It wasn’t that long ago but it feels like a lifetime. The recall effort was gaining steam. The notices were prepared and the plan was for resident Dan Romero to read them at the city council meeting on January 11, 2011. But we didn’t plan on Ed Balico announcing his resignation before the public comment [...]

My latest column (from last week)… Councilwoman Joanne Ward is certainly doing everything she can to avoid recall. In fact, that is what has set her apart from Councilman Don Kuehne in recent months. Kuehne seems to be doing the opposite as he inexplicably continues to infuriate residents seeking reform. [...] While Kuehne relentlessly defends [...]

Tom Lochner reports: The three who have taken out papers are Dan Romero, Sherry McCoy and Christopher Tallerico. Romero is a longtime city government watchdog and a member of the executive committee of Hercules Recall, which is sponsoring a drive to recall Mayor Joanne Ward and Councilman Don Kuehne. McCoy is the chairperson of the [...]

Tom Lochner reports: On Tuesday the council by a 4-0 vote, formally acknowledged receipt of certification from the Contra Costa County Clerk that sponsors of recalls of Ward and Kuehne had collected enough signatures on each of two petitions to put the question on the ballot. The sponsors needed 2,501 signatures, representing one-fifth the number [...]

I am not sure if this makes it official or not, but the Hercules recall effort is its own subject on Ballotpedia (which is a Wikipedia for, uhm, ballots; yea, that sounds right).

My latest column… It may be too little, too late—or, to be quite honest, way too little and definitely way too late—but Councilman Don Kuehne has certainly drawn a line in the sand. He is angry with the recall effort and he is willing to fight it, fists flying. Kuehne isn’t, however, really fighting the [...]

Petitions were submitted to the city clerk…

Tom Lochner reports… “After an 18-day signature drive, proponents of a recall of two Hercules City Council members handed the City Clerk a batch of petitions Tuesday that they say contain ample signatures to put the issue on the ballot. [...] [Resident Dan] Romero said the group submitted 2,857 signatures to recall Mayor Joanne Ward [...]

More television coverage…

Full speed ahead…

On the ten o’clock news last night… “The historic Bay Area town of Hercules just south of the Carquinez Strait is roiling with allegations of scandal, millions of taxpayer dollars possibly squandered, and a public trust badly beaten. [...] Then there is the prime waterfront land. The Hercules City Council voted to spend more than [...]

The Contra Costa Times editorial board: The pathetic responses of two Hercules City Council members facing recall are too little too late — and reinforce that Don Kuehne and Joanne Ward lack leadership skills needed to help save the city. As Hercules financially teeters, Kuehne and Ward blame former City Manager Nelson Oliva, whom they [...]

My latest column… Although this alternate reality is entirely fictional–and imperfect–it can be accomplished, or something resembling it. And considering the hard work and difficult decisions required, the people that come to my mind that are capable of making it possible are the likes of Charlie Long, John Delgado and Myrna de Vera–and, of course, [...]

Tom Lochner reports… “Hercules Councilman Don Kuehne is lashing out at a campaign by residents seeking to recall him, suggesting it is funded by a developer that has accused the city of delaying its waterfront project. ‘While this appeared to be a grassroots effort, there is growing evidence that the waterfront developer and a high-profile [...]

Tom Lochner reports: [Don Kuehne] said he questioned the city’s arrangement with the Oliva daughters’ company in closed session as far back as October 2009, but got no support from his fellow council members. “Up to this fall, I was the lone voice,” Kuehne said. He had not spoken out publicly against the arrangement or [...]

Tom Lochner reports… “At the end of the day — a mere week after a kickoff meeting in the same council chamber — the group said it had collected just over 2,000 signatures on each of two recall petitions, one targeting [Don] Kuehne, the other, [Joanne] Ward. Each petition needs 2,500 signatures — equivalent to [...]

The Chronicle picked up the recall story… “[Don] Kuehne said the recall effort against him is unfair because he and [Joanne] Ward [...] are being singled out because they supported [former city manager Nelson] Oliva.” Oh, so Kuehne does understand. And a quote Kuehne probably regrets: “It’s a big mess [in Hercules]. If I’d have [...]

