Despite the decision of school board members Josh Wineteer and Rick Alexander not to campaign against a recall targeting them, there appears to be a growing grassroots opposition to the recall initiated by the Lebanon Citizens Alliance for a Responsible Education System (CARES), a local political action group.

Dozens of large hand-painted signs urging a "No" vote on the Oct. 7 recall vote began showing up in the Lebanon area about two weeks ago. According to a local blog, Lebanonproof.blogspot.com, T-shirts with a silk screened anti-recall message also are being distributed.

Signs favoring the recall also have been put up.

No organization has come forward for the "No recall" effort.

According to Jan Flowers, compliance specialist with the Oregon Secretary of State's Election Division, no one has filed paperwork to form a political action committee (PAC) opposing the recall nor have there been individual expenditure filings by anyone supporting its defeat.

An individual who spends more than $100 campaigning for or against the recall is required to submit and individual expenditure filing within three days. If a person or group accepts more than $300 in contributions they would need to register as a PAC, Flowers said. Failure to file campaign finance report can result in civil penalties.

Some of the large red and white signs supporting Alexander and Wineteer were painted by an arthritic grandmother in her 70s. Because she has family members who work in the public sector, the signmaker did not wish to be identified. She did agree to show a reporter the workshop where she has been making the signs.

The signs under construction were made from two political signs from previous elections whose printed sides had been glued together, leaving the white backs exposed. Several bottles of acrylic artist's paint were present and appeared to be several years old.

The painter said because she already had the paint and the signs were recycled, she estimates her total expenditure on the project at about $5.

Efforts to locate anyone who would talk about the anti-recall T-shirts were unsuccessful.

Both Wineteer and Alexander said they have not been involved in the effort to defeat the recall.

"I don't know who is behind it, and I haven't asked because I don't want to be indebted to anyone," Alexander said.

Alexander and Wineteer have both criticized CARES for using paid petitioners - who they say used false and misleading information to get signatures - to put the recall on the ballot.

Wineteer said he chose not to run a campaign against the recall "to differentiate between the high dollar CARES group and the fact we haven't taken money from anyone."

Alexander said when he first ran for the board in 2002 he spent $300 on his campaign and no money in 2005.

"If after six years people don't know my position, there's no point in advertising," Alexander said in explaining his reason not to campaign against the recall.

According to campaign finance documents, CARES has received $5,855.45 in cash contributions and in-kind contributions of $73.95 since its formation in February and as of Sept. 2 had $573.11 left.

"I have no problem with a campaign in opposition to the recall, that's a democratic right, but someone should step forth and say who's funding it," said John "Tre" Kennedy, CARES president. "I'd like for the opposition to come out of the shadows. I haven't hidden."

Voters received ballots in the mail on Sept. 23. As of mid-morning Tuesday, 2,951 ballots had been returned out of the 16,174 sent out, according to Linn County Clerk Steve Druckenmiller.