> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Duped into signing? - URL: https://www.smdp.com/duped-into-signing/ - Published: 2003-06-25T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T02:24:44.000Z - Author: Carolyn Sackariason - Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Questions arise over method used by signature gatherers* If Santa Monicans are asked to sign a petition to save teachers’ jobs, they may want to read the fine print. Signature gatherers stationed in front of Santa Monica Place for the past two weeks are telling people that their signature will stop teacher layoffs. That may be the intention, but the petition really is an effort to squash the recall effort against Gov. Gray Davis. Signature gatherers, who are being paid $1 per signature by an organization called the Taxpayer Against The Recall, aren’t apologizing for their method in attracting people to take notice of their cause. Joe Kirkendoll, who has recruited the signature gatherers in front of the mall on the Third Street Promenade, said using an universal topic like education gets people’s attention. What’s more, if people hear the word “recall” they automatically think the petition is in favor of it. “They are just coming into the mall to shop and you have only a quick minute in their lives for this,” he said, adding there is a statement on the petition indicating that it’s against the recall. However, the statement is often covered by a rubber band strapped around a clipboard and not easy to read. Last Friday afternoon, two women were in the process of signing the petition, but then they noticed the small print on the top stating it was against the recall of Davis. They immediately scratched their name off the petition and told the signature gatherer that “you should be more upfront about what you’re doing.” One of the women said she had actually signed a petition last week supporting the recall of Davis. The petition is not a formal election document, rather a statement of an abuse of the recall process. > “Everyone is signing the petition. I don’t like the whole process being in ill repute.” — — LEN RICHMOND Santa Monica resident Kirkendoll said he and others explain to people that by opposing the recall, the millions of dollars being spent on it could go towards education and public services. Signatures against the recall are being collected all over the state and will be presented to Sacramento lawmakers as a show of support for Davis. A signature gatherer was stationed at the farmer’s market on Main Street this past Sunday, who stated clearly that the petition was against the recall. Kirkendoll said the difference in how people are approached depends on where they are. At the farmer’s market, Kirkendoll argues that people are more liberal and politically savvy. In front of Santa Monica Place, there are many more tourists and residents who are not as informed, he said. Because it’s not a formal election document or doesn’t seek to change any law, the petition doesn’t fall under local or state campaign disclosure laws, officials said. If it was a formal campaign petition, signature gatherers are required under Santa Monica law to provide an information sheet to people which includes a summary of the initiative, that the signature gatherer may be getting paid and cites the penal code that states it’s a crime to falsify the information about the content of the petition. Kirkendoll said it’s common practice for signature gatherers to be paid. He noted that the signature requirement for Davis’ recall is between 1.1 million and 1.3 million. “It would impossible to get only volunteers to collect them all,” he said. He also said the effort against the recall is a “people’s lobby” to end it. “In order to be impeached, you have to have broken a law and that’s why we think it’s an abuse because (Davis) has-n’t,” Kirkendoll said. Santa Monica resident Len Richmond said he’s watched the signature gatherers for the past two weeks and hasn’t liked what he’s seen. He contacted the Secretary of State’s Office, which is the authority on state elections. Investigators reportedly checked out the Santa Monica operation and found nothing illegal. While it may not be illegal, it is misleading, Richmond said “Everyone is signing the petition,” he said. “I don’t like the whole process being in ill repute.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 25, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/062503.pdf?ref=smdp.com)