For news stories of interest from 2007, see below and, for earlier 2007 stories, click here.
For news stories of interest from 2006, click here.
For news stories of interest from 2005 and before, click here.
Measure D back in spotlight
Lawyers: Proposal would allow Internet tax
By Kenneth Todd Ruiz, Staff Writer
PASADENA - Approving Measure D would allow City Hall to enact an Internet-access tax at a future time without a vote of the people, according to the legal team that wrote the ballot measure.
Seeking to challenge "misleading" ballot statements filed by Measure D opponents, the law firm of Colantuono & Levin filed a motion in court Friday arguing the City Council-endorsed ballot measure would "allow," not "force," a tax on Internet access.
"Our basic point is Measure D authorizes an Internet tax, but it doesn't require it," Colantuono said in a telephone interview.
The measure is designed that way, he said, because technological strides might render telephone use unrecognizable in time.
"If you make it very clear that you're not taxing Internet access, you may limit your ability to tax what you and I consider telephone use when that migrates onto the Web," he said.
City officials insisted Friday that Pasadena will not tax Internet access without a vote.
Colantuono's office wrote Measure D and has also filed a lawsuit on behalf of City Clerk Jane Rodriguez challenging ballot statements made by blogger Wayne Lusvardi.
On Friday morning, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs ruled that the city's legal action can go forward on an expedited schedule. Arguments will be heard Dec. 17.
Defending Lusvardi will be the first case for longtime schools critic Rene Amy, who was sworn in as a lawyer Tuesday.
"This is a clear and blatant attempt by the city to chill political discourse and punish those who don't speak the same way and use the same words City Hall wants everyone to use," Amy said of the city's legal challenge.
That Measure D includes a legal framework for an Internet-access tax seems to contradict weeks of statements by city officials that the measure would only maintain the status quo on the telephone portion of the city's 60-year-old Utility User Tax.
Most recently, proponents repeated that assertion in their rebuttal argument:
"Measure D deals only with continuing the current UUT on telephone service. It does not tax Internet access - now or in the future."
Several council members, including Mayor Bill Bogaard, were surprised Friday to hear Measure D could allow an Internet-access tax, saying it fit neither their understanding nor intent.
"We're not taxing the Internet, and we've made that clear," said Councilwoman Margaret McAustin. "We introduced an ordinance confirming it's not an Internet tax and the Internet will not be taxed in Pasadena."
Despite what Measure D may technically enable, the council's intent is affirmed by a companion ordinance approved last week to prohibit an Internet-access tax without a vote of the people, Bogaard said.
A future council would be unable to overturn that ordinance, he added.
Lusvardi called on Measure D proponents to change their ballot statements.
Citizens for Responsible Government "demands that the Pasadena City Clerk initiate litigation by Monday's deadline to strike from the mayor's ballot argument his false statement that Measure D does not tax Internet access," he said in a statement.
Working closely with Lusvardi and Amy is political consultant Martin Truitt.
Among its objections, the suit brought by Rodriguez disputes that language in Measure D would "force" the city to enact the tax should the federal moratorium on any Internet tax expire.
Officials will ask the judge to change the wording from "force" to "allow" or "permit" a tax on Internet access, according to court documents.
The Measure D language in question, Colantuono said, is designed to give city officials the option to expand the tax without having to hold another election.
"What this paragraph is intended to do is allow the city to shrink its tax, if federal and state law ever allows it to, and allow the city to expand its tax, if federal and state law allows it to, without having to go back to the voters," Colantuono said.
Kris Vosburgh, executive director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, said the interests of taxpayers are rarely in the thoughts of staffers at City Hall, who depend on public funds.
"I wasn't outraged that they'd be asking for an Internet tax but that they're not being honest about it," he said. "If this tax continuation looks more benign by denying there is any impact on the Internet, they're not likely to rush to correct the record."
If the public feels the city has misrepresented the City Council-approved ballot measure, he said people should want to know what their elected officials knew and when.
"Ultimately, the public can only hold the elected officials accountable because they are the ones that take advice from city staff and are responsible for hiring the lawyers," Vosburgh said.
The spectre of an Internet tax helped defeat a similar measure in Covina in the spring and could have implications for other cities.
Colantuono has written similar language into utility tax ballot measures throughout the state, including Los Angeles.
Voters in many more cities, however, have passed such utility tax measures.
Utility taxes are levied in more than 100 cities and four counties in California.
Pasadena Star News, December 8, 2007
Ex-official teams up with ex-city attorney in lawsuit
By Dan Abendschein, Staff Writer
MONTEBELLO - An official forced to resign by the City Council in 2006 is being represented by the former city attorney in a lawsuit against the city, a councilman and two former council members.
Ruben Lopez, the former community development director, is suing for breach of contract, defamation, invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress.
He is being represented by Arnold Alvarez-Glasman, the former Montebello city attorney who was ousted in a 3-2 vote by two of three council members he is suing on Lopez's behalf.
Lopez signed an agreement with the city when he left, stating that officials cannot "criticize, discredit, or otherwise disparage" him. He filed a legal complaint with the city in February saying council members and officials made "false and damaging statements" to the press and others.
Lopez requested $12 million as compensation for breach of the contract. The council rejected his complaint.
"The suit does not have merit," said Bob Bagwell, a former councilman named in the lawsuit.
Phone calls to Lopez and Alvarez-Glasman for comment were not returned.
Alvarez-Glasman is city attorney for several San Gabriel Valley cities, including West Covina and Pomona.
Lopez agreed to step down in July 2006 under threat of being voted out by a three-council-member majority of Bagwell, Jeff Siccama and Norma Lopez-Reid.
Siccama said Lopez was too attached to development projects that were not bringing in any tax revenue, and the city wanted to go in a new direction. He said both Glasman and Lopez were out to get the city.
"I think they want to get in their shots at the city," Siccama said.
Bagwell and Lopez-Reid lost their seats in November's election. Siccama is facing a recall election later this month.
All three were linked to the dismissal of Lopez, the head city administrator, and the fire chief. They were also accused of trying to scrap the Fire Department in order to bring in county fire services.
Alvarez-Glasman, who served on the Montebello City Council from 1985 to 1997, had his contract terminated by the city in 2005 by a three-member majority that included Bagwell and Lopez-Reid.
Bagwell said Alvarez-Glasman was too connected to developers, some of whom Lopez was initiating development deals with.
Bagwell and Lopez-Reid were joined by Councilman Bill Molinari in voting Alvarez-Glasman out.
Molinari later spoke out against the city pressuring Lopez to resign and opposed Siccama, Lopez-Reid and Bagwell when they voted to terminate the contracts of the city administrator and fire chief.
Bagwell said he never was entirely clear why Molinari voted against Alvarez-Glasman.
"I was surprised we got Molinari's vote," said Bagwell. "I think he and Alvarez-Glasman are back on the same page now."
Molinari said he did not have concerns about Alvarez-Glasman, but felt the alternate law firm "better fit the city's needs." He did not offer specific reasons.
As part of his severance package Lopez received 12 months of pay, benefits and accrued retirement benefits, according to city documents.
Patricia Macht, a spokeswoman for the state's Cal PERS public-employee retirement system, said that while she was not familiar with Lopez's agreement and could not comment on it, city employees are not generally allowed to continue to accrue retirement benefits after they leave.
"Severance packages are not meant to be used as a way to keep people on the payroll to accrue benefits," Macht said.
She said it was possible that Lopez might not be able to collect retirement benefits for the 12 months after his dismissal from the city.
The city has not been served with the lawsuit yet, officials said, so for now there are no court dates set.
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, December 9, 2007
City waits for AG opinion on closed meeting
By Dan Abendschein, Staff Writer
COVINA - The district attorney's office asked the state Attorney General's office for an opinion on whether the city was allowed to make a redevelopment loan in closed session.
The city and DA differ in their interpretations of the Ralph M. Brown Act, which governs how public meetings are conducted.
The DA's Public Integrity Division dropped an open-meeting violation case against Covina last week with the understanding that the Attorney General would give a clear interpretation of the law.
The case was filed in response to a complaint from Bob Low, a former Covina mayor and frequent council critic.
The complaint centered around a December 2005 City Council meeting where the council went into closed session and agreed to issue a $1.75 million redevelopment loan to a local business.
Both the DA and city agreed the matter was best left to state authorities.
"This is an equitable and economic solution that will save taxpayers the money it would cost to try this case," said Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Snyder.
Snyder said that her office's aim was not to punish Covina, but to establish whether decisions about redevelopment loans can be held in private.
"The ultimate outcome is what we want: either a decision that vindicates us, or clear reasons why our interpretation is off," Snyder said. "We're confident our interpretation is solid."
Paul Phillips, Covina city manager, said the dismissal of the complaint was an exoneration of the city.
"I think it proves we were clearly following the law as we understood it," Phillips said.
The dismissal ensures that the city will not face any penalty, no matter what opinion the Attorney General's office issues, Snyder said. She added that the opinion will likely not come out of the office for at least six months.
Covina's attorneys had maintained that there were entitled to meet in closed-session under a Brown Act exemption for real-estate price negotiations.
But Snyder argued that the 2005 loan to Bert's Mega Mall, a motorcycle and watercraft business on Azusa Avenue, did not involve the "purchase, sale, exchange, or lease of real property," which are the activities the Brown Act allows for closed-session real-estate negotiations.
Snyder noted the city rescinded the action and re-made the loan in open-session, which was a factor in the office's reasoning in dropping the case.
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, December 4, 2007
As city's legal fees rise, confusion persists
Rosemead reviews law firms' contracts
By Jennifer McLain, Staff Writer
ROSEMEAD - The decision to hire two law firms for municipal work is proving costly and confusing, city officials said.
The law firm Garcia, Calderon and Ruiz was hired in April to take over as the city's and redevelopment agency's attorney. But half of the firm's work was taken away in September when Burke, Williams and Sorensen was hired to represent the redevelopment agency.
City officials said the move would help reduce attorney's fees. But since then, attorney's bills are higher than in past years, and officials can't agree on how to divvy up the responsibilities.
"As of today, there still needs to be more clarification," Mayor John Tran said.
Confusion remains on whether Garcia's firm will be representing the Planning Commission or if that duty should be passed on to Burke, Williams and Sorensen. The City Council on Tuesday requested to review both firms' contracts and to discuss it at a future meeting.
The Planning Commission handles issues related to land use, and Burke, Williams and Sorensen was hired to represent the city on those matters. But Garcia's firm is still representing the commission.
Councilwoman Margaret Clark is concerned the city is being overcharged by Garcia's firm.
City Attorney Bonifacio Garcia has charged the city nearly $164,000 for five months of work, including an August bill for $17,622, and a May bill for $56,440.
Burke, Williams and Sorensen charged $5,612 for the month of September.
"I've been disappointed in the billing and the performance," Clark said referring to Garcia's firm.
In the meantime, the city is also paying its former law firm, Wallin, Cress, Reisman and Kranitz, for several cases it is handling. During six months, the firm has charged nearly $30,000, including $1,862 a month for health insurance.
City Manager Oliver Chi said the council has addressed ways to control Garcia's attorney's fees, and they are beginning to see the effects now.
"We are at a better place today at our legal costs than several months ago," he said.
Garcia's high bills prompted the city to place a cap on his contract, limiting him to $30,000 a month.
"I am satisfied with the type of work and legal advice that his firm has provided," Tran said.
Rosemead has budgeted legal fees at $265,000 for the 2007-08 fiscal year, and Chi expects the fees to exceed the budget.
"It falls in line with what we have already set aside for what we've budgeted," Tran said. "We took action to decrease our legal bills, and I think that it is working."
Whittier Daily News, November 26, 2007
Edison Nixes Expansion Plan; Fire Officials Express Relief
By Deborah Schoch, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Southern California Edison is canceling a controversial program that allows commercial buildings under its high-voltage transmission lines, saying that the structures can interfere with line maintenance and future expansion.
The decision comes as county fire officials have grown increasingly outspoken about the safety of allowing structures on the wide rights of way that in the past have been left empty for safety reasons or used for farm fields, horse stables and plant nurseries. The utility will return to its former policy of reserving the rights of way under the lines for "low intensity" uses such as greenbelts and hiking trails, Edison officials said in a statement.
Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief Scott L. Poster reacted enthusiastically when told Edison was changing its policy.
"That's good. They may have their own reasons to do it, but it's definitely good for the Fire Department and public safety," he said.
Edison launched an aggressive program several years ago to lease land under high-voltage lines for dozens of planned self-storage centers, RV storage yards and other projects. In the last seven years, buildings have been proposed on Edison rights of way in at least 18 cities in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Many called for 65-year leases.
The Edison program reflects the growing scarcity of affordable open land in the densely populated region, as cities and developers strain to add new buildings in shoehorn fashion. Some industry experts hailed the program as an innovative way to reap more revenue from the long strips of vacant land lacing the Los Angeles Basin.
Several projects have been built, including one self-storage complex in Long Beach and another near Anaheim. Others have received city approval, and a small strip mall is now under construction in Rosemead.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department has fought the program for more than three years, saying that several California firefighters have been killed or injured while battling fires or training under high-voltage lines. Poster said he once watched a firefighter receive a severe shock when water from his hose hit a transmission line.
The department, which serves 58 of the county's 88 cities, revised its fire code in 2006 to forbid permanent structures under the lines.
Poster said in an interview Wednesday that county fire officials felt so strongly about the potential safety problems that they were requesting a similar change in international codes.
Edison officials released a statement Thursday in response to questions from the Times about safety issues that might be caused by the building program. The statement said the program was ending because "permanent structures impair our ability to safely maintain and inspect" the lines and that future expansions would leave less land available for other uses.
"We made our decision independently of any decision by the county Fire Department," Edison spokesman Steve Conroy said Saturday.
All buildings now on its rights of way are safe, he said.
Conroy said the main reason for Edison's policy change was the utility's $4.3-billion project to expand and improve its transmission grid. In its statement, Edison said it would honor its commitments to finishing existing projects.
It wasn't clear exactly when the program was canceled. Conroy said Edison had been considering the change for more than a year. But as recently as Nov. 6, the utility filed an application with the state Public Utilities Commission to lease 17 acres under transmission lines in Chino to a storage firm.
In September, an Edison representative presented a written statement to the city of Orange planning department backing a proposed Vault Self Storage complex under high-voltage lines in that city.
Edison must obtain state approval when it leases land to developers, and the PUC has approved a number of self-storage projects, including one this year for a facility in the Eagle Rock area of Los Angeles. The commission has not reviewed fire safety questions, which it considers a local land-use matter handled by cities, said Sean Gallagher, director of the PUC's Energy Division.
"We're the utility regulator, but we're not the land-use regulator," he said Friday. Gallagher said he was not aware of the county Fire Department's concerns but that "we'd be happy to talk to fire officials and get a better feel for the issue," nor was he aware that Edison was ending its building program.
Power lines are suspected in at least five of the 12 major wildfires in Southern California in October, prompting an ongoing PUC review. Two families who lost homes, in the Witch and Rice fires, are suing San Diego Gas & Electric Co., saying the utility failed to clear brush, the Associated Press reported Friday.
The Edison program largely involved commercial building on rights of way in densely built urban and suburban areas rather than the more wild areas where most of the fires occurred.
Conroy said that last month's fires were not a factor in Edison's decision to end the program.
Edison officials told The Times in May that they launched their lease-and-build program in the post-deregulation era under pressure from the PUC to benefit shareholders and ratepayers by making better use of its properties.
Edison property manager Lou Salas said then that the company had signed an exclusive option in 2001 with Tustin-based RHC Communities Inc. to develop a number of projects. At the time, RHC projects had been approved in five cities and were pending in many others.
An RHC spokesman said last week that the firm was "very concerned" about future projects. As of Friday, RHC had no comment on the program's cancellation.
The program has led to the termination of leases with dozens of Christmas tree farms and other small tenants. In Pasadena, some residents have fought Edison's plans for two self-storage projects that would have replaced two popular plant nurseries, Persson's and Present Perfect.
That project, which would have included new parkland, is now on hold.
The Edison program was hailed as "one of the most progressive secondary land use programs identified" in an article in the Spring 2007 edition of Right of Way magazine. The article cited the growing shortage of land in many urban areas, saying, "The failure to effectively utilize utility ROWs [rights of way] is tantamount to waste."
Some land-hungry area cities have welcomed the prospect of developing Edison rights of way, including small, lower-income cities under the tall power line towers lining the Los Angeles and San Gabriel rivers. They viewed it as a way to increase city revenue and strengthen the local economy.
In Edison's hometown of Rosemead, for example, city officials approved a small Valley Boulevard strip mall under high-voltage lines. Construction workers on Friday were building cinder-block walls on the property.
City Manager Oliver Chi said Rosemead issued building permits for the project despite the fact that the county Fire Department refused to approve the building plans. The developer made several changes to the project in response to the county's concerns, Chi said.
The plans "weren't denied, they weren't approved, and what that means is open to interpretation," Chi said. "Given that lack of clarity, given all of the input, the decision was made here at the city level. We felt it was appropriate to move ahead with that project."
Poster said the Fire Department opposes putting the building under fire lines.
Paramount approved a self-storage project in 2006, but it is stalled because of the county Fire Department's concerns.
Bellflower is counting on a proposed self-storage project because it would also allow for development of a 15-acre park along the San Gabriel River. City Manager Michael J. Egan said Friday that he had not heard that Edison was ending its lease-and-build program and did not know how it would affect the park plan.
"This entire area is what we call park-poor, and we need to do everything we can to provide open space," Egan said.
Other cities did not rush to embrace the lease-and-build program. Torrance, for example,opposes building on transmission corridors for safety reasons. Orange Planning Director Ed Knight said officials were surprised by the recent self-storage proposal, especially since Edison was blocking plans for a 6-foot wall elsewhere on its right of way.
"I'm a little bewildered what Edison's thinking is on this," Knight said.
Edison and the county Fire Department have been debating the program since 2003, and a special panel convened by the department concluded that permanent structures should not be allowed.
An Edison consultant reported that no federal, state or local codes prohibit the placement of buildings under high-voltage lines.
County fire officials, however, responded that the lack of codes reflects the fact that utility companies have never allowed buildings there.
Representatives of several large utilities said last week that they keep their transmission corridors free of buildings.
The Bonneville Power Administration forbids permanent structures under its 15,442 miles of transmission lines in the Pacific Northwest, spokesman Scott Simms said Thursday. In New York, neither Con Edison nor the New York Power Authority allows permanent buildings on rights of way.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has been approached by self-storage developers but instead uses its transmission corridors for parks, walkways and other open space, said spokesman Joe Ramallo.
Edison's policy change comes too late for most of the tree farms, small nurseries and other small tenants who were forced to leave the utility's property.
The 230 horses at B&B Stables in Cerritos stayed put, but only after a bevy of city, state and federal elected officials rallied to save the 45-year-old business owned by Bob and Mary Buell.
"It used to be that Edison was friends to everyone," Bob Buell said. But then came the self-storage projects.
Buell said he was heartened that Edison would resume its old open-space policy, but added that many old tenants may not return.
"Even today," he said "if you ask a nursery if they want to go back on Edison land, most of them will say no."
Los Angeles Times, November 18, 2007
Council looks at costs of travel
S. El Monte cites lack of oversight
By Jennifer McLain, Staff Writer
SOUTH EL MONTE - Missing receipts, excessive traveling and little oversight were the main reasons city officials gave Friday for overspending on travel.
