At a recent meeting between Mammoth and Mono County officials, Mono Supervisors laid bare the troubles the Mono Board is having with County Assessor Jim Lovett

Officials have stated that Lovett has troubles with alcohol, which in turn has led to a serious behavioral and work ethic problem, according to Supervisor Bill Reid.

When Mammoth Councilman Kirk Stapp asked about Lovett, Reid said that he could talk about anecdotal incidents until the evening, and that would be longer than Lovett spends at work in a week.

Reid described how he and Supervisor Hap Hazard talked Lovett into entering a rehab program. Since rehab, Reid said that, if anything, the problem is worse. In order to ensure that Lovett showed up to the most recent Supervisor’s meeting, the Sheriff’s department served Lovett with a subpoena. Ried thought that this was a first for Mono History.

As an elected official, the Assessor can not be fire by the Supervisors. If there is a desire to remove Lovett from the job, voters would have to launch a recall.

Supervisor Reid told the other officials that the goal is “clean him up,” but if that doesn’t work the supervisors may form a recall committee.

When we spoke with Mono Elections Manager Christi Robles, she confirmed that two members of the Board of Supervisors have made inquiries into the possible recall of Assessor Lovett.

Robles reports that recalls are generally rare and that there have been no re-call elections in Mono in the last 13 years.

Robles says that the process involves serving the targeted official with a notice of intent to recall followed by a circulation of a petition.

When contacted for his comments, Assessor Lovett was not available. Lovett is scheduled to go before the Board of Supervisors again Tuesday, August 21.