a landfill within its boundary or sphere of influence were subsequently approved. On July 10, 2001, the board approved a fund use policy. In accordance with this policy, projects or programs must reduce, avoid, or otherwise mitigate impacts arising from the operations and management of a county owned landfill or transfer station to be eligible for use of these monies.”
In 2011-12, Colton was provided with $115,523.23 for hosting operations at the Colton Landfill and as of early this week was provided with $64,788 for hosting operations there so far in 2012-13.
In 2011-12, Fontana was provided with $1,563,963.33 for its share of hosting operations at the Mid-Valley Landfill which lies at the border of Fontana and Rialto. As of early this week Fontana had been provided with $1,218,859.02 for hosting operations at Mid-Valley so far in 2012-13.
In 2011-12, Rialto was provided with $1,003,784.73 for its share of hosting operations at the Mid-Valley Landfill. As of early this week Rialto had been provided with $1,326,759.60 for hosting operations at Mid-Valley so far in 2012-13.
In 2011-12, Redlands was provided with $136,825 for hosting operations at the San Timoteo  Landfill. As of early this week Redlands had been provided with $101,444 for hosting operations at San Timoteo Landfill so far in 2012-13.
In 2011-12, Barstow was provided with $36,086.50  for hosting operations at the Barstow  Landfill. As of early this week Barstow had been provided with $28,969 for hosting operations at San Timoteo Landfill so far in 2012-13.
In 2011-12 Victorville was provided with $127,719.50 for hosting operations at the Victorville Landfill. As of early this week Victorville had been provided with $88,905 for hosting operations at the Victorville Landfill so far in 2012-13.
In 2011-12 Twentynine Palms was provided with $7,997.50 for hosting operations at the Twentynine Palms Landfill and Transfer Station. As of early this week Twentynine Palms had been provided with $5,153 for hosting operations at the Twentynine Palms Landfill so far in 2012-13.
This week, at Newcombe’s request, the county board of supervisors appropriated $1,148,919 to endow the Solid Waste Enterprise Environmental Mitigation Fund with enough money to make the final installments of this year’s payments to the seven host cities with a county landfill or transfer station by the end of June.

(May 24) The Al-Nur Islamic Center, a congregation of some 200 Muslims, this week made a major stride in establishing a Mosque in the unincorporated area of San Bernardino County north of Chino, south of Montclair, west of Ontario and east of the Los Angeles County Line.
The county board of supervisors  over the objections of nearby residents gave the congregation approval this week to hold daily prayer meetings involving up to 30 people at a time at a single family residence located at 4797 Phillips Blvd until that property is converted to a mosque.
In February 2012, the board of supervisors on a 4-1 vote gave approval to the center’s conditional use permit application to erect a 7,512-square-foot 262-person capacity mosque on the 1.54-acre property that currently includes the residence, which would be razed to accommodate the house of worship. That approval was conditional upon the mosque converting the existing septic system on the property to discharge into one of the nearby sewage systems maintained by either Chino or Montclair.
Residents of the neighborhood, which involves residential and agricultural properties, under the aegis of a coalition calling itself Save Our Uniquely Rural Community Environment (SOURCE),  in March 2012 brought suit against the county and Al-Nur Islamic Center, maintaining the Mosque violated the California Environmental Quality Act and other environmental laws by not making adequate mitigation for an increase in traffic, sound and effluent around, at and from the property.
Chino, in whose sphere of influence the property lies, supported SOURCE in its objection to the project. Despite that, on  February 6, 2013, the Superior Court issued a ruling finding that the approval was in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act in all aspects except for sanitation. According to the writ that was issued in conjunction with the ruling, the county is required to set aside the environmental finding and all approvals associated with the conditional use permit for the project and prepare an analysis of sanitation that complies with the California Environmental Quality Act. Upon the county’s fulfillment of that condition, work on the Mosque can begin.
“Staff will bring forth a separate item to accomplish this once the appeal period has run and no appeals are filed,” said Tom Hudson, the county’s director of land use services in a report dated May 21.
