San Juan Bautista
– Victorious City Council candidate Jeffrey Bagley declined to
take his seat on Tuesday.
San Juan Bautista – Victorious City Council candidate Jeffrey Bagley declined to take his seat on Tuesday.
As the winning candidates were asked to step forward and be sworn in, Bagley announced, “Well, I’ve made my decision. It’s a difficult one … but I’m afraid I’m going to have to step down from the City Council at this time.”
According to City Manager Jan McClintock, Bagley would have been forced to resign from his job in the city’s public works department if he accepted the council seat, because the two positions created a conflict of interest.
The Free Lance was unable to reach Bagley for further comment.
The Mission City’s new council will select Bagley’s replacement tonight from the two remaining applicants who sought to replace deceased Mayor Dan Reed in November. The council initially leaned toward accepting new applications as well, but they were dissuaded by outgoing Councilman Arturo Medina.
“You’ve got two good applications, and two other openings on the planning commission that you’ve got to fill,” Medina said. “If you wait until January, they might change their minds.”
New Councilman Rick Edge told the Free Lance that the council’s decision was driven by the dearth of interested residents.
“We had so much trouble getting people to run,” Edge said.
Following tonight’s meeting, two of the council’s five members will be appointed. When Reed died in November, Edge, agriculture veteran Jolene Cosio and Santa Clara sheriff’s Captain Edward Laverone applied fill Reed’s seat; Edge was selected. The council will now choose between Cosio and Laverone to serve as their final member.
The contested seats in the Nov. 7 election were supposed to go to the three candidates with the most votes: Robert Paradice, Hill and Bagley. Jim Pereyra, who is next on the list of vote-getters, argued that since Bagley stepped down before taking his seat, the council should select his replacement from the candidates who ran in the election. At the very least, Pereyra said, they should be open to more applications.
“Even if they went with the next person in the election, I don’t know if I’d accept it anyway,” he added. “This council is just so manipulative.”
Outgoing Councilman Chuck Geiger echoed Pereyra’s stance.
“This is absolutely wrong,” Geiger said.
Geiger and Hill rarely saw on eye-to-eye while on the council; during his unsuccessful bid for reelection, Geiger crafted several mailings that criticized Hill and asked voters to support Paradice, Pereyra and himself.
When asked why Pereyra was not considered for the open seat, Edge said, “All I can say is that out of the field of candidates, the city gave the three winners the most votes. That seems to indicate their preference.”
The council also appointed Bagley and Cosio to fill vacancies on the planning commission. If Cosio is selected to fill the council vacancy, she will create a new opening on the commission. McClintock said Bagley’s new appointment is not a problem because it does not affect his public works position.
“Everybody’s happy that we’re going to be moving forward with a full council and a full planning commission,” McClintock said.
After making his announcement, Bagley thanked everyone who had assisted with his campaign, particularly newly appointed Mayor Priscilla Hill.
“It’s been an adventure,” Bagley said.
The new councilperson will be selected tonight at 6pm at San Juan Bautista’s City Hall.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at (831) 637-5566 ext. 330 or ah*@fr***********.com.