The recall effort has scheduled a Hercules Recall Day for Saturday (tomorrow), from 9am to 8pm, at City Hall. Residents will be able to sign the petitions to recall Don Kuehne and/or Joanne Ward. You may have received this phone call:

My latest column… [Councilmember Don] Kuehne’s third response was a letter to the editor. It was mostly conciliatory and highlighted recent changes, but did not refute any of the recall’s charges. Kuehne’s final and official response however was much more combative, contending that the “grounds for recall are false.” While accepting financial mismanagement, conflict of [...]

Tom Lochner reports… “Councilman Don Kuehne, who also is a target for recall by Hercules Recall, filed a response with the City Clerk that fine-tunes one that he circulated last week to the media. ‘Our city is facing very challenging times, but the grounds for recall are false,’ he says in the latest response, which [...]

Contra Costa Times Editorial board: Some say that [Don] Kuehne and [Joanne] Ward did not abuse the system the way [Ed] Balico did. That’s true. As far as we know, they did not try to use their offices for personal gain. But they too have badly mismanaged the city, failed to act when advised of [...]

CBS5 ran another report this evening: “Maybe the dominoes will fall.”

CBS5 ran a report on the recall effort prior to Tuesday’s city council meeting:

Tom Barnidge: It was the contrast in reactions of the two council members under attack that added entertainment value to the theatrics. Ward looked flush-faced stunned, as if she had just walked into a wall. She sat motionless, her lower lip hanging open as the charges were read. If a teleporter were available, she would [...]

Tom Lochner reports… Balico’s resignation did not spare him the indignity, moments later, of being served with a notice of intention to recall by resident Dan Romero on behalf of the group Hercules Recall. The notice, which Romero also served on Councilman Don Kuehne and Councilwoman Joanne Ward, accuses the trio of failed leadership resulting [...]

New Governor Jerry Brown is proposing the elimination of all redevelopment agencies in the state in an effort to close the gigantic budget deficit. Brown is meeting with redevelopment lobbyists today but if he is successful, it would likely mean the end of ambitious projects in Hercules. Although Proposition 22 — which protects redevelopment agencies [...]

Lisa Vorderbrueggen has suddenly discovered that politics exists on this side of the hills: Several of [Hercules'] major redevelopment projects and the intermodal station are underfunded and the redevelopment agency and the city are also millions of dollars short of what’s needed to pay bond and other obligations. There seems no end to the political [...]

Tom Lochner previews what should be a lengthy city council meeting on Tuesday… “A new Hercules City Council will conduct its first regular meeting on Tuesday amid financial turmoil, a new interim city manager, a drive to recall three council members and an agenda full of controversial issues. [...] A residents’ group, Hercules Recall, has [...]

The citizen group pushing the recall of councilmembers Ed Balico, Don Kuehne and Joanne Ward have a website — herculesrecall.com. I assume they mean business. Note that the average length of Hercules residency among the leadership team is 18 years. This is decidedly not a new resident phenomenon. It is a diverse coalition of residents [...]

Laila Kearney reports… Nearly 100 Hercules residents rallying for the recall of three City Council members crowded Round Table Pizza Thursday night, pouring into the halls of a rented meeting space designed to hold about 30 people. At the meeting, organizers talked to the public about what it would take to remove Mayor Ed Balico, [...]

Tom Lochner reports… A group of Hercules residents seeking to recall three City Council members took their case to the public Thursday, collecting enough signatures at a meeting in a local pizzeria to take their drive to the next level. The group’s notice of intent to recall accuses Mayor Ed Balico of failed leadership resulting [...]

Laila Kearney reports… “Organizers of a recall against three Hercules City Council members say they would consider abandoning efforts to remove Don Kuehne and Joanne Ward from office if Mayor Ed Balico would step down. They also say that if the council would bring back fired interim City Manager Charlie Long in a consultant role, [...]

A recall process is in its infancy, and the first pro-Balico article has appeared… [Ed] Balico, a Filipino American, on the other hand, is unfazed by the recall move and expressed confidence he would eventually be vindicated. “Look, I have been a council member since 2000, I have been a mayor, a vice mayor, and [...]