Last summer, while the lawsuit was yet pending, the congregation applied for an interim operation temporary use permit, known as a TUP to establish a temporary place of worship within the existing 2,200 square-foot residential structure on the property. On September 7, 2012, county land use services staff conditionally approved the TUP, which provided for a maximum occupancy of 30 persons at each of five daily prayer meetings to be held during the hours of: 5 a.m. – 6 a.m., 1 p.m. – 2 p.m., 3 p.m. – 4 p.m., 6 p.m. – 7 p.m., and 8 p.m. – 9 p.m.
On September 17, 2012, two residents of the neighborhood – Carol Yonan and Diane Schumann – filed a timely appeal of the TUP approval. This week, the board of supervisors took up that appeal. County staff reviewed the appeal, said Hudson, who wrote in the May 21 report, “The structure at the project site remains a single-family residence, which fact accords the owner the right to use it within the parameters of that legally established use.” Hudson then referenced California Environmental Quality Act  Class 1 and Class 3 categorical exemptions, which pertain to the use or minor alteration to existing facilities and conversion of small structures, respectively, and stated, “The TUP proposes to establish a temporary place of worship within the existing 2,200 square-foot residential structure with a maximum occupancy of 30 persons. In coordination with the county building and safety division, it was determined that there are no new construction requirements, as the threshold for an assembly occupancy is 50 persons. As such, the proposed temporary use of the existing structure qualifies for both Class 1 and Class 3 categorical exemptions.”
Michael Ruttle, an attorney representing SOURCE asserted that nearby residents had repeatedly asked to be notified of any granting of a TUP and did not receive notice, that the California Environmental Quality Act requires public agencies to assess the environmental impact of actions prior to making any decisions that may have a significant impact on the environment, that a discretionary project cannot be approved without performing environmental review, that the numerous conditions set forth in the conditions of approval should have been met before the TUP was granted and that illegal gatherings have been held at the property and complaints to the San Bernardino County Sheriff and the county’s code enforcement division pertaining to the property have been ignored.
The Al-Nur congregation was represented by attorney Warren Inuoye, who said Al-Nur is in compliance with state laws and locally imposed conditions and is operating legally. “This is the USA. This mosque is entitled to a temporary use permit,” Inuoye said.
Voting 3-1  with Gary Ovitt dissenting and Josie Gonzales absent, the board of supervisors denied Yonan and Schumann’s appeal and upheld the planning staff with regard to the TUP and the planning commission with regard to the mosque approval.

(May 24) The Morongo Basin Transit Authority, which provides bus service in the desert communities of Twenty Palms, including the Marine Base, Yucca Valley, Landers and Joshua Tree, as well as two extentions to Palm Springs, will function on a budget of $2.7 million in fiscal year 2013-14.
The authority was formed on October 16, 1989 by the county of San Bernardino, the city of Twentynine Palms and the town of Yucca Valley, which entered into a joint powers authority to do so.
The transit authority has eight routes:  Route 1 running between Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms; Route 3A, running between the Marine Base and 29 Palms; Route 3B, running through various 29 Palms neighborhoods;  Route 7A, which covers North Yucca Valley;  Route 7B, which serves South Yucca Valley; Route 21, which runs between  Landers and Yucca Valley; and Routes 12 & 15, which run from Morongo Valley to Palm Springs.
The Morongo Basin Transit Authority currently has 36 employees and operates a fleet consisting of 24 buses, all of which operate on compressed natural gas. The MBTA operates two compressed natural gas stations in Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms to support it’s operations and has just completed building an intermodal transportation center in the town of Yucca Valley.
In addition to its fixed routes, the authority  provides five demand response vehicles, which circulate in the communities offering door-to-door service for senior citizens and the disabled. Operation hours during the week extend from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., with limited weekend service provided.
The total operating revenue for the authority in 2012-13 was $2,604,427 and was increased to $2,702,982 in 2013-14.
Administrative costs for 2012-13 were $551,846 and have been increased to $555,563 for 2013-14.
Maintenance costs in 2012-13 were $462,977 and the allowance for maintenance in 2013-14 has been increased to $486,236.