City Council members talked for nearly two hours on ways to control meeting and travel expenses. They held the special meeting Friday because council members will be traveling to conferences in New Orleans and Las Vegas next week.
South El Monte, which has the highest travel budget in the San Gabriel Valley, exceeded its $60,000 limit by $8,000 in 2006-07.
"It's something I think all of us took for granted," said Councilman Louie Agui aga. "Now, each of us is saying, `Oh my God,' we've spent so much money."
Slashing the travel budget and issuing debit cards could curb the council's traveling costs, officials said. But having staff stop council members from spending more than they are allotted and letting them know if they are violating expense policy would help, Councilman Joseph Gonzales said.
"This has always been a question of who regulates the City Council," he said.
Since the council has the authority to hire or fire the city manager, no one can really hold council members accountable, he said.
Three members recommended reducing the budget to $8,000 for each council member. Currently, they each get $12,000 a year to spend on conferences and travel.
Records show that Councilman Hector Delgado spent $3,674 and Mayor Blanca Figueroa spent $8,811 over their budget.
One way to gain control is to issue each council member a debit card with a $12,000 limit, city officials said Friday.
"Once you've reached your limit, that's it," Delgado said. "This is another tool to have - a checks and balances."
Dave Bass, interim finance director, said receipts will need to be turned in to prove purchases on the debit card. The city's policy requires council members to submit receipts, but the policy is not followed, Gonzales said.
City policy also allows for council members to receive $75 a day for cash advances to cover travel-related costs. The policy states, however, that receipts must be provided within five business days after trips. This policy is not followed either, council members said.
"I have only seen one or two credit card charges," Gonzales said. "That is one thing that has fallen through the cracks."
He also said he has been unable to get receipts for a 20-day trip council members took to Mexico last year, which cost the city nearly $20,000.
"Where's the receipts?" Gonzales asked.
State law requires receipts be submitted.
"We need to think more wisely in the expenses," said Mayor Blanca Figueroa.
She suggested cutting costs by booking flights earlier or cutting back on cell phone use while out of the country.
The council voted to discuss and issuing debit cards at a future meeting.
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, November 9, 2007
Bradbury stalls on civic center
City Council split with one seat vacant, unable to agree on costs
By Emanuel Parker, Staff Writer
BRADBURY - Building a better civic center here will have to wait until the City Council can agree on its cost.
In a project originally expected to be done by July of last year, design plans for a new building to replace a small civic center structure are in limbo now, with not enough council votes to either move the project forward or kill it.
Mayor William Todd and Mayor Pro Tem Richard T. Hale favor the project, while Councilman Brian Guthrie said too much money has been spent on architectural plans.
Councilman Richard Barakat lives so close to City Hall he has had to recuse himself from voting on the issue.
The fifth council seat is vacant. (The deadline for candidates to file to run for the post is 5 p.m. today.)
That leaves two council members favoring the project and one opposed - but three votes are needed to act.
Barakat said he doesn't want to spend more than $600,000 to renovate the current City Hall at 600 Winston Ave.
The existing building is 1,100 square feet and occupies a third of its 1-acre site.
The project to replace that building, approved by the council in January last year, is budgeted at $2.4 million and calls for the construction of a 3,200-square-foot facility. It would include a community center and offices for city staff.
"I want to set the budget for the project - a number the community can be happy with, and figure out what to do after that," Barakat said.
Guthrie said the city has spent $130,000 - or $139,000, according to Todd - for architectural drawings. But residents disliked the designs so much that Onyx Architects, the Pasadena firm hired by the city, is now working on a new design.
"They were too commercial for the residential neighborhood where City Hall is," said Guthrie.
He favors possibly moving City Hall to a site on Royal Oaks Drive near Duarte.
Guthrie said he, too, lives near City Hall and added that people have knocked on his door, believing it was City Hall. Guthrie said he realizes the city needs a new or expanded facility.
"The current building is so small, it discourages civic involvement," he said. "You get more than 10 people at a council meeting, and it's a standing-room-only crowd."
Todd said that while people may be unhappy about spending nearly $140,000 for architectural plans, that was the price agreed upon.
"What people don't get is that we have tried to keep cost down as low as possible, to get a functional facility at a cost residents can afford. Our aim is to secure a building for the least amount of money," Todd said.
He said the most logical site is the current one.
Moving City Hall to East Royal Oaks Drive, Todd said, would cause problems.
"The residents wouldn't want it there and it would raise more issues, cause more delays and more divisiveness," he said.
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, November 9, 2007
Bell Gardens official faces campaign charges;
Mario Beltran could face fines and jail time if convicted of not filing finance reports.
Hector Becerra, Times Staff Writer
Bell Gardens City Councilman Mario Beltran was charged Wednesday with three counts of failing to file campaign contribution reports with the state.
Beltran would be prohibited from running for public office for four years if he is convicted of the misdemeanors.
"That's the kicker," said David Demerjian, who heads the district attorney's public corruption unit. "He would not be removed from office. But he would not be able to run."
Beltran could face six months in jail and a $10,000 fine if he is convicted.
In March, Beltran was convicted of filing a false police report claiming that he was robbed after passing out drunk at a downtown hotel used by prostitutes.
The LAPD and the FBI are investigating allegations that Beltran steered a $5-million automobile towing contract to a company connected to an old friend and business associate, and that the owner of the towing firm made threats against another council member.
Beltran's attorney, Philip Cohen, said the long-standing investigations of his client must not be turning up much, judging by the latest charges.
"They're trying to make something that's not there," Cohen said. "After a prolonged investigation, the only thing they've filed are charges based on campaign reporting. They're falling back to something that's procedural at best."
Demerjian said politicians and those seeking office are required to tell the state who gave them money and how they spent it.
"He never filed anything," Demerjian said. "We don't know if he got campaign contributions from some source he doesn't want to disclose or what."
Los Angeles Times, November 1, 2007
Travel tally City expense budgets range from frugal to generous
By Tania Chatila and Jennifer McLain, Staff Writers
Local cities expect to spend nearly a half-million dollars this year to send officials to conferences across the country.
Taxpayer money covers nearly all the costs associated with these trips, including air fare, hotel stays and meals.
But where these elected officials go, what they spend and how often they travel differs from city to city.
A review of travel expenses for council members in 17 cities show some municipalities budget as little as $5,000 for travel and have strict policies that curb expenses. Other cities, however, give their councils up to $60,000 a year - split equally among members - to cover costs like $75 seafood plates, stays at posh hotels and beers ordered at pool-side bars.
"We've never needed (limits)," La Puente Councilman Louie Lujan said. "All of our council members have always acted professionally, always submitted receipts. We've never had any issues."
La Puente, which has 43,000 residents, and South El Monte, with 22,500 residents, have the largest budgets of all 17 cities, at $60,000 a year each.
South El Monte did not respond timely to a public records request made in July. Late Friday, the city released some documents that are being reviewed.
South El Monte Councilman Louie Aguinaga said their expense budget is justified because of the amount of commercial development occurring in the city.
"Because of the conferences we go to," Aguinaga said, "we are getting the money we deserve, and it has paid off."
Other cities with double, triple or even five times the number of residents have smaller budgets.
But Lujan said those numbers alone are difficult to compare.
"For each council in their respective cities, of course they vote on what works for them," Lujan said. "This works for us."
West Covina, Pasadena and El Monte all have populations of more than 100,000. West Covina's budget is $39,000, El Monte's is $30,000 and Pasadena's is $27,000. Whittier, with a population of 83,700, budgets $17,200 for meetings and travel.
"Considering we're not financially strapped ... we're pretty frugal," Whittier City Controller Rod Hill said. "It's not like they are just going to travel for the heck of it."
La Verne had the lowest travel budget reviewed with a total of $5,000 a year. Last year, council members spent $3,000 more than what was budgeted, but that number is still lower than all other cities.
"Some people would say that is exorbitantly cheap," said La Verne City Manager Martin Lomeli. "We have a city council who gets out to a lot of regional activities, but they just don't tend to travel a lot."
Not all cities follow that trend.
While most local council members travel to between three to five conferences a year, Rosemead Councilman John Nunez attended 22 conferences in two years.
"The way I see it is that I have a unique opportunity to attend conferences," he said. "I don't have small kids, I don't have a 60-hour job. I'm just trying to be a better city councilman."
The total cost of Nunez's trips could not be calculated due to the way Rosemead files expenses.
Nunez said the conferences allow him to network and learn about complex issues such as redevelopment.
"Sure, I could read a book about some of these things," he said. "But that would take me seven years."
These conferences are "extremely valuable," said Eva Speigel, spokeswoman for the League of California Cities.
"They have an opportunity to learn from experts, learn new ideas, hear from legislators, hear what is happening in the Capitol, and have the opportunity to network," Speigel said. "That is very important because they aren't able to do that just staying in their cities."
But attending conferences does not always come with a high price tag, according to officials.
Baldwin Park, Diamond Bar, West Covina, El Monte and Industry are a few of the cities that have daily meal limit.
"In some instances, obviously you look and see there are those politicians that abuse the system," Baldwin Park Mayor Manuel Lozano said. "Personally, I think it's good for us to have this system in place. It not only monitors but reminds you this is public money."
Meal caps range from about $50 to $100 a day in the municipalities that have them.
Some policies allow for a slightly larger allowance in what are considered "high-cost cities."
"The meal limits establish a cost associated with those expenses and cap those costs at which the city will reimburse," Diamond Bar City Manager James DeStefano said.
In most cities, if council members go over their limit, they must pay for it. With these caps, municipalities take into consideration that food is often served free of charge to members attending conferences.
In West Covina, Councilman Mike Touhey was denied reimbursement for a $21 breakfast and a $23 lunch while at a conference in Monterey last year. The reason: those meals were "included in seminar itinerary," records show.
But such policies are not always followed.
While it has a $65-a-day limit for food, Rosemead paid for a $243.29 bill from Les Artise Steakhouse that was found on the invoice of Councilman John Nunez's bill while he stayed at the Paris hotel in Las Vegas in 2006.
Officials could not explain the expense.
"I think you'd go on what's sensible and reasonable," said Martin Saiz, a professor of political science at Cal State Northridge. "Certainly steak and lobster every night is a little excessive."
While at a conference in Las Vegas in May, a group of La Puente officials - including Lujan, Mayor Lou Perez, Councilwoman Renee Chavez, City Manager Carol Cowley and Assistant City Manager Gregg Yamachika - used about $700 of taxpayer money for dinner at Ceasars Palace.
Some of the meals purchased included a $46 lamb chop plate, a $45 lobster plate and a $42 prime rib plate, receipts show.
"I had never been to Vegas before," Cowley said. "It was my first time so I had no clue of what restaurants were good ... I tried to look for restaurants with medium range so that we didn't go overboard and then I made the reservation at Nero's."
Cowley said she was floored by the menu prices and had not expected to pay that much.
La Puente has no meal limits. Lujan said they are too restrictive, considering council members are adults and should be trusted to use public funds accordingly.
If La Puente council members choose, they can spend $70 on organic greens, steak, sorbet and iced tea for dinner, as Mayor Perez did while at a conference in Indian Wells last year, receipts show.
Earlier that day, while visiting the Hadley Fruit Orchard in Cabazon, he spent an additional $20 on a hot dog, a shake, one pound of peaches and 12 ounces of apricots, records show.
Lujan said he purposely books his hotels on discount travel sites like priceline.com so that he can spend a little extra on entrees like ahi tuna, salmon, vegetarian pizza and red snapper, as seen in his receipts.
He encourages council members in all cities to take advantage of every penny of their expense budgets.
"I know some council members (in general) that don't use their full budget for fear of scrutiny," Lujan said. "I wish they would just get over it."
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, October 28, 2007
Former city official ordered to stand trial
WEST COVINA - A judge ordered a former planning commissioner to stand trial on perjury and conflict of interest charges, officials said Friday.
Carlos Thrasher, 42, of West Covina, will be arraigned Nov. 7 on two misdemeanor counts of conflict of interest and one felony count of perjury, according to Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, October 27, 2007
Report: Release of pay stubs an error
By Will Bigham, Staff Writer
CLAREMONT - The release of city employee pay stubs through the city's Web site was caused by human error, according to a report commissioned by the city.
The report confirms claims made by the Claremont Insider blog that the information was available on the city's online public document archive.
The report also confirms that there was no security breach or theft related to the release of the pay stubs.
"I regret the error was made, but human error is a natural phenomenon that occurs in life," City Manager Jeff Parker said.
The pay stubs were inadvertently placed on the city's Web site while the Information Technology Department was working to change the procedures used to archive payroll documents, said Steve Senkle, the city's IT manager.
"There are rights as to what folders and files get put on public access versus private," Parker said. "And at some point in time those rights were modified in our system, which then made those folders public."
The city has taken steps to shore up the security of the online document archive, and officials said Thursday that they expected the archive back online by the end of the day.
"We purchased additional licensing for the software that allows us to create two additional databases, separate databases within the system, so that confidential records can be separated from public records," Senkle said.
"That being the case, it won't be possible in the future for this mistake to result in confidential records being made available because our confidential database will not be connected in any way to the Internet."
On Sept. 7, the Claremont Insider blog posted a scanned copy of Parker's pay stub, along with salary and benefit information for city employees who were identified by name.
In response, the city shut down its public document archive and sent a letter to Google, which hosts the blog, demanding that the post be removed and demanding that the hosting service for the blog be terminated.
In addition to the pay stubs accessed by the blog, additional payroll-related files were accessible on the city's Web site, including pension slips and other documents that included Social Security numbers and bank account information, Parker said.
City officials declined to state how long the information had been available on the city's Web site.
Parker said the report will not be forwarded to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, as he had previously stated, because the report shows that there was no theft involved in the release of the documents.
A two-week investigation into the release of the pay stubs was conducted by Michael Fitzpatrick, CEO of the NCX Group.
Fitzpatrick said that as more information and filing systems have become electronic, his company has seen similar problems occur in other organizations.
"It's potentially a problem for public agencies, for private organizations, as anything becomes electronic in nature," Fitzpatrick said. "The more we rely on it, the more opportunity there is for mistakes to be made."
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, October 19, 2007
Lawsuit alleges city is hostile
By Jennifer McLain, Staff Writer
ROSEMEAD -- Two men who are suing Rosemead for unpaid wages said "intimidation" and "fear" pervade City Hall.
Longtime Rosemead employees Randy Haro, who quit in May, and Robert Ballin, who is on disability, filed a lawsuit against the city nearly three weeks ago.
In the lawsuit, Haro and Ballin allege that the city failed to pay them -- as well as up to 40 other employees — in both regular and overtime wages.
"I want what I deserve," said Ballin, a Baldwin Park resident. "This city was a beautiful city to work for. Now, forget it."
The city is investigating the allegations, said City Manager Oliver Chi.
"We've referred this over to the (Joint Powers Insurance Authority) and our legal counsel," Chi said Friday. "And we're auditing our financial records."
Haro, 46, said he believes the city owes him at least $40,000.
"But it isn't about the money, it's the principle," Haro said.
In the last two years, both employees, who have worked nearly 30 years combined, said that after an upheaval among the staff and city council, they were encouraged to quit, did not receive raises and took a cut in benefits.
"I feel there is a hostile work environment," Haro said. "It is very uncomfortable, and people are very afraid to say anything because they think they'll get fired."
Similar claims surfaced recently from Councilman Gary Taylor, who alleges that a private investigator reported city employees were exposed to a hostile work environment and stayed silent in fear of getting fired.
Mayor John Tran said he thinks Haro is just "jumping on the bandwagon with Gary, which is a shame."
Tran added that since the staff is not hired by the council, there is no direct authority over the employees.
Councilwoman Margaret Clark, who has been on the council for nearly 17 years, disagrees.
"The hostile work environment is definitely there," Clark said. "Maybe a change in the council would solve it."
The city received the lawsuit Oct. 3. It was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Sept. 25.
It alleges employees were asked to work "off-the-clock." On other occasions they were paid "straight-time instead of time and one-half their regular rates of pay when performing work in excess of 40 hours per week — or not paid at all," the lawsuit states.
City Manager Chi said there was never any indication during prior discussions with Haro or Ballin that they were not being paid.
"Employees generally know if they are not being compensated," Chi said. "If this would have been happening, I am sure we would have heard about it sooner."
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, October 14, 2007
School board terminates contract with legal firm
By Marisela Santana, Staff Writer
LYNWOOD -- The school board has voted 3-2 not to renew its contract with the Leal and Trejo law firm as the district's counsel.
School board members Rachel Chavez, Guadalupe Rodriguez and Maria Lopez voted against renewing the contract, while school board President Jose Luis Solache and board clerk Alfonso Morales voted in favor of retaining Leal and Trejo.
Chavez, who opposed the hiring of Leal & Trejo from the beginning, said she never felt that the firm was knowledgeable enough to guide a school district as large as Lynwood's.
The firm was originally hired by Lopez, Rodriguez, Solache and Morales, Chavez said, but the time has come when "you realize, or you wonder who the firm is working for -- the school district or the superintendent."
Rodriguez and Lopez have recently questioned the firm's bills, asking for line-item expense reports, but have yet to get the answers they sought. Rodriguez said she has been concerned for months about the firm's high billing statements. Lopez agreed with Rodriguez.
Chavez said she is willing to work with the law firm while the school district draws up an request for proposal, which according to the superintendent, is still being worked on.
In hiring a new law firm, Chavez said she would prefer the school board consider one that strictly caters to school districts.
The longtime school board member said she believes that Leal & Trejo have contributed to school board members' campaigns and said that has no business in the school district.
"That's what got the city in trouble," she said.
Sources at the school district have said that Superintendent Dhyan Lal is hoping the upcoming school board election, which will be joined with the city's general election on Nov. 6, brings a change in the board, one that will allow Leal & Trejo to stay on the job.
Lal denied that accusation.
He said he only wants what is best for the children and that it is not true that the law firm has catered to his wishes, rather than those of the district.
"They don't work for me, they work for the school district, but I have the last word," Lal said. "So they have to work with me."
Before casting their 3-2 vote, school board members discussed Leal and Trejo's $1.2 million budget for the 2006-07 fiscal year.
"This type of money is outrageous," Chavez said. "That type of money has a very big impact on our budget. It's money that we could use for the children."
The law firm at one point, Lopez said, had a cap of $500,000, but "they've gone overboard," she said.
A lot of times, Lopez said, the superintendent and the attorneys would leave school board members out of the loop.
"That's just my personal view," she said. "Our job as a school board and the job of whoever is our district counsel has the job of protecting the district's funds, and keeping expenditures down, not the other way around."
Whether the superintendent believes he has the last word or not, it's the school board members who are elected "by the community" to represent them, Lopez said.
"It's all about transparency," she said. "Both the superintendent and the attorneys are supposed to keep us informed of what's going on. We're supposed to be working together, not being left in the dark about issues that are costly."
Aside from the firm's $1.2 million budget for the 2006-07 fiscal year, the Leal & Trejo firm also serves as the district's lobbying representatives in Sacramento, for which it receives $3,500 a month. That contract has been in effect for three years as well and according to Chavez, is a separate fee from the legal fees.
Chavez was the only one who voted against hiring general counsel for that job, too. This was the first time in three years that Chavez was joined by other members of the school board in voting against renewing the Leal and Trejo contract.
[Francisco] Leal served as the city of Lynwood's attorney for several years in the 1990s under a former partnership with former City Attorney Arnoldo Beltran. Beltran was removed as the city attorney earlier this year.
Several calls to the Leal and Trejo offices in downtown Los Angeles were not returned by presstime and Trejo could not be reached on his cell phone for comment.
School board President Solache also could not be reached for comment.
The school board did agree to grant Leal and Trejo a temporary contract, until it hires a new law firm.
The three school board members said they expect the requests for proposals for a new law firm to go out soon.
Los Angeles Wave, October 11, 2007
City attorney clarifies letter's intent
Carvalho says she didn't ask Claremont blog be shut down
By Will Bigham, Staff Writer
CLAREMONT - City Attorney Sonia Carvalho delivered an emotional statement during Tuesday night's City Council meeting denying that she intended to demand, in her letter to Google, that the company terminate the Claremont Insider blog.
On Sept. 7, the anonymously penned blog posted a scanned copy of City Manager Jeff Parker's pay stub, along with salary and benefit information of city employees who were identified by name.
In response, Carvalho sent a letter to Google later that day demanding that the company remove the post and "terminate the hosting service for this blog to prevent further violations."
Carvalho said that when she sent the letter, she had incomplete information on what the blog possessed, and she feared that the blog would publish more copies of employee pay stubs, which she believes contain personal employee information.
"I have to tell you in hindsight I can see how the structure of the letter, the raised statement in the letter, and the demand itself might appear offensive to those who abhor the idea of prior restraint," Carvalho said.
The intent of the letter was not to demand that the blog be shut down completely, Carvalho said, but that Google "honor its privacy policies in the event that further breaches of employee privacy occurred."
Since the content of Carvalho's letter to Google was revealed last week, the city attorney has been criticized for her actions.
"I've been personally attacked by the blogs, and I have to admit to you it doesn't feel good," Carvalho said. "And if the aim of those bloggers were to make me suffer personal pain, then they've succeeded."
Carvalho's statement came after Dean McHenry, president of Active Claremont, admonished the city for its actions.
"I think that's the first time since this city was founded 100 years ago that you've gone to the extent of demanding the shutdown of a news source," McHenry said.
Michael Keenan, former City Council candidate, used his time at the public microphone to read aloud for nearly six minutes a list of salary and benefit figures for city employees, whom he identified by name.
The investigation by an outside consultant into the pay stub leak has been completed, and the final report was delivered to City Manager Jeff Parker on Monday afternoon, Assistant City Manager Tony Ramos said Wednesday.
Ramos said that Parker had not finished reading the report, and did not indicate when the document would be released to the public.
"After (Parker) reads it, he will tell me what's next," Ramos said.
Inland Dally Bulletin, October 10, 2007
Challenger Sotelo tops money list in W. Covina council race
By Alison Hewitt, Staff Writer
WEST COVINA - The six candidates vying for two seats on the City Council have already raised a combined total of more than $100,000 this year, according to recently submitted campaign documents.
A challenger, not an incumbent, has raised the most so far, buoyed by a personal loan. Candidate Rob Sotelo, who has been endorsed by Mayor Michael Touhey and Councilwoman Sherri Lane, led the pack by raising $31,743 this year. The 53-year-old plumber and chairman of the city's Planning Commission loaned himself $16,200 of that total.
"Over half my money came from me because I'm trying to be accountable and an up-front person," Sotelo said. "I needed some money from some community people, and I tried to get most of it from friends and family, but some of it had to come from companies."
A city ordinance limits campaign contributions to $500 for individuals and $1,000 for corporations. Political Action Committees are limited to $500 per committee and no more than $1,500 per candidate.
No PAC money was received by any of the reporting candidates.
Sotelo received the maximum legal contribution of $1,000 each from The Michael Touhey Co., local developer Abell-Helou Homes, trash company Athens Services, Nationwide Environmental Services and the California Street Hockey Association, which runs an indoor hockey rink in West Covina.
Councilman Steve Herfert raised $25,814 so far this year, taking second place in the fundraising race, and Councilman Roger Hernandez lined up fifth, with $14,280. Between them were challengers Karin Armbrust with $22,004 and Fredrick Sykes with $16,400. Challenger John Scheuplein rounded out the bunch with $1,500, all from a loan to himself.
Scheuplein, 67, is running in his third council election. He served on several city commissions and volunteered with the police and fire departments until he was removed for political reasons by the four-member council majority, he said.
"I am seeking donations, but ... a lot of people are afraid to donate to anything less than a sure thing," Scheuplein said.
Hernandez, a teacher and a former Rowland school board member first elected to the council in 2003, is often a lone dissenting vote on the council. One-third of his funding comes from three of the city's Clippinger car dealerships, owned by Ziad Alhassen, and Alhassen's real estate company, for a total of $3,960. Alhassen has been in an extended legal battle with the city.
Among Hernandez's other donors were a teacher, a school board member, and $990 from the South Hills Homes Partnership. He did not return calls seeking comment.
Herfert shared many donors with Sotelo, though he often received larger donations from those contributors. The 52-year- old scientist for Southern California Edison was first elected in 1990.
He received $1,000 each from developer The McIntyre Co., tow-truck company Royal Coaches, the developer of the city's Target/Home Depot project West Covina Retail Development, Nationwide Environmental Services, developer Barranca 1 LLC, the California Street Hockey Association, among others. Herfert and Sotelo received at least $4,498 total from other individuals and companies affiliated with the McIntyre company, making it the largest contributor in the election.
"Two-thirds of my contributors were individuals," not companies, Herfert noted.
Armbrust, a 38-year-old member of the Community Services Commission, is backed by Herfert and Councilwoman Shelley Sanderson. She said many of her donations were from friends and family, and she expressed surprise at unexpected donations from companies such as Excel Property Management, which gave her $1,000.
She also received $500 from a member of the Gabay family, of developer The Charles Co. The Gabays donated a total of $2,500 to Armbrust and Herfert.
Fredrick Sykes, 56, a retired Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, said he and Hernandez are coordinating their campaigns. Although on paper he has raised more money than Hernandez and Scheuplein put together, the overwhelming bulk of that came from a $15,000 loan to himself. The remaining $1,400 came from family, friends and neighbors, he said.
"It's about name recognition," Sykes said. "No one knows Fred Sykes in the business arena ... but it feels pretty good just to have my neighbors' support."
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, October 10, 2007
Report: Workers in hostile setting
Councilman calling for expanded inquiry
By Jennifer McLain, Staff Writer
ROSEMEAD - An investigator found that city employees were exposed to a hostile work environment and stayed silent for fears of getting fired, a councilman claims.
Rosemead Councilman Gary Taylor, in a letter to the council, said Tess Elconin was concerned about statements employees made during her investigation into a sexual harassment claim lodged against Councilman John Nunez. Taylor said "many of the 22 employees gave information of a hostile work environment."
Taylor has requested a public copy of Elconin's findings. He now wants her to expand her investigation.
"(Elconin) is concerned about items above and beyond Nunez," he said Monday.
Nunez declined to comment on Taylor's request.
"That is something my lawyers are working with," he said.
Elconin started the review in March. Nunez denies all the allegations.
The City Council is expected to vote today on whether the investigator should expand her inquiry.
"I believe the entire City Council is guilty of misfeasance by not taking actions to protect the Rosemead employees," Taylor wrote in an Oct. 2 letter to the council.
City Clerk Nina Castruita said no claims related to harassment or a hostile work environment have been filed within the past six months.
Councilwoman Polly Low said Taylor can have access to the information in closed-session meetings.
"There is no cover-up," Low said. "My problem is that he doesn't have all the information and is making assumptions."
At a Sept. 25 meeting, Elconin presented council members with a report in a closed-door meeting. Taylor refused to attend, saying he wants the information made public. At an earlier meeting, he said the findings should be sent to the District Attorney's Office or another law enforcement agency. That request was denied.
"I've exhausted my avenues in the city of Rosemead," Taylor said. "I'll ask (the city attorney) what he recommends."
City Attorney Bonifacio Garcia previously accused Taylor of violating state law by releasing private information.
The councilman challenged the city to file a complaint with the DA if they believed he broke the law.
"I'm hoping to get this straightened out so employees aren't fearful of talking about anything," Taylor said. "I'm trying to find out what they're doing to our employees."
Pasadena Star News, October 9, 2007
City wrong to go after blog
OUR VIEW: Request for Google to terminate the Internet service is hypocritical and an affront to concept of free speech.
It turns out the city of Claremont wanted nothing less than the death penalty for the Claremont Insider blog after it posted scans of two city administrators' pay stubs, along with information about other city employee's pay and benefits amounts.
City Attorney Sonia Carvalho, claiming that the information was obtained and posted illegally, demanded in a letter that Google not only remove the pay stub postings, but also "terminate the hosting service for this blog to prevent future violations."
The blog should be eliminated because of a claimed illegal act? That's pretty harsh.
After all, Claremont has on some occasions in recent years violated the Brown Act, the series of state laws that require government to be open and accountable to the governed. We consider breaking the Brown Act laws a very serious illegality because the purpose of the laws is to give the governed full rights to observe the workings of its elected government.
And yet, while we have admonished Claremont and other cities in no uncertain terms about Brown Act lawbreaking, we have never called for the Claremont council to be "terminated." We would never say that the City Council members should be turned out of office, or that city government should be disbanded, or that the city itself should be unincorporated, over an isolated breaking of Brown Act laws - even though we consider it a much more serious offense than posting a public employee's pay stub.
Yes, we're being a bit silly here, but the point is serious.
Mayor Peter Yao said the demand to remove the offending posts and the demand to terminate the blog were "one and the same," but that's not the case at all. The blog may be obnoxious to city leaders, but that pesky First Amendment gives the blog the right to free speech, especially political speech. One episode of posting information, even if is privileged as the city claims, should not override the blog's free-speech right. (If the blog were to do illegal things over and over, that might be a different story.)
Besides, it's not at all clear that the offending posts were illegal, or obtained illegally, or even consisted of privileged information. The California Supreme Court ruled in August that pay records for public employees are a matter of public record.
The pay stubs that were posted itemized dollar amounts for earnings, benefits, leave earnings and deductions. It did not reveal private information such as Social Security number, date of birth, home address or bank account numbers. The post did include information about types of medical deductions that we would not reveal; Carvalho says that information is privileged, some open-governments say it's not, some are unsure.
The cases are stronger, in our opinion, that Claremont's council violated the Brown Act:
In June, went it met in closed session to discuss negotiations between two private parties concerning the city's DoubleTree Hotel.
In January 2005, when it met in closed session to discuss a councilwoman's actions and how to respond to them.
Twice in early 2003, when a councilwoman participated in a committee meeting of a council subcommittee consisting of two councilmen, turning it into an unagendized council meeting; and when a councilman contacted his colleagues one by one to ask for another term as mayor, constituting an unlawful serial council meeting.
Even so, we support the city's right to exist.
City government has the right and duty to argue to protect employee information it considers privileged. But trying to shut down an information source based on one questionable transgression is beyond the pale.
Claremont prides itself on being a city that values civic discourse. Let's hope it continues to deserve that reputation.
Disagree? We'd like to hear from you. Write us at letters@dailybulletin.com.
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, October 8, 2007
Lynwood council members ignore recall, stay put
Replacements wait in the wings as four ousted in recent recall conduct business as usual
By Hector Becerra, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
By all appearances, there was going to be a historic changing of the guard Tuesday night at Lynwood City Hall. Four council members recalled from office were to step down and their newly elected replacements were to be sworn in.
An overflow crowd filled the council chambers as the city manager prepared for the new council members to take over.
But the ousted council members didn't budge.
To the surprise of many, the recalled officials went about business and showed no indication that they would relinquish control of power -- at least for now.
"I was all dressed up with nowhere to go," said Jim Morton, a longtime Lynwood resident who had expected to be sworn into office.
"There's a whole crowd of people there to see us installed. We were completely out of the picture, it seems."
Critics said it was a last-chance power grab by council members -- some of whom face public corruption charges filed by Los Angeles County prosecutors. When the recall started, the council stripped the city clerk of her election authority and refused to schedule an election, until state and county authorities stepped in.
"They won't listen to the county Board of Supervisors, they won't listen to [county Registrar-Recorder] Conny McCormack, they won't listen to a senator or even the governor," said Maria Santillan, the one council member not recalled.
Recalled Mayor Louis Byrd said he and his colleagues had a right to continue serving office. Byrd, 75, said he would step down later this month, and there have been rumblings in town about a court challenge.
The outgoing council members on Tuesday defied a new state law -- and bucked the advice of the city attorney -- by calling a special meeting to extend the life of a controversial proposal to build a 70,000-seat NFL-style stadium and commercial development.
"It's no different than the White House," Byrd said. "When a change of guard happens at the White House, the president signs pardons and this thing and the other. They clean house. They make something they want to happen, happen."
The stadium development was the central issue in the recall campaign, along with public corruption charges facing two of the council members. The development project would require more than 1,000 homes to be leveled.
The state law, based on a bill sponsored by Assemblyman Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate), prohibits any recalled elected official from taking an action that could cost city funds. Passed last year, it was inspired by the 2003 recall in South Gate, in which the outgoing politicians went on a spending spree.
City Atty. Anthony Willoughby said he advised the Lynwood council members not go ahead with the vote on the football stadium project.
"Whether they like it or not, it's the law of the land," Willoughby said.
There was debate about whether the current council should have stepped down Tuesday.
In a letter sent Tuesday to Lynwood, the county counsel stated that according to the state elections code, as soon as the results were certified, the oath of office was to be "immediately" administered. The Board of Supervisors had certified the election earlier that day.
De La Torre said the Lynwood council forfeited the right to administer the oath when the city lost the right to run the recall election because of its leaders' defiance.
"The officially elected new representatives can take office at any point. They can be sworn in at any time," De La Torre said. "They don't have to be sworn in at a council meeting. They can be sworn in in a garage."
De La Torre said the outgoing council members were exposing Lynwood to legal problems by voting on the stadium project in the face of state law.
"They're going against their fiduciary responsibility," De La Torre said. "Then again, since they're recalled, they probably don't feel a fiduciary responsibility, which is why I introduced that bill in the first place."
But Willoughby said the new council could not have taken office Tuesday, because there had not been a 24-hour notice of a public hearing, as law requires. He said he expected the new council members to be sworn in Oct. 16.
Critics accused ousted council members of trying to prolong their political careers in order to get certain pet projects passed. Byrd neither disagreed with that assessment nor apologized for their actions.
He said the city of more than 100,000 in southeast L.A. county needed developments, such as the football stadium and commercial project, to generate revenue.
Byrd said everyone whose home is leveled would get another one and not owe any more on it. But Councilwoman Santillan said that none of that was in writing and that people would end up giving up a house for a condominium.
Given the city's troubled recent history -- including a 16-year federal prison sentence handed down last year to former Mayor Paul Richards -- Santillan said people had no reason to trust the outgoing council members.
"We're going to follow the law," Byrd said. "What's the urgency? What was the urgency on the recall?"
The urgency, Santillan said, was to get the lame-duck council members out before they tried to pass what she considered more hare-brained schemes.
"My concern," Santillan said, "is they're going to call more special meetings and do, I don't know what."
Los Angeles Times, October 4, 2007
City wants blog pulled
Officials ask Google to terminate Claremont Insider
By Will Bigham, Staff Writer
CLAREMONT - The day the Claremont Insider blog posted a scan of City Manager Jeff Parker's pay stub, City Attorney Sonia Carvalho contacted Google and demanded that the company "terminate the hosting service for this blog to prevent future violations."
City officials had previously said they only demanded that Google, which hosts the blog, remove the offending post.
The demand to terminate the blog was contained in a letter sent by Carvalho to Google on Sept. 7.
The letter was released by the city after a public records request for the document was made by the Daily Bulletin.
Carvalho's letter also states that the information in the blog post "was obtained in an illegal manner that appears to have involved trespass theft."
The Claremont Insider blog, which is penned anonymously, has claimed it obtained copies of 283 city employee pay stubs through a legal search of the city's public documents archive.
After the blog obtained the information, it posted a copy of Parker's pay stub, later also posting the pay stub of Jeff Porter, director of human services.
The blog also posted the salaries and benefit figures of several dozen city employees.
In the days after being contacted by the city, Google removed the post and instructed the Claremont Insider not to re-post the pay stubs, claiming the pay stubs were copyrighted documents. The company did not terminate the blog.
Mayor Peter Yao said the demand for the blog to be terminated was appropriate because the city was attempting to remove "private, privileged employee information."
"I think it's one and the same," said Yao, referring to the city's demand that Google both remove the offending post and terminate the blog. "We were really addressing the issue of making public a lot of private, privileged employee information. I take them to be the same and not separate."
Councilman Sam Pedroza questioned the appropriateness of the city's demand, saying "it's not the role of the city to make a request like that."
Pedroza, however, remains very critical of the blog, which typically takes aim in its posts at prominent city leaders, including Pedroza.
"I always felt that the blog was nothing more than a negative political thing against me, so honestly I would be more than happy to see that thing get off the Internet," Pedroza said. "But it is what it is, and I don't know how legally the city could make that request (to terminate the blog)."
A city investigation into how the pay stubs were leaked remains under way, Parker said. He said the city hopes to complete its investigation in a week.
Parker said the city has not been able to confirm claims made by the blog that the documents were available on the city's Web site.
The city disabled its public document archive in the days following the initial blog post, and the archive remains down.
Parker said the archive will not be back up until the city's investigation, conducted by an outside specialist, is complete.
Parker also said that the city contacted the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in the days following the initial blog post and notified the agency of a potential theft of city documents.
Parker said the city will forward additional information to the Sheriff's Department when its internal investigation is complete.
"There are two issues," Parker said. "How did the information get there, and was it done appropriately? And two, is it in the hands of somebody who is inappropriate?
"If there's information out there that is privileged and private, and it's not public information, then it's against the law for somebody to have that information."
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, October 4, 2007
Lynwood mayor, 3 council members voted out Residents show their ire over a 70,000-seat stadium proposal by the politicians, who tried to block the recall election
By Hector Becerra and Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
Lynwood city leaders thought they had a winner when they proposed a 70,000-seat NFL football stadium in their working-class city.
This week, voters punted the mayor and three council members out of office -- capping years of investigations, allegations of corruption and grandiose ambitions for the city.
Mayor Louis Byrd and council members Fernando Pedroza, Alfreddie Johnson Jr. and Leticia Vasquez were recalled by some 2,300 voters, or about 70% of those who cast ballots in Tuesday's election, according to unofficial results by the Los Angeles registrar-recorder.
The recall comes four months after five current and former council members were charged by Los Angeles County prosecutors with using public funds to boost their salaries and pay for personal expenses.
The four recalled council members had tried to block the special election, going as far as firing the city clerk. But a judge and then the state Legislature ordered the election to go forward -- under the supervision of county election officials.
The recalled politicians were hurt by the council majority's passing of a steep water rate hike this year. Pedroza voted against the measure but by then had become linked with Byrd, Vasquez and Johnson, in the minds of many residents.
Only one council member, Maria Santillan -- who often voted differently than her colleagues -- was not targeted for a recall.
But the issues that sealed the recalled politicians' fate were their dogged interest in building the NFL-style stadium and in commercial development, many observers say.Because those plans would require an entire neighborhood to be torn down, the council majority essentially motivated a large bloc of voters to boot them out of office. Marches and demonstrations at City Hall ensued.
