Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Recall Committee Activists Ape Sweetwater Union HS District Board

Protesters at press conference to announce recall of Sweetwater Union High School District boardmembers, April 16, 2012
Protesters at press conference to announce recall of Sweetwater Union High School District boardmembers, April 16, 2012

The first signatories of a petition to recall Sweetwater Union High School District trustees Jim Cartmill, John McCann, and Arlie Ricasa gathered at a press conference in front of the district office on the evening of April 16.

The recall committee, formed by members of the activist group named Occupy Sweetwater, had petitions available for Cartmill and Ricasa; however, the petition for McCann is in the final stages of approval at the San Diego County Registrar’s office.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Former Sweetwater superintendent Jesus Gandara and former boardmember Greg Sandoval have been indicted by the district attorney for various charges related to what has been described as a pay-to-play culture in the district. Arlie Ricasa and Pearl Quiñones also face charges but continue to serve as trustees.

Speaking for the recall group, Stewart Payne, one of the five people who initially took complaints to the district attorney’s office, told the assembled press that the trustees should be recalled for “failing to act in the best interest of students.” Payne articulated a number of reasons for the recall effort, including: failure to fire for cause a superintendent that abused his district-issued credit card; improper hiring practices and mismanagement in the cafeteria department that resulted in loss of nearly $500,000.

A major concern for the recall group is campaign contributions from contractors and vendors in the 2008 elections of Cartmill, McCann, and Ricasa. To dramatize the concept, one of the recall group’s members dressed as a contractor and wandered through the crowd handing out cash.

March 31 affidavits released by the district attorney’s office recount this story in connection with campaign contributions and contractors: “He [Hector Romero, president of HAR Construction] additionally reported being with [former] Superintendent Gandara in Mexico when Superintendent Gandara contacted SGI Program Manager Jaime Ortiz [manager in charge of Prop O construction] and solicited a $20,000 contribution to Jim Cartmill’s campaign for SUHSD School Board. Romero also advised that SGI made a $12,500 contribution to John McCann’s campaign for the school board.”

Petitioners enclosed in their recall information a list of campaign contributions. According to the list, Cartmill received a total of $81,500 from district vendors, McCann received $51,750, and Ricasa $54,600.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Larry Turner – the man who would be San Diego's mayor

Ex-Marine, cop answers the personal questions
Next Article

Jacobs Music Center Grand Opening

The concert did what it was designed to do
Protesters at press conference to announce recall of Sweetwater Union High School District boardmembers, April 16, 2012
Protesters at press conference to announce recall of Sweetwater Union High School District boardmembers, April 16, 2012

The first signatories of a petition to recall Sweetwater Union High School District trustees Jim Cartmill, John McCann, and Arlie Ricasa gathered at a press conference in front of the district office on the evening of April 16.

The recall committee, formed by members of the activist group named Occupy Sweetwater, had petitions available for Cartmill and Ricasa; however, the petition for McCann is in the final stages of approval at the San Diego County Registrar’s office.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Former Sweetwater superintendent Jesus Gandara and former boardmember Greg Sandoval have been indicted by the district attorney for various charges related to what has been described as a pay-to-play culture in the district. Arlie Ricasa and Pearl Quiñones also face charges but continue to serve as trustees.

Speaking for the recall group, Stewart Payne, one of the five people who initially took complaints to the district attorney’s office, told the assembled press that the trustees should be recalled for “failing to act in the best interest of students.” Payne articulated a number of reasons for the recall effort, including: failure to fire for cause a superintendent that abused his district-issued credit card; improper hiring practices and mismanagement in the cafeteria department that resulted in loss of nearly $500,000.

A major concern for the recall group is campaign contributions from contractors and vendors in the 2008 elections of Cartmill, McCann, and Ricasa. To dramatize the concept, one of the recall group’s members dressed as a contractor and wandered through the crowd handing out cash.

March 31 affidavits released by the district attorney’s office recount this story in connection with campaign contributions and contractors: “He [Hector Romero, president of HAR Construction] additionally reported being with [former] Superintendent Gandara in Mexico when Superintendent Gandara contacted SGI Program Manager Jaime Ortiz [manager in charge of Prop O construction] and solicited a $20,000 contribution to Jim Cartmill’s campaign for SUHSD School Board. Romero also advised that SGI made a $12,500 contribution to John McCann’s campaign for the school board.”

Petitioners enclosed in their recall information a list of campaign contributions. According to the list, Cartmill received a total of $81,500 from district vendors, McCann received $51,750, and Ricasa $54,600.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Prime Wheel in Tijuana cracks down on employees after worker disappears

Maquila co-workers turn on man's wife
Next Article

Our riparian woodland begins to look like fall, Orb Weavers help decorate

Comet of the century?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader