Anthony Adams recall attempt fails

A recall effort against Republican Assemblyman Anthony Adams, mounted by anti-tax activists and a pair of talk-show radio hosts, failed to qualify for the ballot, the secretary of state announced Friday.

Adams, R-Claremont, drew the wrath of conservative Republicans for his February vote in favor of a Democrat-backed state budget draft that included more than $12 billion in tax hikes. Two months later, Adams was served with an official recall notice.

But on Friday, the secretary of state's office said the recall proponents failed submit the necessary 35,825 valid signatures of voters to place the recall on the ballot. The group turned in an estimated 24,579 signatures from the two counties straddled by Adams' 59^th District — Los Angeles and San Bernardino.

"Therefore, this recall effort has failed," said Robbie Anderson, the elections counsel for the secretary of state's office.

Backers of the recall effort, which reportedly raised more than $100,000, included Michael Schroeder, an Orange County attorney and former state Republican Party leader, and talk-show hosts John Kobylt and Ken Champou of the "John and Ken Show," a political chat radio program in Southern California. Other recall backers included the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.