"People just don't want to be told they may have to give up their homes," said Jim Morton, who is holding a lead in the race to replace Vasquez. He said incoming council members would pursue the stadium plan at the risk of having very short political careers.
The recall is yet another black eye for Lynwood, about 15 miles south of downtown L.A.
In 2005, former longtime Mayor Paul Richards was convicted of steering $500,000 worth of city contracts to a front corporation he secretly owned. He was sentenced last year to 16 years in federal prison.
Then, two current and three former council members were accused by prosecutors of padding their official $9,600 salaries to receive as much as $100,000 for part-time services.
Byrd and Pedroza were accused of using city credit cards and other municipal funds for personal expenses, including trips abroad and airline tickets for spouses, and in Pedroza's case, a session with an exotic dancer in Mexico.
The two politicians vehemently denied the allegations. The council members resisted moving forward with the recall, even after county election officials had verified petitions signed by thousands of Lynwood residents. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill authorizing Los Angeles County officials to take over the recall election.
Some city residents view the political drubbing of the four council members as a highly politicized miscarriage of justice.
"We all want what's best for this city, but it seemed that the one who screams the loudest is the one who is heard," said Lorene Reed, a longtime Lynwood activist and city commissioner. "Right now, Lynwood is in deep trouble."
The situation is so unusual that county election officials had to ask questions of the county counsel to figure out what should happen next. In 2003, three council members and a treasurer in the city of South Gate were recalled by voters, but that's the only other example of a city council that has undergone a drastic change, said Dean Logan, the county's chief deputy registrar-recorder.
Once county election officials certify the election results, that certification will have to be signed by the county Board of Supervisors, Logan said, probably on Oct. 16.
Normally the remaining City Council members seat their new colleagues, but because there is only one incumbent left, another government body of the city of Lynwood will have to do that, he said.
Lynwood city manager Roger Haley, who came from Long Beach in August, said he expected city staff and county officials to talk at length about the next steps. He is optimistic about the city's future, even as potentially drastic changes loom.
"I believe with all my heart that this city, in the next few years, will probably be one of the better cities in the Southland," Haley said.
Alfredo Flores, J. "Tony" Martinez, Ramon Rodriguez and Morton are on track to be become the new council members, although county officials caution that 250 to 300 absentee and provisional ballots have yet to be counted. Even if Morton and Flores win, they will face an immediate test Nov. 6 because Byrd and Vasquez's seats are up for regular election.
Morton knows there is no time for rest.
"I've got to keep running right now because of the November election," he said. "I really can't even slow down."
Los Angeles Times, September 27, 2007
Attorney fees remain high Rosemead looking to trim spiraling costs
By Jennifer McLain, Staff Writer
ROSEMEAD - City attorney fees remain high despite shifts in billing practices and the hiring of a new lawyer.
Bonifacio Garcia of Garcia, Calderon and Ruiz was hired in April to represent Rosemead and its redevelopment agency. In four months, he has charged the city nearly $137,000. This includes an invoice dated Sept. 3 for $37,286, and a $52,677 bill for work done in May.
Rosemead has budgeted legal fees at $265,000 for the 2007-08 fiscal year. If Garcia's billing trend continues, fees could cost the city as much as $500,000 dollars for one year, starting from the attorney's hiring date.
Garcia did not return phone calls for comment.
In part because of the high fees, the City Council decided to cap Garcia's monthly bill at $30,000, and as of Sept. 1, a new law firm was taking over duties for the redevelopment agency.
But city officials now can't seem to agree just where Garcia's responsibilities end.
City Manager Oliver Chi said Burke, Williams and Sorensen was hired last month, replacing Garcia, to represent the city on all land use, housing and redevelopment issues.
"The planning commission handles land-use related issues," Chi said.
But Garcia's firm has continued to provide legal advice at the planning commission meetings. His contract required that he attend all planning commission meetings. In a revised contract, effective Sept. 1, that was redacted.
Mayor John Tran and Councilman John Nunez said they intend for Garcia to remain as attorney of the planning commission.
"As far as I understand, he will continue to represent the planning commission," Nunez said. "The redevelopment agency is separate from the planning commission."
Joe Montes, an attorney from Burke, Williams and Sorensen, will soon be representing the city's planning commission meetings, Chi said.
Montes did not return calls.
"We are in the process of transferring all of the planning commission related items to Joe Montes," Chi said. "This should be done by the next planning commission meeting."
Councilwoman Margaret Clark said she thinks Garcia is milking the city's coffers.
"I would like Burke, Williams and Sorensen to take over all of the attorney representation for the city," Clark said. Now, "we would be paying double for some of the same research on the same issues."
A May billing statement shows that Garcia charged $7,478 for preparation and attendance of two planning commission meetings.
Clark believes that Garcia is being "nitpicky" with his legal fees.
"Where is all the money going?" Clark said.
Nunez attributes the fees to changes in City Hall.
"There's a lot going on in the city," Nunez said. "I think the costs are justified because he is doing a lot of work that is over and above in the last couple of months."
Pasadena Star News, September 22, 2007
Council shoots down motion
By Alison Hewitt, Staff Writer
WEST COVINA - An effort by City Councilman Roger Hernandez to cap the monthly amount that can be paid to the city attorney was defeated in a 4-1 vote by the council.
Hernandez argued that limiting what the city pays for its legal services would help maintain a balanced budget.
"I don't know one resident ... who wants us to have unlimited spending," he argued at Tuesday night's council meeting.
Hernandez contended that cities like Pasadena and El Monte pay less for legal services than West Covina.
City Attorney Arnold Alvarez-Glasman disagreed.
"In West Covina, our rates are actually the lowest that we charge our municipal clients," he said Wednesday, and said Pasadena does not pay less.
He interpreted Hernandez's actions as election-year posturing.
"It's political season," Alvarez-Glasman said, "and I guess I'm just the duck in the pond that he's shooting at."
Hernandez said West Covina pays City Attorney Arnold Alvarez-Glasman $600,000 to $1 million annually. Alvarez-Glasman contended his monthly bill averages $25,000 to $30,000, or up to $360,000 annually.
Billing records obtained by this newspaper for the first quarter of 2007 indicate Alvarez-Glasman & Colvin invoiced West Covina
$50,352.85 in January; in February $60,420.62; in March $69,883.52. Upon reviewing older invoices, Alvarez-Glasman said he billed the city $607,643 total in 2005.
Hernandez and Alvarez-Glasman have tangled before. Hernandez has previously asked the council to consider other attorneys, and was rebuffed in a separate effort Tuesday night to get the council to reconsider Alvarez-Glasman's contract.
A city-commissioned investigation also reported in December that Hernandez verbally abused city employees, and Alvarez-
Glasman said he was one of the victims. Hernandez denied the accusations.
Hernandez's council colleagues were also skeptical of his proposal.
Mayor Michael Touhey said limiting legal expenses would encourage people with lawsuits to simply wait until the city ran out of money.
"We don't have the ability to cap our exposure to lawsuits," he said.
Councilwoman Sherri Lane agreed, saying she didn't want to "tie the hands" of city staff. Councilwoman Shelley Sanderson said it would be micromanaging, and questioned Hernandez's motives.
"It feels like there's just some animosity with regards to the legal services," Sanderson said.
Councilman Steve Herfert questioned why Hernandez hadn't brought the issue up during budget discussions, instead of in the run-up to a November election in which Hernandez and Herfert are running for re-election.
"It looks to us like there's a personal vendetta against the city attorney," Herfert said. "It almost looks like a political hit job."
Hernandez denied the accusation, and said he had been inspired in part by the city of Rosemead. Rosemead put a $30,000 monthly limit on its legal costs this month, after receiving a $55,000 May bill from its city attorney.
Hernandez also noted that other cities were uncomfortable with Alvarez-Glasman, including Rosemead, where the City Council had considered hiring the attorney.
Some Rosemead council members called Alvarez-Glasman too political, and said they decided against him after learning of his brief flirtation with running for city treasurer in Montebello and his $1,000 donations to two of Rosemead's council members made them uncomfortable.
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, September 21, 2007
Lynwood Residents Accuse Willoughby of Malpractice and Misrepresentation
by Yussuf Simmonds
Attorney Willoughby's appointment as the city attorney adds fuel to the recall
The residents of the city of Lynwood are up in arms over the recent appointment of tainted attorney Anthony Willoughby as their city attorney after they found out that he was publicly reproved for ethics violations by the California State Bar and required to re-take the State Bar ethic exam. The mayor and the city council members are in the throes of a recall and Willoughby’s appointment appears to be aggravating the situation. Information about his past ethics violations has been circulated throughout that community and the residents are poised to challenge the city council-members at the next council meeting over Willoughby’s appointment. Dr. Hanan Islam, a resident of Lynwood and a member of the Concerned Citizens of Lynwood Alliance (CCLA), sent a three-page letter addressed to the City Council Members, with copies to the city attorney, the assistant city attorney and the city manager outlining the citizens’ concern about Willoughby’s ethical violations.
ImageShe also stated, “I was very upset about Mr. Willoughby’s performance in representing the city during a recent recall hearing in court. There were two court dates and he basically did not show up therefore, the city council was not represented. And I would definitely be at the next council meeting to present my concerns.”
The CCLA is a group formed by the citizens of Lynwood and they have circulated the above-mentioned letter to the city residents. The letter dated August 28, 2007, stated, “We, the Concerned Citizens of Lynwood Alliance, are appalled at the performance of the Lynwood city attorney’s office and feel it is our civic duty to communicate this to our council in hopes it may assist you to make vital decisions regarding the legal representation you have chose. Our council is receiving inadequate legal counsel and representation and frankly we believe it borders on, if not is, malpractice.”
It appears that Willoughby was supposed to represent the city council at an Order to Show Cause Preliminary Injunction hearing aimed at stopping the recall, and according to the letter, he was not properly prepared. “This was the most embarrassing and damning performance by an attorney I have ever witnessed,” said Dr. Islam, who was present in court.
The letter continued, “...the judge noted that the documents filed by Atty. Willoughby were inadequate, having no useable data in them and she was unable to utilize them in making any decision on behalf of the council.” The judge therefore had no choice but to allow the proponents of the recall to move ahead. The letter explained that there seemed to be a question regarding some of the signatures that were gathered for the recall to proceed and the city council members were challenging the validity of the signatures and the recall. And that is the matter, which Willoughby was expected to present to the court on behalf of the Lynwood city council and indirectly the CCLA, who are also not in favor of the recall.
The CCLA believed that the information Willoughby presented in court was inadequate and unprofessional. The letter further stated, “Who are these attorneys (really) working for? It appears to us that there is intentional misrepresentation going on. We just don’t believe educated professionals can be this incompetent without intending to be so. The success we could have had with having these fraudulent signatures overturned has been thwarted by Anthony Willoughby and Associates, and we want our (city) council to know it and to now look closely at how they are being represented.”
As a result of Willoughby’s inadequate legal representation, the recall process will proceed, and the mayor and city council must now defend the recall rather than doing the business that they were elected to do. Council-member Rev. Alfreddie Johnson believed that his service as an elected official on behalf of the residents of Lynwood would thwart the recall. He said, “After the recall election is over, we are going to investigate the appointment of the city attorney. It is the responsible thing to do; it’s good for the citizens of Lynwood and for the city council.”
Council-member Leticia Vasquez, when asked to comment on the Willoughby appointment stated, “I don’t recall having any discussion about it because we have a recall going on and we have other pressing issues to address with the city.” After she was told about Willoughby’s public reproval and ethics violations she refused to return calls. She became very evasive and seemed to be trying to shield Willoughby’s record from exposure even though it already is a part of the public domain.
Calls to the mayor and the other city council-members were not returned.
When asked if the circumstances surrounding Willoughby’s appointment may be adding fuel to the recall, the president of CCLA, Lorna Hawkins said, “I think it does add fuel, of course it does because it’s a question mark about his ethics violatons. But I’m sure that’s going to be taken care of after the election. We, as the concerned citizens of Lynwood, will have to look into that and make sure that we get the proper representation for this city. This recall has been a real pain for the citizens who live here; this is the third recall attempt in two years.” As far as the city attorney’s performance, Hawkins further stated, “We are not satisfied with the things that he has done and the allegations that were brought against him about his past history. That’s very important to us. We want a city attorney that we can trust and one that we can come to and know that what he is saying is law, and that he actually knows what he is saying and he has the experience because he’s being paid a lot of money.”
Yvonne Wood, a resident of Lynwood, expressed her outrage at what she believed was conduct unbecoming of the mayor and the city council, “There’s a recall going on and when I read about the city attorney I was shocked. So what I’m trying to do is put the word out; I’m going to xerox these papers and I’ve already talked to people in the neighborhood. I am also getting ready to give these papers to the secretary to the principal of Lynwood High School to circulate to the employees who are also residents of Lynwood.” When asked about the lack of due diligence in checking out Willoughby’s past prior to his appointment, she continued, “I think they should investigate his past.
Willoughby was publicly reproved by the California State Bar for using money from his clients’ trust account for his personal expenses. And according to public records in another one of his cases—Lightfoot vs James Construction Company—he failed to competently perform the services for which he was employed and because of that the Lightfoots’ case was dismissed, and Willoughby paid them $8,000.00 by way of a settlement.
This reporter called Willoughby’s office seeking his comments. By press time, there had been no response.
Los Angeles Sentinel, September 20, 2007
Bradbury to hold special election after mayor resigns
By Molly R. Okeon. Staff Writer
BRADBURY - The remaining four City Council members went head-to-head last night, refusing to agree on a candidate to appoint in place of resigned Mayor Jon Barker and instead voting to have a Feb. 5 special election that could cost the city up to $10,000.
Residents attending last night's City Council meeting expressed frustration when the four remaining members could not decide between two viable nominees to appoint to represent District 4 for the remainder of Barker's term, which expires in April.
Barker provided a letter of resignation to city staff on Aug. 21, stating that she was leaving for personal reasons.
Pasadena Star News, September 19, 2007
Council accused of Brown Act violation The city attorney's office denies any wrongdoing
By Angela Potter, Staff Writer
Four of the five members of the Dana Point City Council have signed a statement opposing the effort to recall Mayor Diane Harkey.
Recall proponents responded immediately by sending a letter to City Attorney Patrick Mu�oz accusing the council members of violating the state's open meeting law. The statement is worded as a resolution, but isn't on any official letterhead.
The city attorney's office has countered with a letter which said the City Council has done nothing wrong and the resolution was simply an expression of personal political beliefs. The city attorney's office says signing the resolution didn't constitute an official city action.
Mayor Diane Harkey and City Council members Lisa Bartlett, Joel Bishop and Steven Weinberg signed a resolution dated Sept. 4 which says the accusations against Harkey are "not well founded" and that the recall detracts from city business.
Councilwoman Lara Anderson did not sign.
No one denies that the City Council members are entitled to their own opinions about the recall. But Jim Lacy, former City Councilman and recall proponent, said the document was meant to establish that the recall did not have City Council support and was a clear case of a Brown Act violation.
"There's no question about it," he said. "It's not even close. Their intention was to promote this as a collective decision of the City Council to establish that the City Council had collectively decided to oppose the recall."
The document has only five lines for signatures and was not signed by any members of the public, which Lacy said was further evidence that the resolution was meant to be seen as an official city action.
But in his written response to Lacy's letter accusing the council of a Brown Act violation, John Ramirez, who works in the city attorney's office, pointed out that, "Nowhere on the document is there any indication that it is, or purports to be, an official City document."
"The city simply had nothing to do with the creation of the alleged document," Ramirez wrote. "Indeed, the only support for your position is that the document was signed by members of the City Council and is dubbed a 'resolution.' � Furthermore, it goes without saying that simply because a document is entitled 'resolution' does not make it an official city resolution."
Terry Francke is the general counsel with Californians Aware, an organization that promotes open government and free speech. He said that, in his opinion, the resolution was likely a violation of the Brown Act, a state law that requires public agencies to post agendas and meet publicly, unless a topic is exempt.
However, Francke also acknowledged the argument that the document could be seen as nothing more than a statement of personal political beliefs.
One point of concern, Francke said, is that the document is dated Sept. 4 � the same day as a City Council meeting, further blurring the line between official and non-official city action. The council did not discuss or debate the recall issue during that meeting, and there was nothing on the agenda pertaining to the recall.
"I'm afraid using the word resolution and releasing this document after a council meeting really does blur that distinction and leaves them open to severe criticism at least," he said.
It would have been better, Francke said, for the City Council to debate the issue during an open and properly noticed City Council meeting with a public vote on the issue.
"Nothing prevented them from doing this publicly," he said. "Obviously any one of them or all four individually could have said, 'I think this recall stinks.' When they do so collectively, and when they do so in a joint expression called a resolution, it seems to me close enough to an official expression they had better discuss and debate that resolution at a property noticed and open meeting."
But in his letter responding to Lacy's claim, Ramirez said it would not be appropriate to politick from the dias.
"The issue addressed in the challenged document is the political stance of individual members of the City Council regarding the effort to recall Mayor Harkey," Ramirez wrote. "Neither a city nor a City Council has authority to engage in partisan politics. Such partisan political actions are quintessentially outside the subject matter jurisdiction of the City or City Council."
Orange County Register, September 12, 2007
City disables access to online archive
By Will Bigham, Staff Writer
CLAREMONT - City officials Tuesday disabled public access to City Hall's online document archive, citing concerns that it may have been the source of city employee pay stubs that were posted by the Claremont Insider blog.
On Monday night, Google, which hosts the blog, removed the post that included the pay stubs. The blog later re-posted the item without including the scanned pay stubs.
"Bottom line is, if we have a problem with our system that would allow for information that shouldn't be public to be public, we need to identify if there is a problem with our system," said City Manager Jeff Parker. "So until that is solved and identified, we're going to take that action."
City officials continue to investigate how the pay stubs were released. They remain unwilling to confirm claims made by the lead author of the blog that the pay stubs were accessed through a legal search of the city's public document archive.
On Friday, the Claremont Insider posted a copy of Parker's pay stub, along with the salaries and benefits of 31 staff members identified by name.
The blog later posted the pay stub of Jeff Porter, director of human services, and the salaries and benefits of five additional staff members.
The Claremont Insider has said in blog posts that it typed something along the lines of "Jeff Parker salary" into the search function of the archive, yielding several years' worth of pay stubs.
But attempts by the city to duplicate the search yielded no pay stubs, said Mayor Peter Yao, fueling concerns that the documents may have been obtained by other means.
City Attorney Sonia Carvalho first contacted Google on Friday to request that the post be removed because, the city claims, the pay stubs contain private information about employees that should not be available to the public.
In an interview Tuesday, Carvalho would not elaborate on her communication with Google and refused to release the city's e-mail correspondence with the company, citing attorney-client privilege.
Carvalho said the city was withholding the e-mail correspondence because city litigation against Google remains a possibility if the company fails in the future to respond if the blog re-posts copies of the pay stubs.
In an e-mail response on Tuesday to the Daily Bulletin, Google spokeswoman Wendy Rozeluk said: "Blogger prohibits certain kinds of content from being hosted on its servers."
"When we are notified of the existence of content that violates our terms of service," Rozeluk added, "we act quickly to review it and determine whether it violates these policies. If we determine that it does, we remove it immediately."
According to e-mails forwarded to the Daily Bulletin from the e-mail address listed on the Claremont Insider blog, Google removed the post because the city documents were copyrighted.
