Okay, it's 701 I'm calling to order the San Leandro City Council meeting of March 2nd
2026
Madam clerk, would you please take roll?
Councilmember Viviros Walton present
Councilmember Aguilar
present
Councilmember Simon present
Councilmember Bowen present councilmember bolt present and mayor Gonzalez present would you please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance?
Madam clerk
Your announcement, please
If you would like to make a public comment during the meeting, you can do so in person or via zoom.
If you are present at the meeting,
please complete a speaker card and submit it to the city clerk before the item is presented. If you wish to participate
in public comment via zoom, you can use the raise your hand tool when the item is called.
During the public comment session, speakers will be invited to speak and will have a set time to share their comments.
countdown timer will appear for their convenience and when the time is up the
microphone will be muted. All raised hands outside of public comment will be
lowered to avoid confusion. Once public comment is opened hands may be raised
to speak. There will be a 30 minute window for public comments which will
take place under item 7 public comments as per the published agenda. After this
time is up the council will proceed with the rest of the meetings agenda. If you
We have not had the opportunity to speak during the initial 30-minute period.
There will be another chance to do so after item 12, City Council reports.
The City of San Leandro conducts orderly meetings to fulfill its mandate.
Discriminatory statements of conduct that would potentially violate the Federal Civil
Rights Act of 1964 and or the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, California Penal
Code sections 403 or 415 are per se disruptive to a meeting and will not be tolerated.
see the City Council handbook and City Council meeting rules of decorum for
more information. So with respect to our closed session, there was ample
discussion of variety of items, but was any action taken? Thank you Mayor. No
reportable action was taken in closed session. Thank you. So today we've got
two recognitions. We've got proclamation declare March as American Red Cross
Month in the city of San Leandro and a proclamation to declare March as Women's
History Month in the city of San Leandro. So let's begin with the American Red
Cross, Justin Mueller, regional CEO for Northern California Red Cross, please
come on up and bring others with you if you'd like. So I'll say that the Red Cross
does some amazing things and I had the opportunity to go and give blood last
weekend and just like I think the the spokesperson for the Red Cross said, you
go in a little bit nurse if you haven't done it in a while but they were so
smooth they were amazing and I came out with a big smile and thumbs up and said
this is something that should be done regularly so that's my encouragement to
everyone please be sure to get out there and donate blood because the the demand
is insatiable right now we really need lots of help but I don't want to steal
your thunder because I'm sure you're gonna say lots of good stuff. Justin is
as a regional CEO for the Red Cross here
in Northern California.
And I'll let you say more about yourself
when I give you the mic.
Here we go.
So whereas March is American Red Cross Month,
and when we recognize the compassion
of the people of San Leandro,
and we reaffirm our commitment to care
for one another in times of crisis,
and whereas the American Red Cross was founded
in May 1881 by Clara Barton,
And this year marks the 145th anniversary of the Red Cross.
And whereas the American Red Cross
is a volunteer agency chartered and authorized by Congress
to provide compassionate assistance afflicted
by personnel, local, and national disasters.
And whereas San Leandro and other communities
depend on the American Red Cross,
because it is not a government agency.
The American Red Cross depends on you,
on support from the public
to commit to continuous humanitarian work.
And whereas for over 100 years,
United States presidents have called
on the American people, that's us,
to support the Red Cross and its humanitarian mission.
And whereas people have counted on the American Red Cross
for the information and skills they need to be safe at home,
at work, at school, at play, training people
in life-saving skills, in CPR, first aid, fire prevention,
water safety, and whereas the American Red Cross
reports that it has over 1,600 volunteers in Alameda County
alone who can assist and respond to hundreds of disasters
annually, and it has held over 1,100 blood drives
and received nearly 30,000 blood donations.
And yet that's not enough.
We really need you.
From donors throughout Alameda County.
And whereas the American Recrosse reports
that within Alameda County it has trained over 12,000
citizens in first aid CPR, AED.
Trained over 3,000 people in aquatics and water safety
and provided safety and prevention training
and supplies to many, many more.
