San Juan Bautista politics have become a public debacle of
accusations, personal vendettas and alleged spy tactics, which have
brewed tempers to a boil, according to some city officials.
San Juan Bautista politics have become a public debacle of accusations, personal vendettas and alleged spy tactics, which have brewed tempers to a boil, according to some city officials.
“These personal vendettas have got to stop,” Councilman George Rowe said. “It isn’t fair to the citizens of San Juan Bautista because it wastes the Council’s time and wastes taxpayers’ money.”
Since Rowe was elected three years ago, Councilman Chuck Geiger has attacked his performance, Rowe said.
“He has conducted background checks on me, trying to find anything to get me off the Council,” Rowe said.
During a town hall meeting earlier this month, Geiger again expressed his disappointment that Rowe was absent, questioning Rowe’s commitment to the elected position and whether the citizens of San Juan were given fair representation.
Mayor Priscilla Hill had informed Geiger that Rowe was excused because of his employment obligations.
Following the town hall meeting, Geiger sought out Rowe’s employer while presenting himself as a Councilman, questioning if Rowe was really at work that night, Rowe said. The concerns came to a head during this week’s Council meeting.
“Who do you think you are, going to my place of employment and asking the sergeant on duty if I was at work?” Rowe said at Tuesday’s meeting. “You have no right. I regret you did this. Get off your high horse.”
Geiger did not apologize for his actions, but justified them by seeking Rowe’s employer based on four telephone calls about Rowe’s attendance.
Geiger, reached this morning by phone, would not comment.
During the meeting, Rowe said if any citizens had doubts or questions that he has two phone numbers for them to reach him.
“I have nothing to hide,” he said, drawing applause from the public.
Also, during the past months, Hill’s performance during Council and town hall meetings came under question.
During this week’s Council meeting, resident Jim Pereyra read the city’s municipal code regarding Town Hall meetings and said he believed it states the meetings are a forum to exchange information. He then said he was dissatisfied with the way Hill conducted herself during a May 13 town hall meeting and asked that Hill step down and let another Councilmember take her seat.
“I was personally outraged, as was Councilmember (Arturo) Medina, who was attempting to speak at the meeting,” Pereyra said. “May I suggest you might consider stepping down to allow another Council member to conduct the meetings in the spirit they were intended to be.”
Also, at the meeting, Medina had a list of questions to ask Aromas residents about their concerns regarding the recall of three board members in the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District. But, since the city has no say over a school district, Medina was interrupted by Hill, who felt the discussion was inappropriate.
“I did nothing wrong,” Hill said. “The town hall meetings are for the public to tell us about their grievances, to give us input, but we cannot discuss these things without placing them on future agendas.”
City Attorney Patrick Whitnell said, “The mayor was correct that Council needs to limit their discussion. A town hall meeting is an open forum, which is intended to be a broader forum. Generally, the Council is not expected to take any action.”
On Monday, Medina delivered to the Council and the city manager a letter and a copy of the same municipal code that Pereyra read during the Council meeting, stating his dissatisfaction.
“I am very disappointed in the way the town meetings are being run,” he wrote.
Medina wrote that the meetings have evolved in the wrong direction, and he felt it was a “waste of time” to just sit there and not respond to concerns.
In a telephone conversation, Medina denied he was not trying to remove Hill, but it was “coincidental” that Pereyra read from the same municipal code, which was submitted to the other Councilmembers the day before.
“This is just a housekeeping issue,” Medina said. “The only thing we (Pereyra) had in common was the code.”
Under the Brown Act, non-agenda items are generally prohibited from discussion and no action can be taken on them. There are three specific situations that can change the rule: When a majority decides there is an emergency situation, when two-thirds of the members determine a need for immediate action and when an item appeared on the agenda and was continued from a meeting held not more than five days earlier.