The authenticity of the correspondence could not be confirmed by Google because the Internet company did not respond to interview requests on Tuesday.
"We have removed your post due to the images of the paycheck stub of the city of Claremont, which in actuality is their copyrighted material," the e-mail from Google said. "If you would like to reload the post that we removed, feel free to do so as long as you leave out the images of the paycheck."
Parker and Carvalho refused to discuss whether the city argued in its correspondence with Google that the city pay stubs were copyrighted documents.
According to one open-government expert, the documents are not copyrighted.
"It doesn't make any sense," said Terry Francke, general counsel of Californians Aware. "First of all, I doubt that it's a fact that the city copyrights the pay stubs. I don't know why it would.
"And secondly, it's not clear to me that the display of the pay stubs would violate the copyright act anyway. It's simply displaying an image of them, it's not making a copy of them."
Francke added that if the documents are indeed copyrighted, the posting by the blog of the pay stubs would qualify as a "fair use" - meaning it would pass legal muster - because there is no market value lost by the publication.
"And what possible market value does the city have in the images of its pay stubs?" Francke added.
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, September 12, 2007
Council to get reports in sex harassment case
By Jennifer McLain, Staff Writer
ROSEMEAD - The City Council on Tuesday night approved a councilman's request to get copies of two sexual harassment investigative reports.
But whether those reports - compiled from testimony from 22 city employees - can be taken out of closed session meetings is yet to be determined.
That decision will be up to attorney Jeffrey Thompson, who was hired to represent the city in a sexual harassment lawsuit against Councilman John Nunez.
Councilman Gary Taylor's ongoing requests for the reports intensified when the city denied all allegations in a lawsuit made by city employee Valerie Mazone, who alleges she was sexually harassed by Nunez for more than one year.
The reports were created by a private investigator hired to interview employees after the sexual harassment claim and lawsuit was filed against Nunez and the city.
Taylor said that information released in a closed session meeting by the private investigator contradicts the city's response to the lawsuit, and that the written reports will further prove that.
"I honestly believe there's a cover-up here," Taylor said Tuesday.
The investigator at a previous closed session meeting read the reports to the council members, but council members have not seen them.
Taylor would not elaborate on what is in the reports, but read a letter Tuesday to the council explaining that the council members have a right to that information.
He also said he believed the city attorney was overstepping his boundaries by not providing the report to them.
City Attorney Bonifacio Garcia has said a previous request for a written report was denied because Taylor, as an individual, "wasn't entitled to it."
If the majority of the council decided it wanted a copy of the report, Garcia said, then that could be granted.
Councilwoman Polly Low said she wanted a copy of the report but, in the interest of protecting the case, she would prefer it be released during a closed session meeting.
Taylor has refused to go into closed session meetings on the topic, and said Tuesday he will not go into future closed session meetings.
On Tuesday, Taylor also requested a copy of the reports be sent to the grand jury, the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office, the state Attorney General's Office, and the state Department of Justice.
His request to send it to other agencies was denied by the council members. Garcia said sending that to those agencies would be a "waiver of privilege."
The City Council approved releasing the reports on a 3-1 vote, with Nunez abstaining. Taylor dissented, however, because he wants the reports made available in open session.
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, September 12, 2007
La Puente City Council mulls a raise
Members will vote tonight on salary increase proposal
By Tania Chatila, Staff Writer
LA PUENTE - Council members will consider nearly doubling their monthly salaries tonight - the third attempt in six years to approve pay increases.
A staff report suggests members should increase their monthly income from $536 per month to $1,000 per month.
The La Puente City Council has not had a pay raise since 1991, and based on current work loads a raise is definitely due, City Manager Carol Cowley said.
"We've got so many major projects going on right now," she said. "There's a lot more time being put into City Hall and what's going on here than we're used to."
Since 1984, the state statutory limit for council members' salaries has been $400 a month for cities with a population between 35,001 and 50,000, Cowley said.
La Puente has about 43,000 residents.
But codes allow for an additional scheduled increase - 5 percent per year based on approval by the municipality, Cowley said.
In 2002, some La Puente officials tried unsuccessfully to increase salaries by $115 per month. The measure did not garner enough votes from council members.
A year later, a second attempt was made, but community pressure resulted in a unanimous council decision to vote down what would have been a $525-per- month increase.
"It wasn't successful for the simple reason that some elected officials are squeamish about asking for a raise," Mayor Lou Perez said. "The truth is the residents of La Puente want to see their elected officials get paid for what they do."
Perez compared the City Council to any other job with demanding commitments and said that for the last 16 years, wages have not reflected even a bare increase in the cost of living.
"By the time we get through sponsoring leagues and doing all that stuff your salary is gone," he said.
"And you know you have to wear respectable clothes. You're representing the city. You got out, buy a suit and that's money. The money we get doesn't even cover the expense of clothing."
But Councilwoman Lola Storing, who has long opposed wage hikes, said members should not be profiting from their service to the community.
"It's a voluntary thing you do, not a professional job," she said. "We're serving the community, and I think we're paid sufficiently to do that. We cover our expenses and that's all we need."
In Covina, which has a population of about 47,000 according to the city's Web site, council members are paid $400 a month, plus an additional $30 per redevelopment agency meeting, Covina city spokeswoman Bobbie Kemp said.
Glendora City Council members - who represent a population of more than 50,000 - make $700 a month and an additional $30 per redevelopment agency meeting, Glendora officials said.
If approved tonight, salary increases in La Puente would take effect after the November election.
Cowley said regardless of what happens tonight, officials are expecting some of kind of increase come January.
Assembly Bill 701, currently making its way through the Legislature, proposes a $400 increase in the statutory limit for council salaries for cities with a population of 35,001 to 50,000, she said.
"That's a bill that's pending right now and is expected to pass," Cowley said. "The timing is appropriate because even the state is beginning to realize councils should be paid more."
Whittier Daily News, September 11, 2007
Conflict of interest in school deal?
By Jennifer Mclain
ROSEMEAD -- A deal that appears to benefit the community, Garvey School District and East Los Angeles College also raises questions about the involvement of the mayor and city attorney.
The city on Tuesday granted permission to the Garvey School District to use Dan T. Williams Elementary School as a satellite campus for ELAC.
The deal came after years of negotiating, said Garvey school board member Bob Bruesch.
It will help Garvey supplement a $512,000 budget shortfall and satisfies ELAC's demand for more classes.
But questions surfaced over the city's and school district's legal representation as well as to a possible $20,000 that Rosemead Mayor John Tran will make from the agreement.
Tran, who served on the Garvey School Board until he left in 2005 to take a seat on the City Council, is a Realtor and served as negotiator between Garvey and ELAC.
"There is nothing wrong with a former trustee acting as a negotiator," said Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies, a watchdog group. "But an attorney can't represent two clients on the same issue. He would have to disqualify himself."
City Attorney Bonifacio Garcia's firm, which represents the Garvey School District, was expected to provide legal counsel for the city's planning commission meeting. But shortly before the meeting, City Manager Oliver Chi said he called another attorney to represent the city on that particular issue. Garcia's firm dealt with the rest of the agenda.
Joe Montes of Burke, Williams and Sorensen was hired last month to take Garcia's place as the city's redevelopment agency lawyer and to be the counsel to the planning commission. However, Montes was not scheduled to start his new position for another two weeks, Chi said.
The potential for conflict of interest could have been there, interim Redevelopment Director Brian Saeki said, but it was avoided by having Montes serve as counsel instead of Garcia's firm.
George Yin, the attorney from Garcia, Calderon and Ruiz, recused himself from the agenda item.
"George Yin made a statement that he has never worked on the project and never provided any opinions on the subject to the (city)staff," Saeki said. "But he did recuse himself, and Joe Montes stepped in and oversaw the proceedings."
Bruesch said the only thing Garcia's firm has done for Garvey in the land deal is, "helping us with dotting all of our 'I's' and crossing all our our 'T's'."
When Garcia was hired in April, council members questioned whether it was a conflict of interest for him to serve as counsel to Garvey School District and the city.
The day that Garcia was hired, Councilwoman Polly Low asked him: "Is there a conflict of interest for you to represent the city of Rosemead as well as the Garvey School District?"
Garcia said there wasn't, and in the event that there was an overlapping issue, "we would step back and .... advise that you bring other counsel to handle your relationship with the school district."
Residents also raised conflict-of-interest questions about the mayor's connection to the lease deal.
Steven Ly, president of a community group, Rosemead Partners, said that he sent out a letter to several hundred neighbors informing them of the possible change in use to Williams School. He also noted Tran's involvement.
"We view what is going on as a conflict of interest," Ly said. "(Tran) will be profiting a large commission."
Tran, who will receive up to 4 percent of the $500,000 deal, said that he has been upfront with staff and council members.
"This is another erroneous attempt to mislead and deceive the public once again," Tran said of Rosemead Partners, formerly known as Rosemead Guardians. "The Rosemead Guardians should be ashamed of themselves."
He also said that he plans on recusing himself from the council meeting if this comes.
Stern said as long as Tran doesn't participate in the vote and doesn't tell his colleagues how to vote, he is within the law.
"I told everybody not to mention ELAC in front of me," Tran said. "If it gets approved, I will recuse myself."
Though the mayor said the district contacted him, Bruesch said that Tran approached the district.
"He is a Realtor, and before he went into politics, that is what he did," Bruesch said. "When he said he would negotiate the lease for us it seemed logical because he knew both parties and could work through the issues."
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, September 9, 2007
Council may get report released
By Jennifer McLain, Staff Writer
ROSEMEAD - The City Council on Tuesday will consider a councilman's request for a harassment investigative report.
Councilman Gary Taylor has asked City Attorney Bonifacio Garcia for a written report by a private investigator. The report was about sexual harassment claims made by a city employee against Councilman John Nunez.
Valerie Mazone, who filed the lawsuit, alleges she was sexually harassed by Nunez for more than one year. The city and Nunez deny the allegations.
Taylor said the information could help protect Rosemead staff and the city. Garcia discouraged the release, stating it could jeopardize the city's defense.
"The City Council is required by law to protect the rights of employees from abuse due to allowing a hostile work environment," Taylor wrote in a Sept. 4 letter addressed to the council. "This information that the special investigator stated is now being withheld at the expense and possible loss of employees' jobs."
In the letter, Taylor said the council has the right to the information. Garcia has said a previous request for a written report was denied.
Jim Ewert, legal counsel for the California Newspaper Publishers Association, said denial is "strange." "It's quite a position he has taken," Ewert said. "I don't think I have ever heard of this where the city attorney has refused to give information to the city council."
Taylor said he has the right to the information.
"The (investigative report) is not a public record," Taylor said. "The letter is a document that the elected five-member City Council has a responsibility and obligation to review very carefully to decide what actions need to be taken."
The councilman said he is not asking as a member of the public and that he does not understand why no one has a copy. Ewert said council members should have all the information before they take action.
At previous meetings, Taylor said that he believes the information in an oral report given to the council was inconsistent with the city's response to the lawsuit. Once the report is given to all parties, it will become public record, experts said. A final status conference pertaining to the lawsuit is set for May 2, and the trial is scheduled for May 12.
Whittier Daily News, September 8, 2007
Rosemead puts cap on legal fees Move comes after city billed $100,000 in 3 months
By Jennifer McLain, Staff Writer
Concerns about legal fees trail Rosemead's city attorney, Bonifacio Garcia.
Officials at several cities have complained about high bills, questionable charges and lack of city attorney experience.
Garcia's firm, Garcia, Calderon and Ruiz, represents Rosemead, Wasco, Garvey School District and served Arvin's planning commission until the city fired the attorneys in July.
Garcia defends the quality of his firm's work and its rates.
"We want the highest quality of lawyers," he said, "and we're willing to pay for them and so are our clients."
Garcia is relatively new to the city attorney's business. He spent the past 11 years representing Garvey School District. In his 26 years as a lawyer, his first city attorney job was in January for the city of Wasco, which is near Bakersfield.
Garcia's lack of experience was the cause for an increase in costs in Arvin, Wasco and Rosemead, officials said.
"People think an attorney is an attorney is an attorney," said Alan Christensen, interim city manager at Arvin. "But you wouldn't hire a research attorney to do litigation for you. Of course they could learn, but it will be on the city's dime."
In Rosemead, a May bill for $55,000 prompted the City Council on Tuesday to place a $30,000 cap on Garcia's contract.
Garcia charged the city $100,000 the past three months. That is nearly the total charged for a year's worth of work by the previous law firm, Wallin, Kress, Reisman and Kranitz, according to city records.
From 2000 to 2007, annual charges from Wallin, Kress, Reisman and Kranitz ranged from $137,583 to $179,219, according to the city's finance records.
Rosemead City Council members Gary Taylor and Margaret Clark said Garcia performed work that should be done by staff and that is another reason why his bills were so high.
Garcia was originally hired to represent Rosemead's redevelopment agency, city and housing authority. Two weeks ago, however, the council hired a separate attorney to represent the redevelopment agency and housing authority. Now, Garcia only represents the city.
In Arvin, Garcia was fired because of his high bills, city officials said. Garcia's firm represented the planning commission from November to July.
"The city did a financial review of their legal expenses, and based on that decided to let the legal firm Garcia, Calderon and Ruiz go," Christensen said.
Garcia, however, said his firm's departure was the result of political turmoil and came after former Arvin City Manager Enrique Ochoa resigned.
Arvin's financial records show that for eight months of legal work to oversee the planning commission, Garcia's firm charged nearly $50,000. Half of those charges came from two months alone.
The flat fee charged by Arvin's previous firm in 2005 was $105,000 for city attorney and planning commission representation. That included attendance at two council meetings per month. Garcia's contract required the attendance of one planning commission meeting a month.
Arvin city officials said they are also asking for a refund for work performed by attorney Eva Plaza, who charged a partner and associate rate of $225 per hour. She was not admitted to the California State Bar until July, records show, and Arvin officials said the city should have been charged accordingly.
In Wasco, the hiring of Garcia's firm prompted a grand jury investigation, which was released in July.
The Kern County grand jury alleges the Wasco City Council violated the state's open meeting law by deciding in secret to fire the city attorney and replace the firm with Garcia, Calderon and Ruiz.
The report states that since Garcia was hired, "the city is incurring substantial increases in the cost of having a city attorney. It is estimated that this will cost four to five times more than the previous city attorney."
Garcia denied the grand jury's allegations. On behalf of the city, Garcia responded, "The grand jury's mistaken legal conclusions could have been avoided with a reasonable amount of legal research and factual investigation."
According to Wasco's finance records, Garcia's firm billed the city $148,024 for six months worth of work. In comparison, the previous law firm billed the city $34,178 for the previous six months of work.
"He is not overcharging the city. Some people say that his contract rate is too high, but he is charging the city what the contract rate is," said Wasco City Manager Ron Mittag.
Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies, said an attorney can charge whatever he wants to charge. "The real question of course is, `Is this guy providing his money's worth?', and that is something for the city to determine."
Wasco Councilman Tilo Cortez said he thinks Garcia is "screwing the city."
"Bonny says you get what you pay for," Cortez said. "But I don't see what we are getting for the extra money that we are paying him."
Garcia's charges at the Sweetwater Union School District, where he has been counsel for the past 12 years, also raised questions.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported last year the Sweetwater Union High School District surpassed its legal budget halfway through the fiscal year, spending more than $1 million on legal services for the year. That was 77 percent more than in the past fiscal year, the Union-Tribune reported.
Officials from the Sweetwater Union School District did not return calls for this story.
Garcia stands by his work, his charges and the councils he represents. And ultimately, he said, it is up to the elected officials to determine whether they are getting value from Garcia and his firm.
"One of things you don't read about is any massive losses," Garcia said. "Our reputation is that we are very effective lawyers."
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, September 4, 2007
Official's plea bargain stirs comments
By Emanuel Parker, Staff Writer
TEMPLE CITY - The city manager's plea bargain in a hit-and-run accident earlier this month prompted some to speak at the council meeting last week.
City Manager and City Attorney Charles Martin was accused of hitting two parked cars on California Boulevard in January 2006. He left the scene, though police later found him.
A San Marino Fire Department paramedic examined Martin and said he had suffered a hypoglycemic episode, which caused the crashes.
At the Aug. 21 council meeting, Johnathan Vos Post, an Altadena resident, and one of the car owners, said Martin was "a coward, a liar, a wreck of a man, a monster and a dangerous lunatic."
"I urge the City Council to get rid of this criminal," he said.
Martin, who is 83 and a diabetic, and council members declined to respond to the remarks. Asked earlier about the plea bargain, Martin said, "I'm glad it's over," and refused further comment.
Connie Orozco, a spokeswoman for the Pasadena City Attorney's Office, which filed the charges against Martin, said he was fined $150. With penalties and assestment the fine will total $450, she said.
A restitution hearing, where the vehicle owners will present Martin with repair bill records or the value of the vehicles if they were totaled is set for Sept. 14.
Orozco said "the essence of the crime" Martin was alleged to have committed was not the collisions, but leaving the scene.
"Martin and his attorney were going to call experts who would testify he experienced a hypoglycemic episode that kept him from understanding the importance of stopping and exchanging information," Orozco said.
David Daugherty, Martin's attorney, did not return a call seeking comment.
Vos Post urged the city prosecutor to file charges against Martin and said if Martin was convicted of the hit-and-run he was going to try to get him disbarred.
Martin had pleaded not guilty to the hit-and-run charge. His trial was postponed repeatedly until the plea bargain was reached Aug. 14.
In recent weeks, the City Council has approved a search for a deputy city manger to act as a backup to Martin, who makes more than $153,600 a year. They said the actions was not a reflection on Martin and they are pleased with his job performance.
Pasadena Star News, August 26, 2007
Ex-B.G. manager ends legal battle
Maria Chacon pleads no contest to conflict of interest charge, closing final chapter on six-year-old case
BELL GARDENS -- Former City Councilwoman and City Manager Manager Maria Chacon pleaded no contest Friday to felony conflict of interest for engineering her appointment to the city manager post while still an elected City Council member.
Chacon’s plea and one-year probation sentence — which was met with objections from prosecutors — brings to a long-awaited end one of the first public corruption prosecutions under District Attorney Steve Cooley, who established the Public Integrity Division shortly after being sworn into office in December 2000.
Chacon, now 59, was a city councilwoman in the late 1990s when she voted to eliminate part of a city ordinance barring council members from becoming the city manager for at least a year after they leave the council.
She also voted to fire then-City Manager N. Enrique Martinez in May 1999 and met privately with at least one fellow council member to solicit support for her appointment to the manager’s job, according to prosecutors.
Chacon resigned her council seat on Dec. 7, 2000, after being appointed city manager at an initial salary of $80,000 plus benefits and an $800 monthly car allowance. The salary was raised to $96,000 effective July 1.
Chacon was initially charged in 2001 with violating conflict-of-interest laws in the first case brought by the district attorney office’s newly formed Public Integrity Division, but it was tied up in the appellate court for years.
The charges were dismissed in January 2003 following Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson’s decision to allow Chacon’s lawyers to invoke the "entrapment by estoppel" defense.
The judge ruled that since City Attorney Arnoldo Beltran told her that her actions were legal, it would be entrapment to prosecute her for following his advice.
Vowing to appeal the ruling, Cooley said it "would mean that any public official could hire a city attorney to give bad -- and perhaps illegal -- advice that the official could then hide behind to avoid prosecution."