Operation of the vehicles in 2012-13 ran to $1,589,604 and will be increased to $1,661,183 in 2013-14.
The Morongo Basin Transit Authority (MBTA) staff presented the proposed annual budget to the MBTA board at its regular meeting on April 25. That proposed budget was reviewed by the county board of supervisors this week. Approval of the final annual budget is anticipated to occur at the MBTA Board’s regular May meeting.

The county of San Bernardino has renewed its lease with the city of Grand Terrace for the county branch library it maintains in that city.
The San Bernardino County Branch Library for Grand Terrace for more than 20 years has been  located within the Grand Terrace Civic Center adjacent to City Hall.
This week the county board of supervisors extended the current lease term on the 3,500 square feet of space the library occupies  from June 1, 2013 through May 31, 2015 in the amount of $39,060 and added two three-year options to the arrangement.
According to David H. Slaughter, the county’s director of real estate services, “Approval of this item will amend an existing lease for library to extend the term two years through May 31, 2015 for office and library space in Grand Terrace because of the continuing need to provide library services at this location. The total cost in 2012-13 is $18,935 ($1,575 per month x eleven months plus $1,610 per month x one month). Annual lease costs are as follows: June 1, 2013 thru May 31, 2014, $19,320 along with an estimated $11,747 for other costs associated with this lease [and] June 1, 2014 thru May 31, 2015,  $19,740 with an estimated $12,099 for other costs associated with this lease. Other costs associated with this lease include custodial services, which will be paid from the library budget.”
“Slaughter continued, “The old cost per square foot per month was $0.45, monthly rent was $1,575 and annual rent was $18,900. The new cost per square foot per month is $0.46, the new monthly rent is $1,610 and the annual rent is $19,320. The per square foot per month cost of $0.46 is at the low-range for existing facilities in the Grand Terrace area.”
Slaughter added, “This represents a 2 percent annual increase. There are no improvement costs. Custodial service is to be provided by the county. Maintenance and utilities are to be provided by the city. The certificate of liability insurance, as required by the lease, is on file with the Real Estate Services Department. Either party has the right to terminate with 180-days notice. Parking is sufficient for county needs.”

(May 24) This summer a contingent of twelve county inmates will be allowed to serve on a fire crew alongside the county’s firefighters.
The degree of fire hazard is anticipated to be particularly high in the summer of 2013. Simultaneously, the sheriff’s department is being tasked to provide inmate space to accommodate the influx of state prisoners being released by the state of California in keeping with federal mandates to alleviate prison overcrowding as well as state legislation, including Assembly Bill 109 that went into effect in October 2011, sending those convicted of certain non-serious, non-violent, non-sex related crimes to serve their sentences in county jails.
The board of supervisors this week endorsed a memorandum of understanding between the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District to provide for operation and management of a joint county 12-inmate fire crew program which began on May 22, 2013 and will run through May 22, 2014.
According to a joint report from county fire chief Mark Hartwig and county sheriff John McMahon, “The total cost for operation and management of the joint county 12-inmate fire crew program is estimated to be $43,999.03 for the term beginning May 22, 2013 through May 22, 2014 and will be funded through the San Bernardino County Sheriff Inmate Service Units, Inmate Welfare Fund. The Inmate Welfare Fund will transfer $28,748.47 for equipment and tools to the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District’s fiscal year 2012-13 operating budget. The remaining funds of $15,250.56 will be managed by the Inmate Welfare Fund for the purpose of inmate global positioning satellite monitoring. Any additional equipment and tools needed to operate the joint county 12-inmate fire crew program will be requested through the San Bernardino County Sheriff Inmate Service Units Inmate Welfare Committee process. The Memorandum of Understanding is in response to the implementation of AB 109 and resulting inmate realignment to county jails. The joint County 12-inmate fire crew program is intended to enhance the rehabilitation opportunities of program inmates while providing enhanced public safety and improve county government operations for the period commencing May 22, 2013 through May 22, 2014.”