Now, therefore, I, Juan Gonzales III,
mayor of the city of San Leandro,
do hereby proclaim March 2026
as American Red Cross Month in the city of San Leandro,
encourage residents of San Leandro
to support the mission of the Red Cross.
Well, first off, thank you.
I am Justin Miller.
I'm the regional CEO for the American Red Cross
in the Northern California coastal region.
And it really is a great honor
to accept this special proclamation
recognizing March is Red Cross Month.
Each March, we celebrate the people
who make this mission possible.
Our volunteers, our blood donors,
community partners, and supporters.
These everyday heroes deliver comfort, care, and hope
to individuals and families
on some of the toughest days of their lives.
The tradition began nearly 80 years ago
when President Franklin D. Roosevelt
issued the first National Red Cross Month proclamation.
And every US president since has continued this recognition
supportive humanitarian service, and volunteerism
across the country.
We're also proud to serve our community
through programs and services all year round,
through the help of our generous volunteers,
donors, and supporters like you.
Every eight minutes, we respond to a disaster in the US,
and most of these are local house fires.
When a home fire leaves a family stranded on the street,
it's the local Red Cross volunteers that provide emergency,
financial assistance, emotional support,
and recovery help for their next steps.
When emergencies strike and help can't wait,
it's those local Red Cross volunteers that step forward.
As we began 2026, the worst flu season in 20 years
compounded with the winter storms
has led to canceled blood drives, as you mentioned,
and fewer donors to meet the hospital demand.
Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood.
We mentioned some of the Alameda County stats,
but in San Leandro specifically,
we had more than 830 units of blood donated in 2025.
Many of them processed right here
in our office on Davis Street.
We ask your continued support now
to help replenish the blood supply.
Through our service to the armed forces
and international services,
our volunteers provide 24 seven global support
to help military families,
helping many who have experienced multiple deployments
over the past decade.
Locally in Alameda County, we assisted more than 800 active service members and their
families with their support in emergency situations, including financial assistance and emergency
communication services.
And then regionally, we've also helped connect families separated by conflict or disasters
through our Restoring Family Links programs.
In addition, as part of the world's largest humanitarian network, the Red Cross workers
respond to international disasters and help communities prepare for emergencies
all around the globe. 90% of our workforce is our volunteers, neighbors
helping neighbors, supported by generous financial contributors and blood donors
and we are always ready to welcome new volunteers who want to help us make a
difference. That's you all if you are not volunteers. So whether you're looking for
I saw that. Whether you're looking for an opportunity to donate blood, to get
trained to be further prepared, make a financial donation, or volunteer, please
visit redcross.org. We're grateful for the partnership, grateful for the city
staff and all the local agencies as we work together to build safer, better
prepared communities. On behalf of the American Red Cross, thank you for this
Proclamation and for your continued support so at this point in time we'll
move on to our Women's History Month Proclamation bring up Liz Varela whoo
many of us know Liz for her role with the building futures but here we want to
think a little bit more broadly we know that Liz has been honored with a GG
Greenhouse Community Hero Award by Alameda County Health Care for the
homeless. The award recognizes Liz for her exceptional dedication to the
unhoused community, her ability to build partnerships. This is not a solo job. It's
working together with people to raise awareness and inspire our entire
community to fight for the equity and her fight for equity makes her truly
deserving to be the recipient today of this proclamation. So what does the
proclamation say? Whereas Congress declared March as Women's
History Month in 1987 and International Women's Day has been observed since the
early 1900s and whereas women of every race class ethnic background have made
meaningful contributions to the growth and strength of our San Leandro
community and to the United States in so many countless ways and whereas women
have been leaders securing their own rights of suffrage and equal
opportunity as well as in the abolitionist movement, the emancipation
movement, the industrial labor movement, the civil rights movement, the peace
movement, each of which created a more fair, just, and equitable society for all.
Even here, in 2026, some women still struggle injustices in the workplace, in our community,
and at home.