The state Supreme Court reinstated the case in April.
"Recognizing entrapment by estoppel in such circumstances is antithetical to the strong public policy of strict enforcement of conflict of interest statutes and the attendant personal responsibility demanded of our officials," wrote state Supreme Court Associate Justice Carol A. Corrigan in her 18-page ruling.
Chacon was allowed to plead no contest over the objection of prosecutors, who asked for an open plea of guilty, according to Deputy District Attorney Juliet Schmidt.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Anne H. Egerton, again over a prosecution objection, placed Chacon on one year probation and ordered her to pay a $1,000 fine or do 150 hours of community service, Schmidt said.
Schmidt said the prosecution will ask for full restitution -- nearly $76,000 -- at a restitution hearing scheduled for Oct. 26. That was the amount paid to Chacon by the city during her time as city manager.
Los Angeles Wave, August 22, 2007
A political issue
Pomona City Attorney Arnold Alvarez-Glasman's law firm last week lost out on gaining the Rosemead Redevelopment Agency as a client because of fears of involvement in politics.
The City Council in Rosemead decided to hire Burke, Williams and Sorensen, one of the area's largest legal firms serving cities, instead of the firm of Alvarez-Glasman and Colvin, or three other candidates.
Rosemead Mayor John Tran and Councilman John Nunez moved to hire Alvarez-Glasman and Colvin, but they could get no other support from their colleagues. Some council members and residents were concerned about Alvarez-Glasman's political activities.
His firm, which also represents West Covina, Bell Gardens and Pico Rivera, made political contributions in Rosemead of $1,000 to Tran in 2004 and $1,000 to Councilwoman Polly Low in 2007.
"I have a real problem with Glasman and his involvement in politics," Councilwoman Margaret Clark said.
Alvarez-Glasman nearly became a candidate in November in his home of Montebello. He took out papers to run for city treasurer but later said he had decided not to run.
He is a former Montebello councilman.
"It doesn't matter that he withdrew it. It shows that he's still involved with politics," Clark said. "We don't need this kind of politics in Rosemead."
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, August 19, 2007
No contests in council, board races
By Emanuel Parker, Staff Writer
DUARTE - No City Council race. No school board elections.
No candidates took out nomination papers to run for the Duarte City Council for local elections slated for Nov. 6. Ditto for the Monrovia school board elections.
The deadline was Thursday.
That means Duarte Mayor Lois Gaston and City Councilman John Fasana will run unopposed. Two years ago, incumbents Margaret Finlay, Phil Reyes and Tzeitel Paras-Caracci faced no challenger and won easy re-elections.
In Monrovia, incumbent school board members Clare R. Chesley, Ed Gililland and Bryan Wong will return for new four-year terms in office.
Officials from both cities said the lack of challengers means residents are happy with the status quo.
"This shows the residents and voters have enough confidence in our leadership to ask us to continue doing what needs to be done," said Gaston, who will be serving a second four-year term.
Fasana, who was first elected in 1987, then re-elected in 1991, 1995, 1999 and 2003, said it was "definitely a surprise" that no challengers stepped forward.
"I think it means voters are happy with the team in place now and think we are working hard. There's still a lot to accomplish in the city. Because we're not having an election doesn't mean people don't have high expectations," he said.
Chesley, who will be serving a second four-year term, also was taken aback a bit about not having to campaign.
"After three competitive elections in the last four years, I find this pretty amazing and a pleasant surprise," Chesley said. "I like to think the voters are happy. I think voters are interested in continuity. We passed a school bond measure last year, and I think voters want us to continue our oversight of that measure.
"I don't think Monrovia is a town of apathy," she added. "I like to think this indicates voter satisfaction. We don't take voters for granted because there is no election."
"This is very good," said Gililland, who was appointed two years ago to fill a school board vacancy. "I am not at all enthused about campaigning and I will not miss it at all. I'm just very pleased to serve four more years."
The last time incumbents ran unchallenged in Monrovia school board elections was 1997, said Kris Mariconda, administrative assistant at the Monrovia Unified School District.
Meanwhile, in the Duarte Unified School District, two candidates filed papers to run against three school board incumbents. Challengers Henry A. Baltazar, a landscape contractor, and business owner Tom N. Reyes will face incumbents Rose Brooks-Mitchell, Francisco Figueroa and Pamala S. Kawasaski.
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, August 13, 2007
Power struggle over project; Firefighters oppose development plans
By Jennifer McLain Staff Writer
ROSEMEAD - A project set to be built under high-voltage power lines could prove to be precedent-setting for the rest of the San Gabriel Valley, according to fire union officials.
Los Angeles County fire officials said they originally rejected the retail development at 8518 W. Valley Blvd. because of safety concerns.
Although a spokeswoman for Chief Michael Freeman said Friday the department did not approve the project, city documents show the Fire Department's Fire Prevention Bureau stamped those plans in July as having been reviewed and as requiring no additional changes. Freeman's spokeswoman would not comment further.
The city issued building permits in July to a single-story commercial project.
"They were stamped reviewed, but it basically is county fire saying the project can go ahead," said interim City Manager Oliver Chi. "Because the plans weren't stamped denied, and were checked for fire code regulation, it is safe."
The fire union said the development poses a threat to residents and firefighters, and could change the way other cities deal with such developments.
"We're absolutely, 100 percent opposed to any construction that would put firefighters or residents in danger," said director Paul Rusin of Union 1014, which represents firefighters in the Los Angeles County Fire Department. "We've been very stern on that decision."
The go-ahead on the project came several weeks after Rosemead proposed an ordinance that would have given the city manager final authority over fire code issues in the city.
City officials said they were unhappy with a fire regulation that limits development underneath high-voltage power lines.
In May, the city had eight proposed developments in violation of that code.
The proposal sparked the ire of Freeman, who called it "out of left field" and threatened litigation.
Since then, the city abandoned the ordinance and stopped the development on all but one project. Chi said the project has been in the works for nearly four years.
"We won't allow other developments," Chi said. "But given the uniqueness of the project, and the fact that it's been in the loop for so long, it is appropriate that it be able to move forward."
Union officials, however, fear that the development of this project could be the springboard for future projects.
"Rosemead is the testing front of all the San Gabriel Valley," Rusin said. "If the project continues, it is my sense this is will start to happen all of the area."
Tran said he "whole-heartedly believes" in the fire union and the safety of the firefighters, but assured them that no other developments would occur.
The ordinance comes after approval of a 2006 county fire code that prohibits building underneath high-voltage power lines.
The city proposed an ordinance that would allow the city manager to overrule "all interpretations, recommendations, rules, permits, regulations, applications and decisions" of the fire code, which would include denial of projects by the Fire Department.
Under the existing fire code, homes built under power lines before the regulation change would not be affected unless homeowners wanted to upgrade their homes, which some council members said was a concern.
Tran said this has since been changed after conversations between the Chi and the fire chief.
The regulation has been modified by the fire department to prevent any residential home from having to comply.
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, August 13, 2007
Attorney's bills prompt review
By Jennifer McLain, Staff Writer
ROSEMEAD - The city attorney in May was paid more than four times the average monthly charge of the previous attorney, the latest billing records show.
Bonifacio Garcia charged Rosemead $55,000, though information on what the money was spent for was redacted from records. He declined to give an itemized description of the charges, citing "attorney-client privilege."
"I cannot go into detail," Garcia said. "It was $55,000 worth of work."
The city attorney was hired in April after longtime City Attorney Peter Wallin and the firm Wallin, Kress, Reisman and Kranitz quit.
According to the records, Garcia's law firm worked 222 hours in May, and charged between $210 and $225 per hour. Garcia also gets a $5,000 retainer.
The invoice issued for May is the most recently paid. Invoices for June and July are not yet available.
Garcia charged the city nearly $16,000 in April.
During 2005-06, Wallin, Kress, Reisman and Kranitz charged $170,579, or $14,149 monthly, for their work as redevelopment agency and city attorney.
Rosemead is searching for a new redevelopment agency attorney, and interviews for that position are scheduled for Tuesday.
City officials said they were surprised at the high charge for May.
"I'm shocked that it's such a large amount," said Councilwoman Margaret Clark. "I plan to look into where the money is going."
While Rosemead council members have access to the description of the 76 charges listed, Garcia redacted the information from the records the city released.
Experts say the public deserves the right to know how their money is being spent.
"To not justify that cost to the taxpayers is patronizing," said Jim Ewert, general counsel for the California Newspaper Publishers Association.
He said that while some information deserves to be confidential, it is unlikely that all of it should be redacted.
"There may be specific instances in the itemized description where there may be a greater public interest in maintaining the confidentiality of that information," Ewert said. "But it is hard for me to believe that every single item has that status."
Interim City Manager Oliver Chi would only say that Garcia blocked out this information because it was privileged.
"There is detailed information that the city is engaged with, and (Garcia) wanted to redact certain information so that nothing confidential would be made public," Chi said.
Monterey Park's deputy city attorney, Adrian Guerra, said this is not an unusual practice.
"Generally, that type of information is protected under the attorney-client privilege," Guerra said.
City officials would not comment on the redaction of the information.
Instead, it was the cost that prompted Clark to request the council to review Garcia's performance at Tuesday's council meeting.
"We are concerned and staff is looking into the details," said Mayor John Tran.
Chi said he was initially surprised at the high bill, and now is exploring ways in reducing such costs in the future.
Garcia said he stands by his billing.
"I think people get what they pay for," Garcia said Wednesday. "They shouldn't expect something for nothing."
Pasadena Star News, August 10, 2007
Alvarez-Glasman quits race to be treasurer in Montebello
By Frank C. Girardot and Jennifer McLain, Staff Writers
MONTEBELLO - The city attorney for several local cities pulled papers to run for Montebello city treasurer last week, but Monday said he would not be running.
Arnold Alvarez-Glasman took out all the necessary paperwork Friday.
A former Montebello mayor and councilman, Alvarez-Glasman is city attorney for West Covina, Pomona, South Pasadena, Bell Gardens and Pico Rivera. He is also seeking the post of redevelopment attorney in Rosemead.
"I talked it over with my family, and I decided not to run," said Alvarez-Glasman, a Montebello resident. "I think that the leadership in Montebello is not the quality of what I expect. Montebello is not headed in a good direction."
The initial move by the city attorney surprised local city officials.
"I'm shocked he even wants to get back and get involved," said West Covina Mayor Mike Touhey. "Once you get out you want to stay out. I thought he had had his fill of elected politics."
Alvarez-Glasman served on the Montebello City Council from 1985 to 1997.
One ally, who asked to speak on anonymity, said Alvarez-Glasman pulled papers to "tweak" current City Treasurer Gerri Guzman.
As for Guzman, Alvarez-Glasman said he "would rather not comment" on her performance.
Guzman did not return phone calls for comment.
Alvarez-Glasman served as Montebello city attorney from 1999 to 2005, and his firm is among five vying for a redevelopment agency attorney position available in Rosemead.
According to a proposal sent to Rosemead, "There are no existing or known conflicts that exist between our current public agency clients and the City or Rosemead or Rosemead CDC."
But Rosemead Councilwoman Margaret Clark said that if Alvarez-Glasman served as treasurer of Montebello, it would have posed a problem.
Montebello City Councilman Jeff Siccama said he was surprised but expects the unexpected in Montebello politics.
"He was very much in the loop as to what was going on with city politics," Siccama said. "And, he's probably involved even now to a point; I believe."
In Montebello, the city treasurer's position is as much honorary as it is political, officials said.
The other potential candidates that pulled papers are Jack Hadjinian, Sheraly Khwaja and Guzman.
The treasurer attends council meetings and has several other duties including signing checks and warrants. Additionally, the treasurer is required to file several complex financial reports before each public council meeting.
The position is similar to that in West Covina, also an elected post.
The deadline for returning papers is Friday.
The treasurer serves a four-year term. Guzman was first elected to the post in 1999, officials said.
Whittier Daily News, August 7, 2007
Bloggers take aim at city governments -- and hit home
Some websites are watchdogs, others are just scurrilous, but their influence on the cities they cover is growing
By Jonathan Abrams, Times Staff Writer
"Grandpa Terrace" didn't mince words. He wanted the mayor of Grand Terrace, a small city wedged between two scenic mountain ridges in San Bernardino County, run out of office.
The anonymous blogger posted documents on his website that, he said, showed that Mayor Maryetta Ferre and Mayor Pro Tem Lee Ann Garcia were beholden to developers putting up big-box stores such as Lowe's.
"We need to recall them now," "Grandpa Terrace" fumed a year ago. "We don't want more traffic, more crime, dayworkers just to bring in some pocket change, when the cost to the city will go up to combat the problems brought by these types of development."
His rants helped fuel a recall effort last year against the two council members. Although the campaign ultimately failed, his blog was another example of the growing influence of citizen journalists roiling communities across Southern California, many of which rarely are covered by newspapers or other traditional media outlets.
These muckraking bloggers say they have stepped in to fill the government watchdog vacuum. Some are anonymous, others are scurrilous and, on occasion, possibly libelous. And to local politicians, most are a royal pain in the tuchis.
Bloggers in the San Gabriel Valley have raised the alarm about a possible budget crisis in Sierra Madre; ones in the Inland Empire have written about the high costs of trimming city trees in Claremont and allegations that killers are getting away with murder in Pomona.
"We realize in today's electronic environment, it's a fact of life," said Grand Terrace City Manager Thomas Schwab. "The thing that's the most disturbing is they can put things on the blog that have no basis in fact, and you really can't refute it."
It may only be a matter of time before bloggers start to have a major influence in local politics and policymaking.
"It's inexpensive, and my guess is there are a lot of people who find it fun," said Matthew Spitzer, former USC Law School dean.
"There have always been citizens who love to go to city council meetings and see what's going on. Putting it on a blog makes it a lot easier and it increases accessibility to 24/7."
In Grand Terrace, the recall effort fell about 500 signatures short of the 1,506 needed to trigger the election. A citizen-driven group, buoyed by the blog, collected signatures at a Stater Bros. market and mailed petitions to residents.
"For years the city of Grand Terrace tried to keep residents in the dark," said resident Jo Springfield, a strong supporter of the recall effort. "The blog enlightened many residents to start asking questions and going to meetings."
Several bloggers interviewed by The Times insisted on anonymity, saying they feared a backlash from city officials.
All said they were residents of the area they report on and got involved because their community did not receive enough coverage from the traditional media.
"We want our words to stand on our own, and with anonymity, the only way someone can judge us is by what we write," said Publius of the Foothill Cities News Blog, who takes his pseudonym from the Roman whose name was used by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison when they wrote the Federalist Papers.
"If we send an e-mail to an elected official, the odds are we won't get a response," he said. "But if enough people read it, they are going to have to respond at some point."
The Foothill Cities Blog, which covers several cities in the San Gabriel Valley, was the first to report that Assemblywoman Nell Soto (D-Pomona) was absent from the Capitol for 25 days because of pneumonia. It was later reported that she still collected more than $20,000 in per diem pay.
The website also has been critical of Pomona's high crime rate, saying that the local press ignores the issue.
"It took a rash of violent crime, or should I say a rash of violent crime that finally received lots of press, but the council's new focus on law enforcement is commendable," said a post in June applauding efforts to hire additional law enforcement officers.
But the praise is mixed with criticism aimed at Pomona officials. The site drew the ire of administrators in May after posting that its city manager was forced to step down -- which city officials said was untrue.
"It took me back to high school days when you gossip with girlfriends," said Pomona Mayor Norma Torres, adding that she may start her own blog to communicate directly with constituents. "Some of the information reads like a gossip column."
Pomona City Atty. Arnold M. Alvarez-Glasman sent a cease-and-desist letter to the website, ordering it to remove the post.
"While the City of Pomona strongly supports an individual's First Amendment Rights -- it is difficult to respond to anonymous fabrications such as those published by you in your web-site publication," he wrote.
The website took down the post but enlisted free-speech attorney Jean-Paul Jassy to respond.
"In many ways, these kinds of sites are at the cutting edge and more modern vision of commentary," Jassy said. "The Constitution and the U.S. Supreme Court placed a high premium on making sure freedom of speech is protected, especially when it comes to commenting on public officials."
It is the anonymity that separates the bloggers from professional journalists, said Michael Parks, director of the journalism program at USC's Annenberg School for Communication.
"Journalists need to accept responsibility for their reporting and comments, and that provides for them to be identified," said Parks, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who is a former editor of the Los Angeles Times.
"Anonymous blogs are similar to writing something up, not signing it and putting it on a bulletin. It's more social commentary than anything."
Although blogs are protected under the 1st Amendment, they are vulnerable to libel lawsuits, said Erwin Chemerinsky, a Duke University constitutional law professor.
They present unique 1st Amendment challenges.
"They cannot have defamatory speech any more than a traditional media type; however, the difficulty with an anonymous blog is who is actually doing the blogging?" he said. "And if you ask a server to take it down, what happens if they refuse?"
Two years ago, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that an elected official who makes a defamation claim against an anonymous blogger must have substantial evidence to support the claim. Otherwise the lawsuit could not proceed and the blogger would remain masked.
A similar case has yet to be heard in California.
The California Supreme Court, however, ruled last year that Internet service providers and bloggers cannot be held liable for posting defamatory material written by someone else. The case was brought by two doctors who said they were defamed by a San Diego activist for victims of problem breast implants who called one doctor "arrogant and bizarre" and the other "a bully and a Nazi."
In Claremont, former Mayor Diann Ring threatened the Claremont Insider blog with a defamation suit.
The blog has criticized moves by the city's landscaping and lighting district assessments and targeted former city officials, including Ring, for contracting with a water agency outside the city.
"When you turn on your tap, when you pay your water bill, or if your house burned down in 2003, think of Diann Ring; in fact, call her up and thank her personally for her 'vision,' " one April post said.
Claremont Mayor Peter S. Yao said the blog provided a bit of insight but had to be taken with a grain of salt.
"It certainly is one additional input for the City Council on how some of the population feels on certain issues," he said. "Occasionally, it sheds a little light on a situation, but most of the time it is a rumor mill."
For all the furor the blogs create, city officials could take a cue from Fontana Mayor Mark Nuaimi.
Nuaimi routinely posts on a blog in his city and said he welcomed it as a way to communicate with citizens.
"I'm not going to sugarcoat things," he said. "If somebody misses the issue, I'll tell them. I'm sure folks in the future will use whatever I've written and will twist it. Frankly, my job is to do my job, and part of my job is to answer people's questions."
Los Angeles Times, July 23, 2007
Harassment suit against Nunez fuels arguments
By Jennifer McLain, Staff Writer
ROSEMEAD - Conflicting opinions in connection with a sexual harassment lawsuit surfaced last week when a councilman challenged the city's response.
Rosemead has denied allegations in the lawsuit filed by staff employee Valerie Mazone in April. She sued the city and Councilman John Nunez, claiming that he sexually harassed her at work since September 2005.
Both the city and Nunez cited multiple defenses to the allegations, including that Mazone's lawsuit is a "frivolous, unfounded and unreasonable cause of action for sexual harassment."
Longtime Councilman Gary Taylor said at a council meeting on Tuesday that those denials conflict with a closed-door verbal report made by a private investigator to council members.
"I am shocked and appalled at this response," Taylor said about the city's court response to the lawsuit. "That's not what happened."