(May 24) BARSTOW—In what is at least partially an outgrowth of the contamination problem in Hinkley, a group called Save Our Schools, represented by the Temecula-based law firm of Johnson & Sedlack, on March 27 sued the Barstow Unified School District Board of Education for its February 26 decisions to close Thomson Elementary and Hinkley School, respectively, following the 2012-13 school year, citing declining enrollment and severe state budget shortfalls.
The school board took the action with regard to Hinkley School, one of the top performing schools in the state, largely on the basis of the mass departure of residents from the community in the face of spreading hexavalent chromium contamination in the area.
According to Johnson & Sedlack, the school district took action that is contrary to environmental law in closing the schools. In making the Thomson and Hinkley closure votes, which passed on separate 5-0 and 4-1 votes, the school board made a finding that the closures are exempt from provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Save Our Schools wants the board’s decision to close both schools vacated, according to the petition filed in Barstow Superior Court.
According to the suit, the closures will result in significant environmental impacts, among them ones to traffic circulation, parking, public safety, noise and air quality, which will burden the other schools in the district being called upon to take in students displaced from Thomson and Hinkley.
A number of the remaining residents in Hinkley are upset over the closure of the school and feel the district is playing into the hands of Pacific Gas & Electric, which has been deemed responsible for the hexavalent chromium contamination and is seeking to persuade residents to leave Hinkley en masse.

(May 17) The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office this week formed a specialized unit to be devoted entirely to prosecuting those alleged to have assaulted law enforcement personnel.
Christened the Crimes Against Peace Officers Unit, the division will consist of two deputy district attorneys and a victims’ advocate.
Whereas historically the district attorney’s office has prosecuted resisting arrest, obstruction of a peace officer and assault on peace officer cases using attorneys from its stable of general assignment prosecutors, district attorney Mike Ramos said the recent increase in violence against police officers justifies the formation of the new unit. He said that the state of California’s move to reduce the state prison population by releasing inmates or transferring them to the custody of the state’s counties had exacerbated the problem.
“Every hour of every day law enforcement officers in San Bernardino County put their personal safety at risk to protect our communities,” Ramos said. “In 2012, in our county alone, over 2,100 peace officers were assaulted, injured, threatened, or interfered with in the performance of their duties. Of these crimes, over 600 were felonies involving physical violence against an officer, use of a weapon on an officer, or threats to kill or injure an officer.
“In the past three years, over 6,000 peace officers in San Bernardino County have been the victims of crimes committed against them simply because they were performing their duty protecting us,” Ramos continued. “Under AB 109 Criminal Justice Realignment this number is likely to increase because more dangerous criminals are being released back into our communities or housed in our local jails than ever before. Criminals who assault peace officers represent a threat not only to the officer, but also to the safety of the entire community, and to the foundations of our criminal justice system. However, the culture of the criminal justice system has at times failed to treat law enforcement officer victims with the consideration and attention they deserve.”
According to Ramos, cases involving violence against police officers have previously gotten short shrift.
“A study by the Violence Against Law Enforcement Officer Research Center (VALOR) revealed several problems common to criminal justice systems including an attitude by some that an officer being assaulted or abused is ‘just part of the job,’ felony crimes against peace officers being issued as misdemeanors, crimes against peace officers being the first charges to be dropped in plea bargaining, cases being settled without the officer’s knowledge or input, and peace officer victims not receiving the same victim services as civilian victims,” Ramos said. “As district attorney I have a responsibility to change this culture in our criminal justice system and ensure that we are doing everything possible to deter, prosecute, and punish those who attack, threaten, or interfere with our law enforcement officers.  I am proud to announce the creation of the Crimes Against Peace Officers (CAPO) Prosecution Unit to help us accomplish these goals.”

(May 17) Former Congressman Joe Baca’s bid for a political comeback was dealt another setback last week when fellow Democrat Pete Aguilar, who is currently Redlands mayor, captured the support of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in his bid to unseat incumbent Republican Gary Miller in California’s 31st Congressional District.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has selected Aguilar as one of five candidates nationwide to be included in its Jumpstart program, which is intended to assist early-emerging Democrats seeking to unseat incumbent Republicans deemed to be vulnerable.
