San Gabriel Valley : FIGHTING FOR A PIG

In a year when a pig is nominated for an Oscar, the La Puente City Council’s efforts to kick a potbellied porker named Montana out of town has led to a recall effort against three council members.

Calling them pigheaded, City Planning Commissioner Joe Beaulieu said Wednesday--the same day that the Los Angeles City Council decided the pigs could be domestic pets--that he will lead a recall drive against three council members who reaffirmed the council position this week that the 80-pound pig must go.

“We’re going to have a recall,� Beaulieu said. “This is grotesque. They are completely out of touch.�

Council members Joseph Alderete, Edward Chavez and Mayor Louis Perez made up the majority in the 3-2 vote to table indefinitely a proposal backed unanimously by the planning commission that would allow the pigs to be kept as pets.

“This whole thing is overblown. There are other issues in this city more important,� Perez said. “We’ve given the [owners] 15 months to remove the pig.�

Since 1994, when county animal control officers found the pet, the issue has bounced between the council and the planning commission. Now the city will go to court against Michele Walker, owner of the 4-year-old pig, to get an injunction to force the removal of the animal by March 7.

“We’re launching the Babe of the Valley Defense Fund to help pay Montana’s legal bills,� said Councilwoman Sally Holguin Fallon, who along with Councilman George Gaytan supports the pig. “I’d like to see this little piggy stay home.