Officials and council members would not comment on Taylor's statements because they said the report was confidential, and discussing the lawsuit in public could be a violation of the state's open meeting law.
"The (Ralph M.) Brown Act prohibits members of legislative bodies from disclosing things said in closed session," said Terry Francke, general counsel of Californians Aware, an open-government advocacy group. "It seems that the law clearly stands in the way of being candid about honesty in litigation."
The Brown Act mandates how municipalities and public agencies conduct their meetings.
Former City Manager Andrew Lazzaretto in April said that the city hired private investigator Tess Elconin to look into the allegations against Nunez.
The city paid Elconin $10,000 for a three-week-long investigation.
Lazzaretto said no written report was issued to the City Council and no documents from the investigation will be made public to "avoid embarrassment."
Elconin reported her findings to the council in a closed session meeting, Lazzaretto said. He would not elaborate on what findings were made.
The lawsuit alleges that Nunez massaged Mazone, leered at her, and "on one occasion looked directly into her blouse in an attempt to observe Plaintiff's breasts."
Taylor on Tuesday requested any copies of written reports made by Elconin. He also said the verbal findings were not reflected in the city's response to the lawsuit.
"What is proceeding is not what was discussed," during the closed session report, Taylor said on Tuesday.
City Attorney Bonifacio "Bonny" Garcia would not say whether Taylor's statements on Tuesday violated the Brown Act.
"I really cannot comment on that," Garcia said Friday.
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, July 23, 2007
Beltran removed as city attorney
By Marisela Santana, Staff Writer
LYNWOOD -- J. Arnoldo Beltran, principal of the Beltran and Medina law firm, was released from his contract as city attorney by a 4-1 vote of the City Council Tuesday night during a closed session meeting at the new Lynwood Senior Center.
The attorney, who has served as Montebello's city attorney since February as well, was terminated by Mayor Louis Byrd and council members Fernando Pedroza, Alfreddie Johnson and Leticia Vasquez. No reason foir the change was announced.
Councilwoman Maria Santillan cast the only dissenting vote.
Beltran, who would not return telephone calls, was hired in December 2003.
Byrd and Vasquez first sought to replace Beltran in early 2005, citing what they said were high monthly billing statements. At the time, council members Pedroza and Santillan voted against replacing Beltran.
Johnson, who was new to the council at the time, said at the time he preferred to have more time to consider such a change.
At the time, Vasquez said that she was targeting not only Beltran's fees, but those of Redevelopment Agency counsel Ronald Wilson's fees.
The matter was dropped and instead of firing either law firm, a cap was placed on Beltran's fees.
Sources say council members have been uneasy with Beltran since the latest recall campaign was initiated. One City Hall source said that four council members who voted to terminate Beltran's contract are angry that Beltran didn't protect them from the recall. Others are saying that Beltran is being relieved of his city attorney duties because council wants him to be a yesman and cites the law to them too much.
"This is merely a matter of these people parking all of their friends in the best places to get what they want done, even if it is illegal,"; one source said. "Parking them in good paying jobs with contracts that will be unbreakable. It really is business as usual in this city. What they're trying to do is pass their business and protect the staff who sits here and does nothing."
Also during closed session and while Pedroza and Johnson reportedly played a game of pool in the Senior Center's Rec Room, the council agreed to retain the services of Anthony Willoughby as the city's new attorney, at the suggestion of Vasquez. The council also agreed to hire Roger Haley, a department head in Long Beach's Business Development Division, as the new city manager.
But because neither action was a scheduled agenda item, a special City Council meeting is being planned for Thursday at City Hall, to discuss the new city attorney, the new city manager and the city's new amended exclusive negotiating agreement with John McDonald of Imperial Partners regarding the Lynwood Promenade project, now being called Angeles Fields.
"To me this sounds like they already made up their minds on who they wanted to hire to replace Arnoldo," said Ramon Rodriguez, a former councilman who is seeking to replace Pedroza in the special recall election Sept. 25. "They haven't even discussed these replacements openly so the community can hear the options. They just throw out a name, and all agree. Behind some closed door, they've all agreed to all of these matters."
Wave Newspapers, July 19, 2007
Sierra Madre doesn't name manager
By Molly R. Okeon, Staff Writer
SIERRA MADRE - In a surprise move, the City Council on Tuesday did not announce its pick for city manager - expected to be former Irwindale top executive Bradley Baxter.
"We have not made a final decision," Mayor Enid Joffe announced at the beginning of the meeting.
Councilman Don Watts said Monday the council was poised to appoint Baxter.
Joffe had said Monday the council had selected someone for the job, though she would not confirm or deny if it was Baxter.
She said if everything went well in closed session prior to the open meeting Tuesday, the city manager would be announced.
"We are still looking at our options," Joffe said Tuesday night. "We hope to be getting some news to you in the next few weeks."
Baxter left Irwindale in March after nine months in the position. City officials said Baxter was leaving to pursue opportunities in the private sector.
Watts said Monday that he believed Baxter is now doing consulting work.
Prior to his time in Irwindale, Baxter was city manager for Rio Vista, a city located south of Sacramento in Solano County from February 2004 until June 2006, said Dawn Bahrefuss, administrative assistant in the Rio Vista City Manager's Office.
Baxter left his post for personal reasons, according to a January 2006 article in the Contra Costa Times.
Additionally, Baxter was forced to resign as manager of the Recreation and Cultural Services Department in Richmond, a city just north of San Francisco, according to a 1998 West County Times article. The newspaper said Baxter had falsely claimed to have a master's degree on his job application.
Baxter would replace John Gillison, who left in March to become deputy city manager of Rancho Cucamonga.
Longtime Sierra Madre resident Fay Angus, who attended Tuesday night's meeting, said she was "very disturbed" when she read about Baxter in an article in this newspaper Tuesday.
"I was concerned the person being considered had such a mediocre background," she said. "I hope they're reconsidering."
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, July 11, 2007
Sierra Madre picks chief
By Molly R. Okeon, Staff Writer
SIERRA MADRE - A former Irwindale city manager is expected to be appointed as this city's top executive today, a city official said.
Sierra Madre Councilman Don Watts said Monday that the council will announce the hiring of Bradley Baxter.
The city attorney declined to release the terms of a proposed contract, saying she would do so today.
Baxter left his slot in Irwindale in March after only nine months in the post. Irwindale city officials said Baxter was leaving to pursue opportunities in the private sector.
Watts said he believed Baxter was currently doing consulting work, adding that he was unconcerned about the brevity of Baxter's stint in Irwindale.
"Irwindale is an animal unto itself, and we understand that," the councilman said of the mainly industrial city.
Irwindale Mayor Manuel Ortiz would not comment on Baxter's departure, saying only it was "unfortunate."
"I think he was doing a fair job," he said.
Baxter was city manager for Rio Vista - located south of Sacramento in Solano County - from February 2004 until June 2006, said Dawn Bahrefuss, administrative assistant in the Rio Vista City Manager's Office.
According to a January 2006 story in the Contra Costa Times, Baxter said he left the position in the city of 7,000 for personal reasons.
Baxter was forced to leave his position as manager of the Recreation and Cultural Services Department in Richmond in 1998, according to the West County Times. City officials said Baxter resigned because he falsely claimed to have a master's degree on his job application, the newspaper said.
Just prior to his stint in Rio Vista, Baxter served as public works director in Rialto.
Though Sierra Madre City Attorney Sandra Levin would not divulge details of the proposed contract, the previous city manager said he was paid $103,000 annually. Baxter was paid $145,000 a year in Irwindale.
Councilman Don Watts said the council chose Baxter because of his ability to raise money.
"We are kind of in a financial pickle in town because we have no way of raising funds," he said. "(Baxter) seemed to have a track record to show that he has the ability to find funds."
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, July 10, 2007
Disputes divide officials in Wasco
By Felix Doligosa, Jr., Californian staff writer
WASCO -- The City Council voted Tuesday night to send questions about the mayor's job to the state attorney general as emotions again ran high at city meeting.
In June, a grand jury report accused Mayor Danny Espitia and council members of having too many "special meetings" that may have violated the Ralph M. Brown Act. The state law governs public business and limits closed-door meetings. The council voted Tuesday to assign the city attorney to evaluate the questions asked by the grand jury. Both votes were unanimous, according to Anita Gaston, a Wasco resident.
About 90 people packed the Wasco Veterans Hall, and some accused council members of breaking the law when they hired Ron Mittag as assistant city manager. Wasco municipal code 2.04 states it is the duty of the city manager to appoint officers and employees for the city, except elected officials and the city attorney.
"The minutes clearly show the City Council made the appointment, not the city manager," City Manager Larry Pennell said.
When residents asked for a response from the mayor and the council about Mittag's appointment, City Attorney Bonifacio Garcia advised the council not to discuss the issue.
Garcia said he will have to review the facts and see if there was a violation. He advised residents to write their questions down, and they would receive a written response. The City Council meeting is not for debate, Garcia added, but "to hear comments from the public."
Residents also questioned the hiring of the new city attorney and his fees. Garcia's fees are 28 percent higher than the previous city attorney, according to Councilman and former Mayor Fred West Jr.
"Heaven knows, maybe my grandchildren will have to pay (for his fees)," resident Maria Paredes said.
Garcia has been doing a lot of work in Wasco and works with several of the city's new projects, Espitia said. "That's the price of doing business. You have to pay," the mayor said.
Also Tuesday, residents presented letters of intention to recall the mayor and two council members.
"We put you in this spot," said resident Paredes. "We can take it away."
The Bakersfield Californian, July 4, 2007
Lynwood defies order to hold recall vote
The council strips the city clerk of her duties when she tries to certify petitions. And it refuses to set an election date. A judge gets the case today
By Hector Becerra, Times Staff Writer
A battle over the integrity of the election process is coming to a head this week in Lynwood, where the City Council has defied the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder and refused to set a date for a recall election targeting four of its members.
The registrar-recorder's office concluded in June that there were enough signatures on recall petitions to force a special election for the four officials, two of whom were recently indicted on public corruption charges.
But when Lynwood's elected city clerk tried to certify the recall petition, the City Council voted to strip her of all election duties, appointing its own election official to take up the matter.
The city clerk gave the petitions to the Sheriff's Department, which has rejected the City Council request to review the documents.
"The only way they're getting them is either by a request from the elected city clerk or by a court order," said Capt. Steven M. Roller of the sheriff's Century Station, where the petitions are being kept in an evidence locker. "The only reason we are storing the petitions is for the integrity of the recall process."
The county registrar-recorder has set its own recall election date for Sept. 25, but the council is refusing to call the election. A Superior Court judge will hold a hearing today to consider a request by recall leaders to force the city to call an election.
Deborah Wright, executive liaison for the registrar-recorder, said her office has never handled a case like this.
Lynwood officials, she said, seem intent not only on blocking the election but also on learning the identities of residents who signed the petition which would be a violation of state law because the documents are supposed to remain confidential.
"It seems clear to me that what the council really wants is someone under their control to get a look at those signatures," Wright said.
City officials are firing back, arguing that the recall petition might include fraudulent signatures. Mayor Louis Byrd said the county was exceeding its authority.
"We are the policymakers of Lynwood. The county doesn't set policy for us," Byrd said Monday. "We don't care if the recall goes forward. We want the process to be fair and just, and don't feel that it is."
Lynwood, a city of 100,000 south of Los Angeles, has had a contentious political history.
In April, five current and former council members were charged with using public funds to boost their salaries and pay personal expenses. Byrd and Councilman Fernando Pedroza, the two current council members indicted, vehemently denied the allegations.
The four council members targeted by the recall effort are Councilwoman Leticia Vasquez, Councilman Alfreddie Johnson Jr., Byrd and Pedroza. The only council member not being recalled is Maria Santillan, who frequently opposes the others on council votes.
Vasquez said the people pushing for the recall are failed political candidates bent on wresting control of the city. She also said the registrar-recorder's office did not check the validity of the signatures.
County officials strongly disagree.
"That's absolutely false. We check each and every one of them," Wright said. "They're just making that up."
Attorneys for the city and for the proponents of the recall are expected to clash in court today.
David Rodriguez, an attorney representing the city, said the election official appointed by the council, Deborah Jackson, is empowered to certify the recall election. He said that until the petitions are turned over to Jackson, the process cannot go forward.
Jackson previously headed the city's quality of life department, but before that also worked in the city clerk's office.
Rodriguez said that City Clerk Andrea Hooper never went through the proper process of verifying the recall signatures or placing the issue on the City Council agenda.
Hooper did not return a phone call seeking comment. But in a letter Monday to Rodriguez, her lawyer told of Hooper's displeasure with the council's actions regarding the recall.
"Ms. Hooper is an independent elected official," the letter states. "She will not be 'directed' in the conduct of her duty by you or anyone else."
In a June 27 letter to County Registrar-Recorder Conny McCormack, attorneys for the city criticized Hooper. "If she feels a law has been violated, her remedy is to bring a legal action against the city. Instead, it appears that she has chosen to 'appeal' the city's decision to the county registrar-recorder's office."
Fredric Woocher, an election law attorney representing the backers of the recall, said the council's reaction was not unprecedented.
Four years ago, Lynwood officials also resisted a recall, in a case against ex-Mayor Paul Richards, who subsequently was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison for corruption.
"They're trotting out the same exact thing," Woocher said. "Back then they also tried to get access to the signatures."
Kareem Crayton, an assistant professor of election law and political science at USC, said the developments in Lynwood were bizarre. He said it was unusual that the registrar-recorder's wishes would be defied without an apparent legal maneuver.
"As far as the claims the city has made, it seems those are the sort of claims better made to a court to enjoin an election from happening," Crayton said, "as opposed to refusing to let a process laid out by the law move forward."
The recall effort is just one of several launched against council members in Lynwood since the Richards situation, but the first to get this far. Vasquez said an investigation by Rodriguez's firm, Strategic Counsel, previously found irregularities in the recall signature-gathering process.
Vasquez said she wants the district attorney's office to investigate this.
But David Demerjian, the head of the district attorney's public integrity unit, said these problems are news to him. "No one ever complained about that," he said.
Demerjian said his office looked into the removal of Hooper, but did not find any criminal violations. His office is monitoring the situation.
Los Angeles Times, July 3, 2007
City may seek second attorney
By Jennifer McLain, Staff Writer
ROSEMEAD - Arnold Alvarez-Glasman is one of the candidates who could replace an attorney hired two months ago to represent the city's redevelopment commission.
In April, Bonifacio "Bonny" Garcia was appointed to serve as Rosemead city attorney and redevelopment attorney without competing bids after Councilman John Nunez recommended Garcia's name to the council.
The position became open after longtime City Attorney Peter Wallin resigned.
Now, Nunez is requesting that the Community Development Commission, the city's redevelopment agency, vote today to consider hiring a different attorney. Garcia would keep his position as city attorney.
"Even when Peter Wallin was around, I didn't think it was appropriate to have the same law firm handle development and the city attorney's position," Nunez said Monday. "I think it is important to have two different law firms."
Nunez said he has no one attorney in mind to assume the position, but several firms and individuals, including Alvarez-Glasman, have in the past expressed interest in serving as counsel for the city.
"A lot of law firms have come and talked to me," prior to requesting the agenda item for today's community development meeting, Nunez said.
Included in that list, he said, were Alhambra City Attorney Joe Montes of Burke, Williams, and Sorensen, former Huntington Park City Attorney Francisco Leal, and Alvarez-Glasman, who is the city attorney for West Covina, Pomona, Pico Rivera and Bell Gardens.
"[Alvarez-Glasman] has said that if there was anything he could for us to give him a call," Nunez said. "I know that he is one of the guys out there."
Alvarez-Glasman did not return calls Monday.
Alvarez-Glasman, who also served as city attorney for Montebello and Baldwin Park, contributed $1,000 to Councilwoman Polly Low's campaign in January and $1,000 to Mayor John Tran's campaign in 2004.
Former City Attorney Peter Wallin said that he thinks that Rosemead should have put the position out for bid after he resigned in March.
"They wanted [Garcia] as city attorney," Wallin said. "I have no personal knowledge of his firm, but I take it that if the city is going out to find someone else, then Bonny is probably saying he's not interested in doing this kind of work. That is just speculation on my part."
Garcia deferred all comments to Nunez.
City officials said they are impressed with Garcia's work as city attorney, despite earlier concerns by Council members Margaret Clark and Gary Taylor.
Both said the appointment was rushed and that there may have been a potential conflict of interest. Garcia's firm is the legal counsel for the Garvey School District.
Now, Clark said that Garcia is "doing just fine."
"The hiring of a new attorney is an unnecessary waste of money," Clark said Monday.
The commission will vote today on whether to approve the request by Nunez to go to bid for legal services. If approved, staff will prepare a request for qualifications, which will be distributed for 30 days to all qualified legal firms.
Whittier Daily News, June 26, 2007
Developers contribute to council members
By Jennifer McLain Staff Writer
ROSEMEAD - Developers connected with four projects in the city have contributed at least $30,000 to council members since 2005, according to finance records.
In addition, two developers paid for three meals for former Rosemead City Manager Andrew Lazzaretto. Other city officials, including Mayor John Tran and interim City Manager Oliver Chi, also attended, but said they paid for their own meals.
"People may think, `Wow, staff and council members are meeting developers. Is something shady going on?"' Chi said. "At the end of the day, to get the deals done, you have to get to know one another and it is hard to do in just an office setting."
There is nothing illegal about receiving campaign contributions, said Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies. But he said accepting any more than $500 in contributions "looks bad."
Tran, however, said the financial support he received for his campaign has no impact on the progression of the projects.
"Any campaign contribution I've received does not impact my decision," Tran said. "We are well aware of our conflict-of-interest laws."
Staff members said that there is a lot of interest in development in Rosemead.
"I think there is a tremendous opportunity right now for the city to capitalize in the development interest," Chi said. "We have a lot of pots on the stove."
A potential mixed-use project at Rosemead Boulevard and Steele Street, proposed by Hieu Tran, was granted an exclusive negotiating agreement in April.
Tran and his associate Thong Van Lu contributed $5,000 each to Mayor John Tran.
A mixed-use and commercial development, both proposed by Hawaii Supermarket owner Gerard Yang, are in the planning stages.
Associates related to the Hawaii Supermarket and those involved in the proposed Big Island mixed-use project - including the architect - have contributed $4,700 to Tran and councilwomen Polly Low and Margaret Clark. Tran received $1,000, Low received $2,900, and Clark received $800.
Low and Clark did not return calls to comment on this story.
Chi said that he hasn't experienced any pressure to bend the rules for certain developers.
The conditions for a fourth project, which is located on one parcel owned by Eric Lee and Bob Nguyen, was approved by the City Council after it was originally denied by the planning commission.
Councilman John Nunez, who did not return calls, appealed that planning commission's decision.
Nguyen and Lee combined have donated $14,000 to Rosemead council members, including a $50 dinner bought for Lazzaretto by Lee. Nguyen gave Mayor Tran $7,000. Lee gave Tran $5,000 and gave Low $2,000.
Whittier Daily News, June 24, 2007
Cty clerk has election duties taken away
By a 4-1 vote, the City Council has removed Andrea Hooper from her role of presiding over city elections, including the current recall drive
By Marisela Santana, Staff Writer
LYNWOOD -- Andrea Hooper is no longer the city's elections official.
