A crowd of Anthony Freitas supporters waited before Tuesday’s
Board of Supervisors meeting, ready to condemn Supervisor Ruth
Kesler for her proposal to remove him from the planning commission,
some holding decorated signs chastising county officials. And then
Kesler canceled her resolution.
A crowd of Anthony Freitas supporters waited before Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, ready to condemn Supervisor Ruth Kesler for her proposal to remove him from the planning commission, some holding decorated signs chastising county officials. And then Kesler canceled her resolution.
Kesler’s decision to indefinitely postpone a request for Freitas’ removal from the commission – three months before his runoff race with Anthony Botelho for her District 2 seat – went unexplained.
Afterward, Kesler said she pulled it off the agenda, an announcement coming from the county counsel at the meeting’s outset, “for my own reasons.” She declined to comment further on her motive and didn’t indicate if it would return for future consideration.
And although Kesler said she received no prior feedback from concerned residents, she expected a lot of criticism over the proposal if it remained on the agenda – evident by the meeting’s unusual flux of Freitas supporters.
“There would have been a lot of people speaking who didn’t know what they’re talking about,” Kesler said.
Kesler, a couple weeks ago had placed the item on Tuesday’s agenda – to oust the planning commissioner she appointed four years ago, one of two men who defeated her in the March primary.
Kesler had cited growing differences of opinion with Freitas, on such issues as growth, for his removal. She also said he shouldn’t be serving on the commission while campaigning for the board. Freitas has called the proposed action “politically motivated,” as campaigning for the November election will soon intensify.
Freitas had asked the board to put off the resolution to a future meeting so he could defend himself – he’s on a long-planned vacation to Alaska and could not attend Tuesday.
As Freitas promised before he left for that trip, though, plenty of supporters came out to oppose the proposal, regardless of his attendance.
Resident Clifford Cardoza had planned to speak during a public comment portion of the meeting. He called Kesler’s proposal senseless and politically motivated.
“I was there in support of the contributions Freitas had made on the commission,” Cardoza said.
With four supervisors in attendance Tuesday – Supervisor Richard Scagliotti was absent – it’s unclear if she would have gained the necessary support for Freitas’ dismissal. His removal would have required a majority board approval.
Supervisor Reb Monaco has said he opposed a removal of Freitas, meaning Kesler would have needed votes from both the remaining supervisors, Bob Cruz and Pat Loe. Cruz couldn’t be reached Tuesday, and Loe has declined to comment on the Freitas matter.
