Vote NO ON THE RECALL.  All of this drama is nonsense and a waste of our tax dollars.

Here's the story from the SB Sun:

COLTON - With the recall election just a day away, allegations concerning special interests are flying between two political action committees for and against the recall.

At issue is the source of contributions that have funneled into both committees' campaigns and that of Mayor Kelly Chastain.

Citizens for Colton First, which launched the recall effort in the fall, has raised $24,803.

The committee's biggest supporter is Richard Jongoron, president of Inland Memorial, which operates the Hermosa Gardens Cemetery on land it leases from the city.

Inland Memorial is locking horns with the city over use of 20 acres of undeveloped land on cemetery property.

Jongoron donated $1,200 to Colton First's campaign and also paid $12,560 for campaign banners and signs, campaign statements show.

Colton First alleges that Mayor Kelly Chastain, elected in 2006, abuses her power, lacks knowledge of financial responsibility, breaches relationships with other agencies and disregards the opinions and concerns of citizens.

Fed up with such allegations, resident Jess Vasquez announced in April he was forming his own political action committee, Citizens for Colton Truth, on a platform of "progress for the city."

After a little more than a month of campaigning, Colton Truth has raised more than Colton First - $26,525 - and has spent more than $15,000 on its anti-recall campaign.

The committee's biggest contributor has been the New Majority PAC, a political action committee in Mill Valley that donated $15,000.

According to its Web site, New Majority works to "expand the Republican party." Jim Brulte, former state Assembly Republican leader, is chairman of the Inland Empire chapter.

A company called Valco Enterprises donated $2,500, but no company address was listed on the campaign statements.

Colton Truth also received $1,000 from the San Bernardino County Firefighters Local 935.

Colton First member Gary Grossich, a Bloomington resident who owns the Nickelodeon Pizza restaurant in Colton, said Colton Truth's campaign contributors have no connection or interest in the city, other than their relationship to Kelly Chastain, a Republican with a lot of clout.

"It confirms what we've been stating: that City Hall is for sale to outside interests," said Grossich. "I haven't been able to find a link of any of these people or businesses to Colton. These are obviously large sums of Republican money with no ties to Colton."

Vasquez said he did not lead fundraising efforts for Colton Truth, and therefore could not answer Grossich's allegations. When asked who led the fundraising campaign for Colton Truth, Vasquez couldn't say.

According to Colton Truth's campaign statements, Matt Brown, president of San Bernardino County Young Republicans and San Bernardino County Supervisor Paul Biane's chief of staff, served as the committee's principal officer. He did not return telephone calls seeking comment.

Vasquez said the special interest card can just as easily be played on Colton First. He said Inland Memorial, Colton First's biggest supporter, is based in Lafayette, an affluent Bay Area city.

While Inland Memorial is headquartered in Lafayette, the company does business in the city, Grossich said. He believes the city is trying to break its 55-year lease with Inland Memorial and poach cemetery land to preserve as habitat for the federally endangered Delhi Sands flower-loving fly.

That, Grossich said, would enable the city to build a 280-acre shopping plaza near Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, where fly habitat now sits.

"They're fighting for their life," said Grossich of Inland Memorial.

Grossich believes Colton Truth is a smoke screen. He said its real purpose was to serve as another Republican fundraising mechanism for Chastain.

"It's a sham organization set up by outside Republicans and interests that don't have anything to do with Colton," Grossich said. "It says that somebody coordinated a deceptive campaign."

Chastain denies having any affiliation with Colton Truth and those who have contributed money and services to the committee. She came under fire for failing to file her campaign statements, called 460s, by the May 22 filing deadline.

She finally filed them late Friday and posted them on Colton's Web site.

Grossich criticized Chastain because she made an issue of his committee's failure to meet a filing deadline in March. Mayoral candidate Mel Albiso, who was the first to announce his run for mayor and one of the first to file his 460s, was also critical of Chastain.

Chastain has raised more than $58,000 and spent more than $31,000 in consulting and campaigning.

On Friday, she was still out campaigning and knocking on doors.

When it comes to campaign fundraising, the source of money is not relevant to city politics, she said.

"I don't think that reflects there are outside interests. When you campaign, you solicit everybody," said Chastain. "I think that's the norm. I don't think that there's any harm in that."

She chalks the allegations of outside special interests up to campaign tactics.

"Campaigns raise money," she said.