COMPTON — Mayor Eric Perrodin, Councilwoman Lillie Dobson and City Clerk Alita Godwin are questioning the validity of the notices of intent to recall they received last week.

According to Perrodin and Godwin, they were improperly served Feb. 16.

Resident Joyce Kelly, a proponent of the recall, handed the notices — which were disguised as Valentine’s Day cards/folders —to a municipal law enforcement officer, who then handed them to Councilwoman Yvonne Arceneaux. The notices were then distributed to Perrodin and Dobson. Godwin said she refused to accept the folder because she had been disrespected by Kelly in the past, and therefore, she believes she was not served on the night of Feb. 16.

“I really have no response because for one it was not validly done so I don’t feel that I’ve been served properly,” said Perrodin, on Tuesday night following the closed session portion of that night’s regularly scheduled meeting. “As far as I’m concerned, I haven’t been served.”

To erase any doubt, resident William Kemp re-issued each document through certified mail on Feb. 18.

Godwin said her office received the notice on Monday. However, she is still unsure of its validity because she did not sign off it, a member of her staff did. Perrodin said mail was delivered to his office on Monday but has yet to open it.

“I’m not really that concerned about a recall because I was just elected in April and I got 76 percent of the vote,” Perrodin said. He added, “If they can get the required votes to recall me and that’s what the people want, I will step down. But I don’t see that the people want that. … Those who began this recall, most of them have a political ax to grind.”

The grounds for a recall against Perrodin include his effort to re-establish the Compton Police Department despite voters overwhelming opposition in 2004 — when Perrodin spent nearly $50,000 to place Measure D, an initiative that would use taxpayer money to revive the department, on the ballot.

In late July, the City Council voted 3-1 to allocate nearly $20 million to activities that could lead to the department’s re-establishment. Funds, that were initially designated for the city’s senior center in the amount of $11.2 million and $8.7 million for the transit center parking structure, were diverted in order to make funding available for the city-based police department under the city’s capital improvement plan. Those projects were then covered by the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency under its downtown project financing program.

Perrodin said that he has made it clear from the day he began serving on the council in 2001, that his ultimate goal was to bring back the police department and prior to the last election, re-stated those intentions and still he was brought back to office.

Councilwoman Dobson is being criticized for much of what Perrodin is. Her notice states that she voted to re-establish the police department despite voter opposition, violated California law and the city charter by voting on contracts and jobs awarded to her campaign contributors, supported increased water utility fees, as well as Measure L.

Dobson could not be reached for comment.

Godwin is being accused of failing to conduct city elections in a fair and professional manner.

“During the April 2009 Municipal Election, City Clerk Godwin did not send a sample ballot with an accurate nor complete description of the Measure L ballot initiative. … Ms. Godwin also failed to provide Measure L election ballots in both English and Spanish, a violation of California State Election law. [In addition] the Office of the City Clerk does not provide public information to citizens in a professional or timely manner.”

Residents were outraged prior to April elections, after receiving sample ballots with a limited version of the measure. According to Godwin, the city was informed by residents of the incident and acted quickly to resolve the issue and within a matter of days sent a postcard to residents advising them of what happened and later sent a complete outline of Measure L by mail, as did City Attorney Craig Cornwell hold a special meeting to discuss the confusion and explain the measure’s intent.

As to the information not being provided in English and Spanish, Godwin said that is untrue and that by law she must do so and noted that the majority of their population is Latino. She took The Wave into her office to show how materials sent out to the public are in both languages. However, it cannot be proven that this was the case for the sample ballots or any other election materials.

According to Kelly — who signed the notice because she believes the three officials are “blatantly disrespectful” — she has requested documents on numerous occasions without receiving them or a response within 10 days. The city’s local newspaper has also sued the city on several occasions, citing the same complications.

Godwin contends that her office has followed the law and has given a response to all parties, if not documents, within the 10-day period.