And still others struggle to earn equal pay, to have their voices recognized as equal,
and to live lives free of abuse and sexual harassment.
And whereas, the city of San Leandro is committed to supporting policies and programs that uplift
and improve the lives of all women in our community.
Now therefore, I, Juan Gonzalez III, mayor of the city of San Leandro, do hereby proclaim
March 2026 as Women's History Month in the city of San Leandro, and encourage all community
members to observe this important month with appropriate programs ceremonies and activities
and I'll even put in a plug for the city of San Leandro. We will have a number of programs
and please attend those to celebrate with us. Thank you mayor. I just was reflecting that it
was almost 40 years ago that Building Futures was started here and founded here in San Leandro
And it was really founded to empower, encourage,
support, inspire women to have a more resilient
and sustainable future.
And I really want to thank the city of San Leandro
for all those years of support.
And I've been working at Building Futures
for 33 of those 40 years.
Yeah, I think this is such an important time
as we reflect on the history and where we are
with support of both what women have accomplished,
women and girls have accomplished,
but what we still need to accomplish.
So important nowadays to think about that
with everything that's happening in the world.
So thank you.
Okay, that's it, that's it.
Okay, at this point in time,
we will move to our consent calendar.
Are there any amendments?
In other words, would someone like to pull an item
from the consent calendar?
Seeing none, we will take public comments at this time.
Mayor we have received one comment card
for the consent calendar
and there are two hands raised online.
Okay, please proceed in person.
Our in-person commenter is Sarah Bailey.
This is Defy Beth, Simon's appointment facilities.
Excerpts from the investigators report
about council member Simon.
Bowen, Simon challenged and undermined the expertise
Public Works Director Marquesas. Bowin could not believe the manner that he
addressed her conclusions when he allegedly stated she's lying. She doesn't
know what she's talking about. Marquesas, Simon asks questions that can be
demeaning. Simon makes it harder for her to do her job.
Baloo, Simon interrogated staff. When Simon interrogated staff he was not
respectful towards women like Marquesus. Cutter, Simon would undermine Marquesus.
Well that's your opinion but let's get an experts opinion or another opinion.
Cutter noted that when Simon disagreed with men he did not question their
expertise. Robastelli, when Simon sprung gotcha questions at staff during
meetings on items not on the agenda it made staff appear as if they were
were unprepared. Robustelli noted that he mostly hammered the engineering staff.
Mayor, I am witness number six. Councilmember Simon only recently learned
the Public Works Director's name is Marquesas, referring to her frequently as
Marquez. Many times I have seen Simon bully, badger, belittle, and demean her
and her engineering staff. You are knowingly throwing them into the path of
of a menace. I related all this in an email to you. Here you are hearing it again and
you will continue to hear it at the start of every facilities committee meeting until
councilmember Simon stops coming to them. Thank you. Mr. Abbott, did you want to speak
on the consent calendar? Okay, thank you. The next speaker in the room is Lawrence Abbott.
Thank you. My name is Lawrence and my career has been split just about half and half between
labor and science as a wildlife biologist and arborist, a tree person and plant person.
And I love science because it's based on facts and empirical data and it's real easy
to know what we don't know and what we don't know, set up experimental designs to figure
it out.
Once we have consensus, it's a really, really cool thing and it's always being challenged,
but it either becomes more and more black and white or opens up new doors of discovery.
really is upsetting to me are things that aren't black and white and things
that, you know, have to do with he said, she said, so I'm referring to Mr. Simon
in particular and because I've read the reports I get a lot of that, you know, a
lot of what we just heard now, you know, people's perception based on fairness,
you know, some people's thinking somebody's fair, others not fair, but I
just wanted to say that I I know Fred really well and I think his character is exemplary and
I think he does his best to be fair and I hope everybody does and I hope this thing comes out
where
Justice prevails, thank you. Thank you. So just for the record. I will assume that that was on item 5f
That is our consent calendar and that's councilmember Simon's appointment to facilities and transit. Thank you
Mayor that concludes our comment cards in the room. So we will close in person comment and move to online comment. Thank you
Our first online speaker is Douglas Spaulding
Thank you, good evening council, I'm gonna start with the item 5d
Which executes amendment number two of the CSA to active ways engineering?