California’s 31st Congressional District stretches from Rancho Cucamonga to Redlands. By the last count, registered Democrats outnumbered registered Republicans there by a margin of 119,964 to 103,904. In 2012, Aguilar made a bid for Congress there but was turned back when three other Democrats – Justin Kim, Rita Ramirez-Dean, and Renea Wickman – entered the primary along with him. The Republicans fielded Miller and former California State Senator Bob Dutton. With the more numerous Democratic vote being divided four ways and the Republican vote being gathered by only two candidates, both Dutton and Miller ended up in the November general election runoff as a result of  California’s open primary system, by which the two top vote-getters, regardless of party, qualify for the general election.
Members of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee believe Aguilar can outdistance Miller in a well-financed one-on-one matchup. That presupposes that in 2014 Aguilar will not need to contend, as he did in 2012, with challengers from his own party. Already, however, three other Democrats have emerged as potential candidates in the 31st – Eloise Gomez Reyes, a first-time candidate who has been active in supporting other Democratic candidates in the past; San Bernardino School Board Member Danny Tillman; and Baca, who was a member of Congress from 1999 until last January, after he was defeated in November by fellow Democrat Gloria Negrete-McLeod in the newly drawn 35th District.
By swinging behind Aguilar early and forcefully through including him as a Jumpstart candidate, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, led by New York Congressman Steve Israel, hopes to convince the other Democrats contemplating runs in the 31st District to withdraw. By appealing both to their party loyalty and demonstrating to them the long odds they face in securing a primary victory against the well funded Democrat – Aguilar – and an equally well funded Miller, the committee believes Reyes, Tillman and Baca can be persuaded to stand down from the 31st District race.
None of this bodes well for Baca, who last year elected not to challenge Miller and instead vie for reelection in the 35th District against Negrete-McLeod. In the 35th, Democrats enjoyed a lopsided registered voter advantage over the Republicans of 114,641 to 65,521. Baca, as a Congressional incumbent with a fundraising advantage over fellow Democrat Negrete-McLeod, appeared destined to an easy victory. Indeed, in the June primary, Baca cruised to what seemed be a more-than-comfortable victory over Negrete-McLeod, 12,619 votes or 47.17 percent to 9,078 or 33.93 percent. A third candidate in the race, Anthony Vieyra polled 5,058 votes or 18.9 percent. Heading toward the November election and into October, a confident Baca was looking ahead to yet another term in the House of Representatives.
In the final weeks before the general election on November 6, however, Negrete-McLeod’s campaign was infused with $3.8 million in donations from a political action committee controlled by Republican New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, which paid for a $2.3 million television advertising blitz during the last week of the campaign. Baca, caught flatfooted and unable to respond in kind to both a bevy of negative hit pieces that attacked him on his record and upbeat mailers that lionized Negrete-McLeod for her service in the California legislature, saw the election slip away, with Negrete-McLeod capturing 61,065 votes or 54.35 percent to his 51,281 votes or 45.65 percent.
Now 66, Baca is unwilling to hang up his political spikes. With the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s endorsement of Aguilar, however, the political world is fast closing in on Baca from all sides. No longer an incumbent, he does not have the fundraising capability he enjoyed for more than thirteen years as a congressman and for seven years before that as a California legislator.
Thus, the prospect of his having to sustain a more than year-long knockdown drag-out fight with Aguilar to merely obtain a berth in the 2014 General Election against Miller is an unpalatable one. Equally daunting is the task of abandoning his contemplated run in the 31st District and locking horns with Negrete-McLeod, who now has the advantage of incumbency, in a rematch of their 2012 contest.

(May 15) Norma Torres comfortably outdistanced Paul Leon in Tuesday’s run-off race to succeed Gloria Negrete-McLeod as California’s 32nd District State Senator.
Torres, a Democrat and incumbent assemblywoman in the  in 52nd Assembly District and a former mayor of Pomona, captured 19,666 votes, or 59.39 percent, in both Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties to Leon’s 13,445, or 40.6 percent.
