The San Benito County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday in
a closed-session meeting to fire long-time Planning Director Rob
Mendiola, whom many saw as a key figure in the battle over growth
in the community.
Supervisors declined to comment yesterday on the vote, which was
supported by all but Supervisor Pat Loe. Mendiola also declined to
comment.
Hollister – The San Benito County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday in a closed-session meeting to fire long-time Planning Director Rob Mendiola, whom many saw as a key figure in the battle over growth in the community.
Supervisors declined to comment yesterday on the vote, which was supported by all but Supervisor Pat Loe. Mendiola also declined to comment.
When Mendiola was asked what he would do next, his attorney who attended the meeting, San Jose labor employment lawyer Phillip Griego, replied “We’ll just say the book is not closed on this.”
Mendiola and the planning department, which he has directed for over 20 years, were recently the subject of a county investigation. Interim County Counsel Claude Biddle made a statement after the closed session meeting that “A report will be forthcoming based on the Monteon investigation absolving Mr. Mendiola of all wrongdoing based on that complaint.”
Although the supervisors were tight-lipped after the meeting, Mendiola’s long-time supporters were shocked and angry.
“Are they insane?” said Rebecca McGovern, a San Juan Bautista resident and supporter of the growth control measure G defeated by voters last year. “If they destroyed the best planning person in the state … for what purpose? So they can build more houses all over the county and fill it up? That’s the worst thing that could happen to the county. The very worst. You have a planning director who tried to protect this county from the scourge of developers… it’s a disaster.”
Others, such as San Benito County Farm Bureau member and Measure G opponent Paul Hain said they thought Mendiola’s termination was a step in the right direction.
“In general, I’ve worked with Rob for a lot of years personally, and I find him a quite honorable person. But I think that with the combination of politics and time, it’s probably best for the county that he move on,” Hain said. “In general it’s good to have change sometimes, not just for the sake of change but because people in the county are very frustrated with the planning department. It’s not a very user-friendly place and I think that came back to haunt Rob.”
Acting County Administrative Officer Susan Lyons couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday, but said in a phone message she had terminated Mendiola prior to yesterday’s meeting and had been waiting on ratification from the board. The message also stated Mendiola was “terminated without cause, and that’s all I have to say.”
Mendiola was an “at-will” employee of Lyons’, meaning the county could end his employment at its discretion.
Lyons said last week the report on Mendiola and the planning department would not be released because it involves pending litigation in an ongoing lawsuit against the county and former Supervisor Richard Scagliotti. That suit, brought on by Salinas lawyer Michael Pekin and San Benito County resident Juan Monteon, includes declarations from planning department employees Ken Speciale and Jim Stevens, who say they can implicate Mendiola in corruption charges against Scagliotti.
But Biddle’s statement yesterday about the forthcoming investigation report, which was triggered because of Speciale and Stevens’ allegations, indicates Mendiola may be absolved of criminal wrongdoing related to the suit.
At the heart of their allegations, Speciale and Stevens accuse Mendiola of hastily rezoning the Churchill Nut plant from agricultural to manufacturing land, helping the property’s owner Scagliotti make a $1.2 million profit. Scagliotti and Mendiola have continually denied these allegations.
A criminal grand jury investigation into Pekin that resulted in five felony charges against the eccentric Salinas lawyer also found that when Speciale testified about his own declaration in front of the grand jury, he was unsure about some of the allegations he had made in the statement. Speciale himself is now the target of a criminal grand jury investigation.
Jessica Quandt covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at [email protected].
