WESTMINSTER

The recall drive against City Councilman Tony Lam was dealt a setback when the city clerk ruled that the paperwork to kick off the drive was improperly filed. Lam’s opponents, who believe he betrayed the Vietnamese community by not participating in anti-communist protests in Little Saigon, served the city with a notice of intent to start the recall drive at Monday’s City Council meeting. But City Clerk Terry Gremling said the group’s written explanation of why they want to recall Lam exceeded the required limit of 200 words. She sent the document back to the group, which will have to shorten the statement. For a new election, the group needs signatures from 20% of Westminster’s 32,834 registered voters, or about 6,500 names.