Leon, a Republican and current mayor of Ontario, fared better in San Bernardino County than he did in Los Angeles County. In his county of residence, he took home 11,513 votes, or 41.21 percent, compared to Torres, who finished in San Bernardino County with 16,424 votes, or 58.79 percent. In Los Angeles County where she lives, Torres pulled down 3,242 votes, or 62.66 percent to Leon’s 1,932 votes or 37.34 percent.
The voter turnout in the special race that was necessitated by McLeod’s successful election to Congress in November was abysmal. In Los Angeles County, where there are 58,134 registered voters within the 32nd District, 5,174 voters participated, both at the polls and by mail ballot. In San Bernardino County, where 284,217 voters are registered in the district, 44,361 participated by voting at their precinct or by mail. Voter turnout district-wide was 14.43 percent.
Despite his loss, by one measure Leon had a very strong showing. Registration in the 32nd leans heavily in favor of the Democratic Party, with 48 percent of registered voters identified as Democrats and 28 percent registered as Republicans.
The district includes all of Pomona,  Bloomington, Fontana, Montclair, Muscoy, Ontario, and Rialto, and parts of Colton and San Bernardino.
To qualify for the runoff, Torres and Leon outpolled four other hopefuls – San Bernardino County Treasurer Larry Walker, Ontario City Councilman Paul Vincent Avila, Pomona Planning Commissioner Ken Coble and Rialto Unified School District Board Member Joanne Gilbert – in March.
Negrete-McLeod’s victory in the November Congressional election, which created the vacancy in the 32nd Senatorial District and brought about the need for the March election and this week’s election, will continue to resound politically and entail election-holding costs as an election, or perhaps two if there is going to be a runoff, must be held to fill the vacancy Torres’ resignation from the Assembly will now require.

(May 17)  SAN BERNARDINO –A tenth San Bernardino municipal official has been targeted for recall.
This week, San Bernardino resident Rey Dandy Lachica had city clerk Gigi Hanna served with a notice of an intent to circulate a recall petition against her.
Previously, a group of San Bernardino residents and business owners led by Scott Beard and Larry Sharp initiated a recall effort against the mayor, all seven council members and the city attorney.
Lachica and Beard maintain there is no connection between the two separate recall campaigns. Beard said he and his group had no beef with Hanna nor with city treasurer David Kennedy.
Beard, in fact, suggested  that Lachica’s effort against Hanna was in some fashion meant to undercut the effort by his group, known as San Bernardino Residents for Responsible Government.
Beard’s reference was to the consideration that Hanna’s opponent in the 2012 race for city clerk,  Amelia Sanchez-Lopez, was backed by San Bernardino City Attorney Jim Penman. Beard suggested that targeting Hanna for recall was intended to remove her from a position of processing the recall filing paperwork at City Hall so that it would be put in the hands of a city bureaucrat who would be opposed to the overall recall effort.
Upon being served with her recall notice, Hanna recused herself from further oversight of the recall process altogether, designating deputy city clerk Linda Sutherland to take up those duties.
In his notice of intent to seek Hanna’s recall, Lachica claims that in her capacity as city clerk, Hanna had engaged in four specific acts or omissions that justified the recall attempt against her. The recall grounds were, Lachica said, that Hanna released information harmful to the city’s position in the bankruptcy filing it made last August, that she allowed Social Security numbers and addresses of city residents to be disclosed in public documents as well as on the city’s website, that her office shrank from issuing citations to illegal businesses and allowed violations of city codes to continue to occur, thereby costing the city “thousands of dollars in fines and penalties,” and that she had not kept accurate minutes of city council meetings.
The recall campaign against the other nine officials is based upon the contention that they have collectively failed the city and its residents by not taking adequate action to prevent the city’s financial collapse. At press time, all of those elected officials had been served with recall notices except councilwoman Wendy McCammack.
If the petitioners succeed in getting 15 percent of the city’s voters to endorse the recall against Mayor Patrick Morris, who is not running for reelection, Penman and Hanna, each of those three officials elected at large will be subject to a recall vote at the regular November election. Petitioners must get 25 percent of the voters in each city ward to qualify the councilman or councilwoman representing those seven  wards for the recall vote.