It all started over a year ago at the Oct. 18, 2001 GPAC meeting. Throw together some smarmy politicians, an American flag and a short-tempered 3rd District Supervisor, agitate for a year, and you get a recall measure on the ballot.

The recall of 3rd District Supervisor Gail Marshall is a matter of slimy county politics and nothing more.

Recall supporters employed devious tactics, from hiring petitioners from out of town to trying to hold the recall vote over the summer when Marshall’s largest group of supporters wouldn’t be in town. It’s been a sneaky, dirty, mudslinging campaign to swing the County Board of Supervisors in favor of North County and has little or nothing to do with the real issue at hand – Marshall’s record.

A recall allows constituents to remove from office an elected official who has not fulfilled his or her promises or has completely flaked out on the job.

As 3rd District Supervisor, Marshall has worked hard to balance the divergent needs of all her constituents, while maintaining a strong commitment to the environment.

She also has a vested interest in UCSB and Isla Vista. Students provide substantial support for Marshall, and, for the most part, she treats us well. Although her campaign has pumped up what she has done for I.V., there have been many improvements during her term, including sidewalks and better lighting. There is also more to come, like the already begun repaving of all of I.V.’s roads

She hasn’t always pleased us – if her vote to exclude I.V. from the city of Goleta was a slap in the face, then her Isla Vista Free-Press was a tweak of our noses, but her record in no way merits a recall.

The two-part ballot measure makes sure that Jim Thomas can only become 3rd District Supervisor if Marshall is recalled first. While Thomas isn’t the boogeyman and I.V. would survive just fine under him, he’s allied himself with a group of people who are just drooling to see students disenfranchised. If you like Thomas, tell him to run in the next election. Until then, Marshall should finish the rest of her term.

The Daily Nexus strongly opposes the recall of 3rd District Supervisor Gail Marshall.