This is an additional one hundred one thousand dollars bringing it to the total contract to two hundred thousand dollars
quote for various engineering assignments I
Could not find any details anywhere about what what this specific work is and and you know, I'm one to believe that details
improve
transparency. So my question simply is, what are all the ways this contractor has been
and will be active in the future? On item 5C, which is a construction contract to Apena
Engineering, seems really great, $269,000 to install small-trast capture devices. This
This is out of a larger $1 million US EPA grant, so a little side question is what is
the other $700,000 going to be applied for.
But in terms of the scope of this work, I notice it's 93 screens and 38 basket filters.
I don't know where all they're going to be located.
I would be interested to know, what is the particle size?
What is the limit?
How big does something have to be to be trapped?
Centimeters?
Millimeters?
That's about two hundred fifty thousand dollars of the work and the other eighteen and a half thousand is for
Mobilization and cleaning which is just a lump sum and if we're gonna install these things
I'd like to know what is the plan for ongoing maintenance does that lump sum cover one year five years ten years?
Is it a forever lump sum?
Again, I would like more details. Thank you very much
Thank you. The next online speaker is Lucas. Good evening. Can you hear me? Yes. Thank you.
Thank you for taking my comment, Mayor and Council. I want to comment on item 5T, which
is the active waste expenditure. As the council might remember, I'm very much in favor of
biking infrastructure and biking programs in the city. I'm very happy that we've engaged
an engineering consulting firm that seems to have historical expertise and knowledge
in this space. However, the consulting services agreement with Activeways, I'm looking at
exhibit A on page 16 of the attachment. It talks about the staff shall work no less than
24 hours per week, a hybrid schedule consisting of hours between being in the city hall and
working remotely. Exhibit B, project manager, billed at $240 an hour. Project engineer,
billed at $205 an hour. Minimum wage federal, $725 still, as it has been ever since I started
calling to the City Council of California, $16. I don't know, hopefully we're being
responsible with the city's money. I do want to point out that in the most recent annual
a comprehensive financial report, for some reason, community development expenditures
jumped by 32% from 19 million to 25 million a year. Recreation and culture jumped 26%
from 16 million to 21 million. Are we really spending 32% more on community development
and 26% more on recreation and culture and getting our money's worth? By my account,
an additional 10 million that went into these programs. And I haven't seen any new biking
infrastructure, any meaningful community type projects that were completed. Please, please,
please, as always, as I say, when these types of expenditures come up, spend the people's
money wisely. Thank you. Thank you. The next speaker is Karen Silva. Karen, will you please
unmute yourself. Karen Silva if you're on the Zoom call this is your opportunity
to speak on the consent calendar. Karen last call are you there? Mayor that
concludes our raised hands online. Okay so we'll close public comment and come
back to our council members for discussion or motion. Council member
Iguodal. Thank you Mayor I'd like to move the consent calendar. Okay so I've got a
motion from Aguilar, Councilmember Aguilar. I'll second it. Any discussion, please vote.
All votes are in and the motion passes unanimously. At this point I move to
item number six. I don't believe that we've got anything from the City Manager
today, is that correct? So we will move on to item number seven. This is the
opportunity for the public to comment on items that are not on our agenda, that
that are within the subject matter jurisdiction
of this council.
So do we have public comment on items
that are not on our agenda?
City Clerk.
Yes, Mayor, we've received six comment cards
and there are currently four hands raised online.
Okay, please proceed in person.
The first three in-person speakers are Nancy Raffeleff,
Chris Urban-Res Live-Lungoria and David Anderson.
Good evening everyone. I just found out this week that VCA Animal Hospital was
closing and that's pretty bad for us. The closest animal hospital is Dublin
or San Ramon and I was wondering is there anything we can do to try to keep
them? They're closing at the end of the month. I called this morning to double
check to see what was going on and I'm not talking about the Llewelyn one, I'm
talking about the one on Washington. So if there's anything with your power that
you can do to retain them, I think that's really important to the community.
