Staff reports
SAN BERNARDINO — A recall petition against Bill Postmus, Assessor for San Bernardino County, has been filed and approved by the Registrar of Voters, county officials said Tuesday.
In order to move forward the petition needs signatures from at least 10 percent of the county population, which totals 75,498 signatures.
The approval letter from the Registrar Voters also recommends gathering an additional 15,099 signatures in order to cover any invalid name entries, for a combined total of 90,597 signatures.
The petition was started by E. T. Snell, who has also filed against 1st District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt, District Attorney Michael Ramos and Hesperia Councilman Tad Honeycutt.
“My main concern is the corruption,” Snell said.
His filing came shortly before the arrest of Postmus' Assistant Assessor Adam Aleman Monday on six felony counts in connection with fabricating and destroying county records.
Postmus issued the following statement regarding the arrest late Monday night: “I am shocked and saddened by the charges filed today against a well-regarded member of my staff. I would encourage the public to withhold judgment as this case is in the preliminary stages.”
While the petition had been in the works for some time, those involved in the movement feel that the recent arrest may generate more public interest in ousting the assessor.
“I was one of many who voted for Bill Postmus in his first election because he portrayed himself as someone with a lot of integrity,” said Sharon Gilbert, a former county employee and one of the 40 or so who signed the original petition. “Part of his platform was cleaning up the county of San Bernardino, which is something I support. But it seems that instead he has been involved in one scandal after another. Postmus and those that support him have taken corruption to a whole new level in this county.”
The letter of approval from the Registrar of Voters was sent on June 9 to Lorraine Smith of Hesperia, who also signed the petition.
Snell has until 5 p.m. on November 17 to collect the needed signatures and file the petition with the Registrar of Voters. The Registrar then has 30 days to review the petition and certify the results to the Board of Supervisors.