The Monterey County Herald
Council sets closed meeting Session to discuss city administrator vote
Mayor seeks closure of Guillen issue
By LARRY PARSONS
Herald Staff Writer
Posted: 02/03/2011 01:30:45 AM PST
Updated: 02/03/2011 01:30:45 AM PST
HIGHLIGHTS:
• "A day after another council meeting marked by sparring over Guillen, Mayor Sue McCloud said Wednesday that she wants to hold the closed-door session to further evaluate the city administrator before March 1 — the next regularly scheduled council meeting."
• "Burnett's motion Tuesday to hold a closed-door session this week was defeated on a 3-2 vote, with McCloud and Councilwoman Karen Sharp and Paula Hazdovac in the majority."
• Some city residents have called for Guillen's dismissal. And Burnett calls the matter "the most important issue facing our community."
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HIGHLIGHTS:
• “Raw emotion erupted” at the Tuesday, February 1 City Council Meeting after the 3-2 vote (majority vote by Mayor Sue McCloud, Council Members Paula Hazdovac and Karen Sharp) to not hold a closed session on the employment of City Administrator Rich Guillen.
• City Administrator Rich Guillen was absent at the City Council meeting; he called in “sick”. (Note: Assistant City Administrator/City Clerk Heidi Burch replaced Guillen on the dais.)
• “Immediate calls for a recall” of the three council members who voted not to hold a closed session on Guillen, namely Mayor Sue McCloud, Council Members Paula Hazdovac and Karen Sharp.
• Council Member Burnett stated the City has a “legal obligation and an ethical obligation” to make public the results of a 21 September 2010 closed session vote on the employment of City Administrator Rich Guillen.
• Michael LePage and Joyce Stevens made statements to reporter Stephanie Chuang.
4 comments:
Jason Burnett wants the public to believe the public disclosure of the council closed session vote four months ago is a matter of a difference in legal interpretation of the Brown Act between himself and Don Freeman. It is not and Jason and Don Freeman both know it. Don Freeman telling Jason one thing privately and then reneging in public was a conscious decision to back the mayor and was not a change in his legal interpretation of the Brown Act. Ethics and conscience demand that representatives level with the public and not mislead the public with excuses and/or sugar coated versions of the real reasons behind actions which ultimately are supposed to be done for the good of the public they serve.
Attended the meeting. Heard Sue say a closed session would be scheduled. Heard her answer "Yes" when asked if it would be by the end of the month. Now she's done it. I'm not sure where the flip-flop was. Please explain.
P.S. - I know Sue is the politician we love to hate, but the misleading blog headline makes us look as bad as her.
First, at the time of this post the available media portrayed Mayor McCloud are being unresponsive to questions, including whether or not she was prepared to schedule a closed session for the purpose of discussing the city administrator’s employment. Moreover, the 3-2 vote indicated she was not inclined to schedule a closed session.
Secondly, while Mayor McCloud did say “yes” to Council Member Jason Burnett’s query “as soon as our calendars permit,” her pattern of first mischaracterizing Burnett’s motion, then being nonresponsive to “before your next meeting?” indicated mental confusion. Parenthetically, McCloud has a long record of making misleading and untruthful statements and her words have not equated with her subsequent actions on too many occasions to trust her pronouncements.
I welcome Anonymous holding Mayor McCloud to the same scrutiny and judging her words and actions accordingly.
ADDENDUM:
It is not, nor should it be, about Sue “the politician we love to hate,” rather it is about holding elected and appointed government officials and government employees accountable to a public servant/public service standard of conduct and performance.
Correction: Vote should be reported 2-3 regarding City Council Member Jason Burnett's motion.
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