Galt council members use YouTube in recall defense

Opal Kasparian's career as a reluctant YouTube star is over.

The 73-year-old Galt retiree was featured early Monday on the popular Internet video site, without her knowledge or consent, in a production led by Galt Mayor Andrew Meredith and Vice Mayor Donald Haines.

The five-minute video, which was removed from the Internet on Monday afternoon, was titled "The Truth Behind the Galt Recall."

It was Meredith's and Haines's high-tech try at defending themselves against a recall proposed by Protect Galt's Future, a pro-growth citizens group and political action committee.

In it, Meredith and Haines interview Kasparian, a personable woman with dyed red hair, who lights up when the two leaders speak with her at her Avondale Court home.

She's shown changing her mind about a petition she signed to try to trigger a recall against the two, after Meredith and Haines provide her with more information about the Delta Greens senior living project.

That disputed development is at the center of PGF's recall efforts.

"Well, I've changed my opinion," Kasparian says on the video, noting she "wasn't informed" by PGF about how large a development it would be, and how much traffic it would generate. The video was recorded and produced by Galt resident Leslie Esparza, a Meredith supporter, the mayor said.

And while Kasparian said she did consent to being recorded, she said she had no idea her likeness would end up broadcast across cyberspace.

"There was nothing discussed that this would go any further than the two gentlemen (Meredith and Haines)," she said Monday afternoon. "They should have at least told me that it was going to go on YouTube. I'm upset about that."

Kasparian noted later Monday, after calling Meredith about the matter, that the mayor was seeking to remove the video from the Internet.

She noted that she stands by her statements on the video, and that she's become a fan of the mayor despite the mix-up.

She says she just wasn't happy about being showcased for all the world to see without her knowledge, while wearing her cleaning dress, her hair unkempt.

"Other than looking like a witch, I do stand by what I said," Kasparian said, adding: "I've cooled down. My red hair isn't singing anymore."

After speaking with Meredith later in the day, she said she'd even consider voting for him when he's up for re-election in two years.

Status of proposed recall

Recall proponents have filed a notice of intent to recall Mayor Andrew Meredith and Vice Mayor Donald Haines.

A recall petition must still be drafted and then approved by the Galt city clerk. It can then be circulated by organizers, who have 90 days to collect signatures from 20 percent of Galt's registered voters. That's roughly 1,800 people.

Those signatures must then be verified and an election scheduled.

The earliest a recall vote could be held would be March 2009, at a cost of $70,000.

Source: Galt City Clerk Liz Aguire

Meredith said he did not know exactly how long the video was on YouTube. He thinks it was posted Sunday night or Monday morning.

The video sparked more than 40 views in its short life.

Meredith's publicist, Susan Wood, had sent out a press release with a link to the video early Monday morning.

In the release, which includes Meredith's official response to PGF's proposed recall, the mayor states "The recall is a sham ... In their grounds for recall, proponents make outright lies about the financial condition of the city in order to scare voters."

Dick Smith, a PGF spokesman, said he and other members had provided detailed information about the Delta Greens project to those who signed the group's petition.

He emphasized that his group has the right to criticize the decisions made by city leaders.

Haines, who also appeared in the video, could not be reached for comment.

Meredith noted he will continue to use Internet videos to get his message out. A search of YouTube shows 10 videos related to Meredith, as a Galt council member, serving in Iraq or as a private citizen.

"Absolutely," he said. "I have a supporter willing to put videos like this together ... I think this is a great way to communicate to the voters. A lot of people use the World Wide Web."

Reader Feedback

rodney_stanhope wrote on Aug 6, 2008 11:04 PM:

" Also to "middleman" I would really welcome your phone call. Your absolutely right on the money. over 23,000 people only about 9000 registered to vote and less than that actually did vote. That says alot about voter appathy. We need to give the citizens of this town HOPE AGAIN that someone, somehow actually cares about them... Thanks and Call Me! "

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