Even though the city clerk is elected by the voters every four years to be responsible for the care and custody of the official records and documents of the city, provide support to the City Council, process all ordinances and resolutions, record the minutes of all City Council, Redevelopment Agency, Public Finance Authority and Lynwood Information Incorporated meetings, on June 5, by a 4-1 vote, the council removed Hooper as the coordinator and administrator of all city general and special elections -- duties, she has held since November 1982.
With several calls into the District Attorney's Public Integrity Division to find out if the council's vote to strip Hooper of her election's duties is legal, residents in the community have only one thing to say about the vote: How quickly has the tide changed.
For years, residents have questioned Hooper's job as a City Clerk, why she receives two salaries -- one as an elected official, the other as a public employee -- and why she, along with City Treasurer Iris Pygatt get paid for also sitting in on the Public Finance Authority and Lynwood Information Inc. meetings.
For years, Hooper has been accused of covering for council members, for taking sick days and not recording them, and of well, milking the system.
It is to no surprise for some residents, who for years have been fighting longtime council members like Mayor Louis Byrd former Councilman Paul Richards to stop favoritism and nepotism at City Hall.
For the most part, Hooper has always protected her favorites, said one longtime activist who asked to remain anonymous.
"This is one person who has known how to milk the city for everything she could," said the source. "She's a liar and she covers up for people who do things for her."
Even last year, when former City Manager Enrique Martinez tried to move the records management system out of Hooper's office, the council majority at the time, wouldn't have it.
Byrd and Pedroza, both adversaries of Martinez, told the then city manager that they would rather see the city manager's office work with Hooper to fix the problems in the city clerk's office.
Then Mayor Leticia Vasquez and Councilwoman Maria Santillan supported Martinez's attempt to centralize the clerk's record-keeping responsibilities into the city manger's office.
But the two of women on the council lacked the third vote, and thus the motion to make the change failed. Two week's later, the council, Martinez and Hooper agreed that instead of making the change, they would work together.
But all of that has nothing to do with last Tuesday's 4-1 vote.
The current council's concerns with Hooper date back to May 15, when Byrd, Pedroza, Vasquez and Councilman Alfreddie Johnson thought it was unprofessional and irresponsible for Hooper to present them with a letter from the county Registar-Recorder's Office certifying the signatures for the recall during a closed session meeting.
Shocked at the accusations, Hooper has maintained that she did nothing wrong and that she violated no laws in notifying the council -- the city's governing body -- of the county's findings.
There were other accusations, too. That she didn't notify the proponents before she notified the council, that she didn't file the paperwork correctly, and even worse, that she falsely validated invalid signatures on the recall petition.
Hooper said that council members did not give her any specific reasons for removing the election duties from her.
The council members are demanding a recount of the more than 4,500 signatures, to not only verify the signatures themselves through the umbrella of a law firm it hired to investigate the recall's process and a public employee they have designated as the city's new election official, but to see if any of the signatures belonged to residents residing in illegal garage conversions.
Alfredo Lopez, the city's new human resources director, said as of Wednesday, it had not been determined which city employee would be given the new election official's title. Several names, however, were brought up by council members last week, including the Redevelopment Agency's Counsel Ron Wilson, Deborah Jackson, and Albert Espinoza, a former deputy city clerk in Hooper's office.
According to state election laws, the elected city clerk is the only person who can review signatures on the recall petitions.
It can only be the elected official or by a court order, Hooper said.
But Pedroza disagreed.
He said Strategic Counsel, the law firm the City Council hired to investigate the recall process has the right to see the petitions, too.
The timing of the council majority's change to the City Clerk's office is quite suspicious, said a longtime resident Eddie Hernandez.
Councilwoman Santillan said she agreed. For years, she said she has watched the council fail to reprimand or hold Hooper accountable for certain things.
"The big one for me is the salaries," Santillan said. "She gets two paychecks. When that issue came up, it was dropped, these council members wouldn't even talk about it and they let her keep her two salaries."
A few years ago, Hooper came under fire for allegedly allowing Pedroza to retract signatures from a recall petition that was circulating to remove him from office when a few years earlier she told former Councilman Arturo Reyes it would be illegal for him to try and retract signatures from a recall petition that was circulating against him.
Hooper is also accused of having protected Richards before he was successfully recalled. While she maintains that "it is not true," the council majority at the time, which consisted of Ramon Rodriguez, Pedroza and Reyes, also stripped Hooper of her election duties.
"Do you know how many times we tried to recall Paul Richards" one resident asked. "Hundreds of times and Ms. Hooper would always find something wrong with the petitions. Always. It was hard. It passed because the council took it away from her."
Hooper denies having protected any council member and says that "people need to get their facts straight."
While Santillan has remained opposed to Hooper's alleged double-dipping, she said it is unfortunate that Hooper is now being used as a scapegoat by council members who are willing to do anything to keep from being recalled.
"All I can say, is that it's convenient for them to do this now," Santillan said. "It is very obvious why she's being removed from her duties. She's just another scapegoat. First it was [Enrique] Martinez, and now it's Andrea [Hooper]. When things don't go the way the council majority wants them to go, they fire people or put them on administrative leave. It's my way or the highway for them. I wouldn't be surprised if the next person out the door is the city attorney. You say no to them too many times, and they'll take you out."
Hooper said she believes that she is "doomed if she does, and doomed if she doesn't."
"In no way have I violated the law," she said. "Nothing has been proven. The last time that Leticia Vasquez hired Strategic Counsel to investigate the recall, they reported later that they found nothing wrong in the city clerk's actions and they'll come back again and say the same thing."
Hooper said she has known several council members for a long time, but following the rules comes first. "I don't protect any of them," she said. "I wouldn't do that because that's jeopardizing my position."
Councilman Pedroza said he didn't want to comment on the vote to take away some of Hooper's duties.
He said the reasons for removing Hooper's election duties are public and are documented -- and that Hooper should have received the list.
Martinez, the former city manager, said that he doesn't know what the council majority is now thinking.
"The research has already been done," Martinez said about the council's knowledge of Hooper receiving two salaries. "But the council never wanted to do anything about it. I'm not there right now. I don't know what they're thinking in regards to Andrea, but I do know this: if the only principal you have is self-preservation then you're going to start kicking people off the boat."
Wave Newspapers, June 14, 2007
Recall efforts in Montebello persist Signatures collected to oust 3 council members
By Sandra T. Molina, Staff Writer
MONTEBELLO - Recall petitions have been submitted against Mayor Norma Lopez-Reid and Councilman Bob Bagwell, and proponents said Tuesday they continue collecting signatures to recall Councilman Jeff Siccama.
The three were targeted over their efforts to fold the Montebello Fire Department into the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said Steve Stokes of the group Montebello Citizens for Honest Government, which launched the effort.
The three council members last November voted 3-2 to reject a citizens' petition asking that the Fire Department issue be decided by voters. Mayor pro tem Bill Molinari and Councilwoman Rosie Vasquez voted in favor of the petition.
"They have refused to listen to the will of the people," Stokes said. "And that is what has led us to this point."
The group gathered more than 12,000 signatures - 6,099 for Bagwell and 6,198 for Lopez-Reid - more than the required 4,758 per council member, said Lillian Guzman, deputy city clerk.
It also has collected about 6,000 signatures on recall petitions against Siccama. However, because Siccama has two years left on his term, the deadline for submitting petitions to recall him is not until June 23.
Guzman said her office filed the petitions against Bagwell and Lopez-Reid and now will forward them to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's Office, which will verify the signatures.
Maria Halpern, a member of the citizens' group, claimed support for the recall is overwhelming among the city's voters.
"We got more than 18,000 signatures in a city that has only a little more than 23,000 registered voters," she said.
Bagwell disputed the group's grounds for trying to recall him.
"We have not made a decision on whether or not to go county" for fire services, he said. "We want to see a review of the costs.
"The city is in financial trouble, and we are looking into where the city is spending money and where we can save money while still keeping the same level of services," Bagwell added.
He said the group did not follow election rules when it submitted petitions demanding a public vote on contracting with the county.
Siccama accused the group of using scare tactics and feeding misinformation to the public.
"We just want to find out if we can hire the county to do a comparable job for less money," he said.
Two calls to Lopez-Reid were not returned.
The city is spending just under $10 million on the Montebello Fire Department's budget for 2006-07.
Halpern said the recall effort was launched after much soul-searching by her group.
"We went back and forth about the decision because we love Montebello, and a recall can tear a community apart," she said. In the end, she said, the group's board felt it had no other recourse.
"This could have been avoided if they had listened to the voice of the people," she said.
Whittier Daily News, June 6, 2007
Political 'hired gun' draws fire
By Patricia Jiayi Ho, Staff Writer
ALHAMBRA - Less than a month after a Monterey Park city councilman filed a lawsuit against Melrose Castillo, the young political maverick tied to local council campaigns, former Alhambra City Councilman Efren Moreno has filed a complaint against the man he describes as a "hired gun."
"He's doing political mailings for people, and he's not reporting any of the expenses," Moreno said.
In a fax sent to the California Fair Political Practices Commission on Friday, Moreno said Castillo violated the Political Reform Act when he failed to disclose the funding source for newsletters sent out in 2004 and 2006.
The complaint also names Barbara Messina, now serving her fourth term on the Alhambra City Council, alleging that she failed to file proper paperwork when she ran in 2006.
Castillo says he is not a real political consultant but rather sends out newsletters because of his personal interest in local politics.
The FPPC may take more interest in the Moreno complaint, because Castillo's name has come up a second time in recent weeks, said Bob Stern, president of the West L.A.-based Center for Governmental Studies.
"It's all very strange," Stern said. "Based on my experience, it's an accumulation ... The fact that he seems to be involved in a lot of things, and there's no disclosure, it's going to make them more interested."
Castillo has denied any involvement in an anonymous attack piece on Monterey Park Councilman Benjamin "Frank" Venti. The District Attorney's Office is investigating the mailer.
The Alhambra mass mailings Castillo said he did send out targeted Moreno when he ran for council re-election in 2004, accusing him and his ally, former Councilman Dan Arguello, of "cronyism" and "ties to East Los Angeles politicians" who are "corrupt, crooked and dishonest."
Castillo "just has a certain ill-gotten talent to attack people," Moreno said. "He's a political hit man. He goes to the highest bidder."
Castillo even denies being a political consultant at all, but admitted he did not file statements for the newsletters when he should have.
"Yes, that is correct. I did not submit the proper paperwork," he said. "My attitude sometimes is, if I believe it, I'm going to do it ... This is free speech. People knew who was responsible."
The campaign literature did not cite, as is required by law, a committee identification number or a mailing address, but ran under the header of Castillo's organization, Young Alhambra Latinos for Political Reform.
Castillo, 30, said he has contacted the FPPC about making amends. If he has to pay a fine for late filing of the address and funding behind the mailer, he will do so, he said.
He alleges that Messina was really trying to buy his endorsement for City Council when she funded his 2006 newsletter. Messina said she paid him $2,500 to make improvements to her campaign Web site. She said she did not report it as an expense because it was from her personal account rather than campaign contributions and because Castillo did not come through with the work. Stern notes that state law does not make a distinction between personal spending and contributions from others for reporting purposes.
Castillo also says he believes Messina knew about a controversial attack piece on her City Council opponent, Dan Arguello, that she denied knowledge of at the time.
The piece suggested the former councilman had been bought by casino interests. The funding source for the 2006 mailer was hidden from voters because disclosure statements were filed late.
"I was there when they were talking about it," Castillo said. "She approved them ... \ Mike Messina was furious that they had to spend that much money."
Barbara Messina continues to maintain she knew nothing about the casino mailer, only finding out her husband had paid $20,000 of their personal funds to Neighbors Against a Casino in Alhambra for the mailer the night of the election.
"At the time, I truly did not know my husband was doing this," she said.
Barbara Messina was the sole source of funding for both the YALPR newsletters, Castillo said. He said she gave him $3,000 each election year for the newsletters.
He did not endorse her in either election.
Castillo said he sent out more than 1,000 copies of the 2004 newsletter, and around 5,000 copies of the 2006 missive. The former spoke favorably of some candidates and poorly of others, while the latter explicitly endorsed candidates Stephen Sham and Adele Andrade-Stadler.
Messina disputes at least some of Castillo's numbers. She said she paid him a total of $4,500, not $6,000.
At the time, Castillo's Young Alhambra Latinos group positioned itself as an independent grass-roots effort.
The mailer spoke favorably of current Mayor Gary Yamauchi and Councilman Steve Placido, while stating that Arguello and Moreno "were blasted by Latinos" for allegedly discouraging civic participation and open government.
Castillo now admits that the "group" consisted of two people.
"A lot of people thought it was bigger than it was," he said. "It was basically me and one other person."
On advice from the Messinas, they sent the 2004 newsletter to the Emory Park neighborhood, which they were told is predominantly Latino, Castillo said.
Castillo and Joaquin Montes, who is no longer a member, told the Star-News in an October 2004 article that the $3,000 for the newsletter came from their own personal funds.
Despite past ties to politicians, Castillo said he has valid, independent concerns about the state of affairs in Alhambra, and does not blindly line himself up with others. He is planning another newsletter for the summer.
Castillo says he was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Alhambra, attending Martha Baldwin Elementary and San Gabriel High School. He transferred from Pasadena City College to UCLA, before dropping out his senior year, he said. In December, he moved out of Alhambra to the El Sereno neighborhood of Los Angeles, he said.
Former Councilman Paul Talbot appointed Castillo to the Valley Boulevard Consistency Committee for the 2005-06 term.
Talbot said he had an opening, and wanted to help someone of a different background get footing in city politics.
"It's a different perspective in my life," he said. "I'm a middle-aged white guy that's got family, kids, and a business. He comes at it from points of view that are different than mine."
Others are less inclined to speak well of Castillo. With the help of what he says are three informants, Monterey Park Councilman Venti said he knows who hired Castillo to write the "hit piece" against him, but declined to provide names.
"We're going to \ him, this little flake. If he lies, we will be depo-ing the informants, and then he's got a real problem," Venti said.
Whittier Daily News, June 3, 2007
Council prayers prompt outcry
By Pam Wight, Staff Writer
WHITTIER - Prayers at some local city council meetings have drawn complaints over their content, officials said.
Five years after a California appeals court ruled that faith-specific prayers at public meetings were unconstitutional, several cities in the Whittier area still regularly invoke Jesus Christ in council meeting invocations.
Alex Luchenitser, attorney for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said California law and federal law clearly prohibit prayers of a specific faith.
He cited a 2002 decision by the state's 2nd District Court of Appeals, which upheld a lower court ruling barring sectarian prayer at public meetings.
Irv Rubin, then-director of the Jewish Defense League, had won a lawsuit against the city of Burbank, which led to the court ruling.
"That case should be precedent over the Los Angeles area," Luchenitser said. "Invoking Jesus in the prayer is a clear violation of the separation of church and state, which is based on the federal Constitution."
But the Rev. Richard Ochoa of the Lord's Vineyard Church in Pico Rivera, who frequently delivers the council invocation, said he would continue to pray as he always does if called to by the council. "I'm a very law-abiding citizen, but certain things I can't agree with," said Ochoa, who said he was not opposed to other religions being represented. "I'm not a rebel but I stand up for what I believe."
He said sectarian prayer should be allowed because most people would favor it if polled on the subject.
"Those atheists can put earplugs in," he added.
Pico Rivera Councilman Gregory Salcido said he opposes the sectarian prayer used at the meetings, but not because it offends him personally.
"I think it's mostly meant as an act of goodwill, but it shouldn't be there," Salcido said. "Our Constitution is unequivocal regarding the necessity to keep legislative and spiritual practices separate in order to protect the integrity of both."
In Montebello, Councilman Bob Bagwell said he was aware of several complaints made to the city but supports the idea of sectarian prayer at public meetings because "we are a Judeo-Christian-based country."
"We try to keep it in line because of \, but the people who are offended are a tiny minority, maybe 10 to 15 percent only," said Bagwell, who said he was not opposed to hearing prayers of another faith. "I suppose they have a point, but there are a lot of rabble-rousers, too."
Whittier hasn't had prayers before its meetings since the early 1980s when the local clergy had problems getting ministers to come to the meetings. Nor does La Habra Heights.
Both La Mirada and Santa Fe Springs have invocations as part of their agendas where specific deities are sometimes invoked.
Whittier Daily News, June 3, 2007
Fire code plan gets heated response
By Jennifer McLain, Staff Writer
ROSEMEAD -- A proposed ordinance giving the city manager authority over the fire code has prompted threats of a lawsuit by county fire officials, who say the change is connected to a stalled project.
Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said they rejected a Valley Boulevard project, which is beneath high-voltage power lines, because of safety concerns. Rosemead had already approved the development on the 2.5-acre property, which is owned by Southern California Edison.
The proposed ordinance would allow the city manager to overrule "all interpretations, recommendations, rules, permits, regulations, applications and decisions" of the fire code, which would include any denial of projects by the Fire Department.
"The response by the city of Rosemead is both abnormal and alarming," said county fire Chief Michael Freeman on Friday. "I contacted our legal counsel to take an immediate and thorough look at not only this ordinance, but also at what power the county Fire Department has in respect to the fire code."
City Manager Andrew Lazzaretto did not return calls.
Rosemead City Attorney Bonifacio "Bonny" Garcia said the intent of the ordinance is to restore "accountability."
"Our view is that the fire chief was not thinking about the homeowners," said Garcia. "There is a global accountability concern. The council members have a concern about the impact on property rights."
The ordinance comes after the adoption of a 2006 county fire code that prohibits building underneath high-voltage power lines. Homes that were built under power lines before the regulation change would not be affected.
While Garcia said the ordinance does not apply to any specific projects, "That's not to say that it won't apply to projects in the future," Garcia said.
According to city and county documents, the New Century Commercial Center, whose developer is Hawaii Properties, at 8518 Valley Blvd., "is ready to go."
According to a city document, "The concern of the city is by issuing permits to construct the project, they are in violation of some type of state or local laws and in some way could be liable."
One way the city is trying to get around this is through its newly proposed ordinance, Freeman said Friday.
The ordinance was drafted and signed by Garcia.
In it, it states that restoring a certain measure of local control and accountability over rules and decisions concerning the application of the fire code, "has become a concern for City residents."
But Freeman thinks this is an unusual response.
"There is a reason why there are fire chiefs, police chiefs, finance directors, city clerks and city managers," Freeman said. "They provide different areas of expertise that are absolutely essential to protecting and providing services to the public."
In a May 15 memo sent to Edison, Freeman wrote that after full consideration of all aspects of the proposal to construct buildings underneath high-voltage power line rights of way, the department will retain its current restriction on such projects.
"This means that for sites meeting the above criteria, no construction will be approved by the Los Angeles County Fire Department within out jurisdictional areas," he wrote. "Our Regulation 27 will continue to be the guiding document for such construction under or adjacent to high-voltage power line rights of way."
Freeman also explained in the memo the dangers of building underneath the power lines.
"Firefighters already face numerous challenges and life-threatening situations far too often despite the various codes adopted to protect them and building occupants," Freeman wrote. "Approving to permit building construction beneath high-voltage power lines would introduce more risk and complexity for all involved and is deemed inappropriate by us."
Garcia does not believe this exposes the city to unnecessary liability.
"This is about land use and control," Garcia said.
But Freeman isn't taking the ordinance lightly.
"We are prepared to fight this fire," he said.
The Rosemead City Council will vote to approve the ordinance at a meeting June 12.
Pasadena Star News, June 2, 2007
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