Organizers of recall campaigns against two Clatsop County commissioners say deep out-of-town pockets are trying to influence Tuesday’s special recall elections.

With just one more day for voters to turn in ballots, the organizers are wondering who is behind a series of postcard mailers supporting commissioners Ann Samuelson and Jeff Hazen that went out to voters over the past two weeks.

Recall campaigns were filed against the two commissioners early this summer after they approved the proposed development of a $650 million liquefied natural gas terminal at Bradwood Landing, about 20 miles east of Astoria.

The postcards have an Astoria return address, but came from a Portland-based political action committee called Oregonians to Maintain Community Standards (OMCS). The PAC has approximately $190,000 in assets, according to ORESTAR, the state’s Web site for tracking political contributions, but does not show any expenditures for the local recall campaigns.

Instead, the organization has spent $64,000 at international public relations firm PAC/WEST Communications this year for “management services,” leading the recall groups to conclude that PAC/WEST is administering the anti-recall effort.

“Bringing such deep pockets into our small county is either to try to buy our votes or to intimidate us or both.” said Betsy Ayres, a lead organizer for the recall effort against Samuelson. “How much of their money will they spend here? We don’t know. But, we find it outrageous that local volunteers are being labeled as ‘outsiders’ when it is a Portland PAC that is defending a proposal by a Texas-based speculator to build a facility to import foreign liquefied natural gas.”

As of the latest count on Thursday, more than 40 percent of the 8,403 recall ballots sent out have been returned. Ballots must be turned in to an official ballot drop site (see list of sites below) by 8 p.m. Tuesday to be counted in the election.

Samuelson has already been the beneficiary of a number of generous contributors. She came under criticism when Marc Auerbach, another leader in the effort to have her recalled, complained to the Oregon Secretary of State’s office that she was sending out newsletters paid for by her own PAC, but expenditures for the documents were not appearing on ORESTAR.

The Secretary of State’s office announced a few days ago that it has completed the investigation, but Samuelson’s penalty has yet to be determined.

Samuelson also came under scrutiny after she checked the names of people who had signed the petition to have her recall placed on a ballot. She later approached county department heads and leaders of contractors doing business with the county to discuss their employees who’d signed the petition.

The monetary activities of committees representing candidates and the recall organizers can be tracked at the Oregon Secretary of State’s Web site. Log on to (oregonvotes.org) and click on “Elections.”

From a drop-down list, click on ORESTAR – the state’s campaign finance database. When in ORESTAR, either key in the candidate’s name, or their identification number. People who contribute more than $100 to the committees are listed in the database.

OMCS’s identification number within the system is 1579. Friends of Ann (FOA), 10227, is the name of the committee defending Samuelson. The name of the committee trying to unseat her is Democracy in District 5 (DID5), number 13952.

Contributors of more than $100 to FOA are Warila Polled Herefords, $200; Sign One, $175; Hampton Lumber Sales, $500; North Coast Retail, $5,000; Mark Bosse, $5,000; Clatsop County Commissioner Patricia Roberts, $129; Escape Lodging, $800; Bernie Bjork, $129; Plumbing and mechanical Contractors Association, of Beaverton, $500; Walker and Company Marketing Communication, $1,200; Ochoco Lake Estates, $528; James “Ace” Neikes, $200; Ken Leahy, $220; Charles Dice, $128; Daniel Hess, $500; the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters, $700 (February 2008); Taxpayers’ Association of Oregon Political Action Committee, $150; Steven Olstedt, $600; Olstedt Trucking, $500; Donald McDaniel, $125; Jon Englund, $200; Tania Skinner, $125; Susan Trabucco, $150; Charles Dice, $128; and Bruce Conner, $118.

Contributors of more than $100 to DID5 are Trillium Woodworks, $200; Elnora Hertig, $250; Cheryl Johnson, $300; Leon Jackson, $200; Barbara Oien, $125; Monica Vaughan, of Eugene, $325; Marc Auerbach, $1,292, Troy Horton, 101; and Jocelyn Heller, $150.

The political action committee defending Hazen is called Friends of Jeff (FOJ), identification number 13869. The committee attempting to recall him is called District 1 for the Columbia (D1-Columbia), number 13953.

Contributors of more than $100 to FOJ are Warrenton-Hammond School District Superintendent Craig Brewington, $200; Port of Astoria Commissioner Dan Hess, $500; Jon Englund, $200; and the Taxpayers Association of Oregon PAC, $150.

Those making contributions of more than $100 to D1-Columbia are Cheryl Johnson, $300; Lori Durheim, $300; Monica Vaughan, 4150; Wesley Waite, of Big Springs, Texas, $200; Deborah Donnelly, $300; Larry Taylor, $171; and Jocelyn Heller, of El Dorado Hills, Calif., $200.

Only registered voters in the commissioners’ districts are eligible to vote in the recalls. Hazen’s district encompasses Warrenton and Hammond and the portion of Astoria west of Fifth Street, northwest of Denver Avenue and north of platted West Niagara Avenue.

Samuelson’s district covers the area from Sunquist Road in Seaside east of U.S. 101, and Cannon Beach, Arch Cape south to the Tillamook County line, east to the Columbia and Washington county lines, including Hamlet and Jewell.

Postmarks don’t count, so ballots must be dropped off at the county’s official drop sites. Because this is not a statewide election, ballots will not be accepted at the two drop sites in Columbia County normally available to Clatsop County voters: Mist-Birkenfeld Fire Station and Clatskanie City Hall.

Ballots can be dropped off at the following drop sites:

? Clatsop County Clerk’s Office – 820 Exchange St., Astoria.

? 24-hour drive-up drop box – Located on Exchange Street in front of 820 Exchange.

? Cannon Beach City Hall – 163 E. Gower St., Cannon Beach.

? Seaside City Hall, 989 Broadway, Seaside.

? Warrenton City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave., Warrenton.