SOME ELECTION OFFICIALS TO BE SUED.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

A group supporting the recall of Gov. Gray Davis planned to file a lawsuit today accusing Secretary of State Kevin Shelley and officials in four counties of slowing down the process of signature verification to prevent a quick election.

Sal Russo, chief strategist for the Recall Gray Davis committee, said on Wednesday that the lawsuit, accusing the defendants of improperly interpreting state law, will be filed in Sacramento.

``We pretty much have had the papers drawn up for a week,'' Russo said. ``But we've made progress over the course of the week in getting more and more counties to recognize their responsibilities under the law.''

The issue centers on advice given by Shelley that county election officials are not required to verify the validity of petition signatures immediately after receiving them. Instead, Shelley said they could wait a month to report the verified number.

More than 897,000 voter signatures have to be certified by Sept. 4 to force a fall election. Davis' supporters prefer to delay an election to the presidential primary next March.

The next signature-reporting deadline is July 23, and the final deadline is Aug. 22.

Shelley insisted that his office followed the law, relying on attorneys from both parties, including holdovers from his Republican predecessor, Bill Jones.

``Well, fine, (we'll) go to court,'' Shelley said in an interview. ``I believe they wouldn't prevail, because it was the correct ruling. Basically, my guideline for giving a ruling is that which will be legally sustainable.''

Three main groups support the recall effort, but Russo said his organization is working alone on the lawsuit against officials in Santa Barbara, Sacramento, Solano and Tehama counties. Election officials in other counties are trying to verify signatures immediately, he said.

Los Angeles County officials said they don't expect to have the verifications complete by the July 23 reporting date, although Russo said he believes there is a good-faith effort in the state's largest county, and it will not be included in the suit.

County Registrar-Recorder Conny McCormack said about 10 percent of her voter registration staff is working on the signatures. She expects to have the raw numbers counted by July 23, with verification by the Aug. 22 deadline.

She said her office has received about 155,000 signatures, although Russo estimated recall supporters will submit at least 300,000 by the end of the week.

Officials in Ventura County said they have received more than 35,000 signatures and expect a final batch on Friday. A final, verified tally is expected by Monday.

Also on Wednesday, a group of prominent business leaders, including at least one Republican, criticized the recall as bad for the state's business climate. The group included Los Angeles billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad, former U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher and Republican investment banker Warren Hellman.

They said the recall would create political chaos, provide a disincentive for businesses to locate or expand in California and hurt the state's bond rating.

Recall supporters replied that the people who spoke Wednesday are all big supporters of the Democratic Party.

Jonathan Wilcox, a spokesman for Rep. Darrell Issa's campaign to replace Davis, said, ``California is in a condition of chaos, uncertainty and instability because Gray Davis put it there.''

Harrison Sheppard, [phone]

harrison.sheppard(at)dailynews.com

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GOV. GRAY DAVIS