District counsel asked the Gavilan College board of trustees to disclose what occurred in closed session at the July 8 meeting as a way of resolving a threatened suit.
The request followed Trustee Tony Ruiz’s statement in early August that the six of the seven board trustees had voted 5-1 in closed session to change the district’s elections from “at-large” to “district” elections. Performing such a vote in closed session would be a violation of the Brown Act on two counts because discussions about election policies are not permitted in closed session and votes taken in closed session must be reported out at the start of the public meeting.
At the regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, six trustees voted in favor of disclosing that no action was taken in closed session at the regularly scheduled July 8 meeting. Trustee Tony Ruiz abstained from the vote and could not be reached for comment by deadline.
“We have not been sued,” said Board of Trustees President Kent Child, in a conversation with the Free Lance after the meeting. “There was a threat.”
The action item was listed on the closed session piece of the agenda under the subheading for “conference with legal counsel – anticipated litigation.”
The topic of election policies surfaced earlier this year in August or September when the Board Policy Subcommittee saw that policy area as one that could possibly be revised, Child said. The subcommittee referred the subject as an informational item for the agenda of the Tuesday meeting, he said.
Trustees discussed the topic during in the open session of the meeting and referred it as an action item for the regularly scheduled January meeting.