There's so many people that use that hospital and the other communities
nearby of the cities as well and they've saved my animal a couple of times so I
hope you can do something to keep them here somehow. That's it. Thank you. The
next three speakers are Chris Urbunra's life, Lungoria, David Anderson and Deborah
Acosta. Good evening relatives. Good evening
relatives. First, I'd like to acknowledge the Ohlone people whose territory we
occupy in San Leandro known as Hukin. I stand in solidarity and support Mr.
Bernard Ashcraft and request a formal apology for redlining in San Leandro.
Housing discrimination is alive and well on stolen land. I offer this medicine of
tobacco and sage this evening to Mother Earth as an offering to guide you to
guide us as a community in a good way that we work towards an end result which
would be a formal apology in redlining. I will offer this medicine after the
meetings over outside in our beautiful grass area that our facilities takes
Cara thank you very much thank you the next three speakers are David Anderson
Deborah Acosta and Lawrence Abbott just for items done on the agenda correct
okay I also want to echo what she just said about the resolution for redlining
I think the resolution was put together really nice and appropriate and I think
you should give it consideration about accepting it.
And the other thing I like to speak about
is the Chabot Road.
We have to really look at the importance
of getting that road open up.
Because as up in Palastay,
I was there a couple of weekends ago
and it was really devastating
just to look at the damage that it did.
I know you guys said we don't have the funds to do it
and you've got opinions that it's really not that critical.
There are other routes to go.
but we need to have a plan that's public, a public plan
so that people up in Bail Vista will realize how to get out.
And we've come up with some conclusion.
I think Kat might have a copy of what,
some other alternatives to get it now.
But I think we really need to get serious about that
because look at all the other things
that are going on in the city, with all the suits,
people not getting along, so we can move forward.
We need to put a lot of that stuff to the side
and try to work together.
And I think all of us can do it
because I've talked to you guys individually.
And I think in your heart,
you really do want to work together
and move sadly on the forward.
And I hope that we can do that.
I'm counting on you, Mayor.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The next three speakers are Deborah Acosta,
Lawrence Abbott, and Leo T. West.
Good evening, Mayor.
Thank you for bringing forward this proclamation
recognizing Women's History Month.
When San Leandro illuminated Truth is Beauty,
we made a public commitment that women belong fully
in civic life, that their leadership strengthens
institutions, and that their participation in public space
is not conditional.
Women's History Month honors suffrage, equal protection,
workplace equity, and freedom from harassment
and retaliation.
Those are not abstract ideals.
They are civic standards and standards require enforcement.
Proclaiming this month means affirming
that retaliation, intimidation, and gender bias
have no place in public service.
It means affirming that professionalism and respect
are obligations, not preferences.
It also means affirming something equally important.
When due process is followed,
When investigations are conducted, findings are adopted,
and decisions are made, those outcomes must be respected.
Without enforcement, proclamations are symbolic.
Without finality, process loses meaning.
If this proclamation is to carry weight,
the standard it honors must be visible here
in how this council governs, how it upholds its code of ethics,
and how it moves forward once a matter has been resolved.
History remembers not what we declare,
but what we uphold.
Let this proclamation reflect both.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The next three speakers are Lawrence Abbott,
Leo T. West, and Anthony Tejada.
I just wanted to say really quickly
that I also support the resolution on redlining
and that I would hope that this council really,
especially listens to any of our First Nations,
Native American people that speak to us
because this so much speaks to them
and injustices of the past,
and recognizing injustice of the past
as a way to move forward.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The next speakers are Leo T. West and Anthony Tahada.
Last year, the San Leandro main library
eliminated the information desk.
They were there two or three people very knowledgeable
about computers to help the patrons.
Now the information desk has been confined
to a corner of the front desk.
With just one older person who knows less
about computers I do and I don't know very much.
