No man or woman of integrity would participate in a city council meeting with City Administrator Rich Guillen knowing Rich Guillen has engaged in a pattern of unethical conduct over many, many years involving former Human Resources Manager Jane Miller, former Assistant City Administrator Greg D’Ambrosio, former Community and Cultural Director Brian Donoghue, former Library Director Margaret Pelikan, former Executive Assistant Sandy Farrell, former city employee Christie Miller and Assistant City Administrator/City Clerk Heidi Burch.
All men and women of integrity recognize that if the City Administrator lacks credibility with the public, then he/she must be removed or resign for the “good” of the City.
All men and women of integrity recognize that integrity means deeds must be commensurate with words. Words, in the form of opinions, do not stand alone; they must be accompanied by acts which support articulated opinions. Otherwise, words are meaningless.
All men and women of integrity expect their elected officials, namely Mayor Sue McCloud and Council Members Jason Burnett, Paula Hazdovac, Karen Sharp and Ken Talmage and their appointed officials, namely Planning Commissioners Keith Paterson, Steve Hillyard, Jan Reimers, Victoria Beach and Steve Dallas, Forest & Beach Commissioners Les Kadis, Tom Leverone, Joe Ford, Todd Hornik and Vicki Lynch, Historic Resources Board Members Erik Dyar, Erl Lagerholm, Elinor Laiolo, Gregory Carper and Matthew Little, Community Activities and Cultural Commissioners Ruth Rachel, Dixie Dixon, Donna Jett, Clyde Klaumann and Conrad Kohrs and Harrison Memorial Library Board of Trustees, Robert R. Irvine, Martha Mosher, Nancy Collins, Elisabeth Ungaretti and Michael Lynch to have a “zero tolerance” policy for sexual harassment, employment discrimination and retaliation. We further expect them to take seriously the claims of “hostile” workplace environment and forced “early retirement” of five former senior management city employees. Accordingly, we would expect them to act by signing a petition calling for the resignation or removal of City Administrator Rich Guillen for the “good” of Carmel-by-the-Sea and present the petition to Mayor Sue McCloud. And if City Administrator Rich Guillen did not resign or the City Council failed to vote to remove him, then the appointed city officials and council members in support of the resignation or removal of the city administrator would resign from their respective offices on principle.
All men and women of integrity value principle over politics and the “good” of Carmel-by-the-Sea over any single elected official’s ambitions and agenda.
All men and women of integrity would not characterize this crisis as a “controversy” in order to rationalize the need to bury the proper resolution of the future city employment of Rich Guillen in order to address other important issues.
Finally, elected and appointed officials would do the right thing if we, their constituents, expected and demanded it of them.
7 comments:
This idea is all very nice but keep in mind that these appointees were selected either because they are allies of the mayor or because they are people who don't like controversy. Even if they all did threaten to resign and then did it, the mayor wouldn't care less. She'd just appoint members, who are more loyal to her or more easily intimidated. McCloud has shown again and again that she doesn't care what anybody thinks so long as she gets her own way. It's fair to say that she's a fairly high functioning sociopath after all
Carmel’s city government desperately needs individuals of integrity who will not compromise their principles and sacrifice their consciences for social and/or political status or, more specifically, misguided loyalty to Mayor Sue McCloud.
Where or where are the people of integrity in Carmel? Why are there so many residents intimidated by Sue McCloud or afraid to do the right thing because it might involve controversy? If we cannot get this most basic and simple of things right, then we not only cannot move forward, we cannot expect to be viewed as mature adults.
Sue McCloud is the most divisive mayor in Carmel’s history. The Jane Miller-Rich Guillen matter shows how she is the most divisive mayor. She has used the settlement agreement as a shield to not accept responsibility for her own failures of not following the existing harassment prohibited policy. She has repeatedly shown a lack of remorse or guilt for her part in the psychological and professional harm she has caused Jane Miller. She has manipulated the public into believing Rich Guillen is the victim and the Miller’s exploit cities for payoffs (this is contradicted by the fact that Scott Miller said he would not take his PG pension when he started to take a paycheck for being sheriff). She has repeatedly lied and deceived the public when she said the four previous city employees took golden handshakes, when the four previous city employees had claims of hostile workplace environment and forced early retirement against the city administrator and city.
Because there are more friends and supporters of Sue McCloud than realist critics, it is hard to accept the fact that her supporters believe everything she says, when critics know her to lie, deceive and manipulate people and the media. And when she is caught is a lie or challenged with the truth, she is not perplexed or embarrassed; she simply changes her story or reworks the facts so that they seem to be consistent with the original lie. She seems to get a kick out of duping people and in Carmel there are plenty of people willing to be duped. Being duped means Carmelites have allowed she to have devastating effects on others and act as if her not being the least sorry for the pain and destruction she has caused other people is acceptable conduct for a mayor.
I agree with Divisive Mayor. Since becoming mayor, Sue McCloud has been a polarizing figure. She is not a unifier, she is a divider. About half of voters are for anything and everything she wants and the other half of voters adamantly reject her closed, secretive governance style and her policies. But because she has gotten enough votes to stay in office for now going on 6 terms, she has not payed any price for her actions and she has gotten big things done or on the way which will be difficult to undo or change. She slamed through the SCC to manage all of Sunset Center and she is poised to sell Flanders Mansion if the city prevails in court. Her agenda would not have succeeded if not for Rich Guillen and so it looks like she will do everything and anything to keep him.
So, where is the recall petition?
The logical next step is for the three former mayors, namely Ken White, Jean Grace and Charlotte Townsend, to form the core of a committee to draft a recall petition, consult with an attorney, recruit Carmel registered voters to gather voters' signatures, et cetera.
All three former mayors met with Mayor Sue McCloud and told her “that in our opinion she and the council should start looking for a new city administrator,” (according to reporting in late August 2010 by MCW).
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