To make it worse, the old computers have been replaced
a new, more complex computer system.
Several times, the personal information desk couldn't help.
I had to figure it out myself or get help from another patron.
In addition, two rows of computers have been eliminated.
Members of the City Council have been
engaged in misconduct and criminal behavior,
more concerned in eliminating car lanes
and build the monument to a criminal while, for example,
the restaurant is 14 and Broadmoor has just replaced
a shattered glass door for the third time.
And four of these windows had to be replaced last year also.
Meanwhile, the mayor is bragging about
how well San Leandro is doing.
Improve the service of the library.
Thank you.
The next speaker is Anthony Tejada.
good evening everyone. Anthony Tejada Chair with the Planning Commission Board
of Zoning Adjustments wanted to just say that I was encouraged by the council
meeting a couple of weeks back where council decided to move forward with
filling in the district to vacancy in doing so within the required time frame. I
thought that was a great decision and I thought it was even more powerful that
council member of Ivaros Walton wanted to bring in lessons learned from the
the most recent experience that you went through
as part of that process.
I think there's a lot that could be leveraged from that
as it relates to just our overall internal processes
and procedures.
That alone should be our North Star.
That should be what we trend towards is dealing with
what can we move forward right now internally
versus what do we outsource to an external faction?
And when I say this,
I say this in the lens of investigative reports.
I say this in the lens of red tape
that gets tied into some of those reports
versus what really should be an in-house matter.
How can we collectively come to the table
as a meeting of the minds?
How can we discuss issues that ultimately affect
maybe the partnering aspect of what should be going on
on the City Council at large?
And if there are training sessions,
if there are initiatives that need to be brought in,
that would be an ideal time to do so
versus looking at an external spend
and that external spend ultimately
up against the city's budget, the city's deficit
and ending up with a report at the end of the day
that puts us in a position where we're no better
than where we were initially starting this off.
So I would just say if we can as a council,
as a council come to terms with avoiding
any sort of finger pointing, any sort of blaming
and let's have a meeting of the minds
and let's get down to rolling up our sleeves
and get to solving problems that need solutions.
Thank you.
Mayor, that concludes our in-person comments.
So we will close in-person public comment
and open up online public comment, please.
Thank you.
For online public comment, Lucas, you may unmute yourself.
Oh, thank you.
Can you hear me?
Yes.
My comment, I'm commenting under item eight
because I don't know.
I don't recall if we get to make comments
under action item 10 or item 10 for the action items
on resolution.
So Lucas, before you continue, I just wanna be clear.
So there will be discussion, public comment
on the action items.
So if you'd like to speak on the action items,
I ask that you wait.
Okay, thank you.
Okay.
The next online speaker is Melissa Wong.
So. Good evening. Um, the city
has a 10 million. That's right.
$10 million budget deficit.
This is double what the prior
budget proposal from last June
had projected. There was no
budget discussion during this
whole period, but in a matter
of three weeks, Yes, I counted
the city will go through the
to the public. I'm not sure I'm
not sure how to say it. I am
proposing a model that I hope
will be more to your liking.
Please, please consider two
public members appointed to join
the three member Council. I'm
not sure how to say it. I am
proposing a model that I hope
will be more to your liking.
Please, please consider two
council in the finance committee. Your guarantee public representation while still having
council as the majority. There won't be any council meetings because you will get a forum.
Staff may even save time running upcoming meetings, which we like to call public engagement
meetings. A handful of residents where staff will outnumber residents two to one. It has
Thank you. I'm so pleased that
the public has never worked in
the past four years. I've
attended as we went from a
balanced budget to a growing
$15 million deficit, the
public needs transparency, and
I'm proposing the actual model
for public engagement. I really
hope you were seriously
consider. Thank you. Thank you.
The next speaker is Alvaro
Ramos. Hi. Can you hear me?
The county sheriff's office is ending its participation in a federal program that pays
local jails and prisons for sharing personal information about undocumented incarcerated
immigrants with the government.
It's called the state criminal alien assistance program or SCAP, which reimburses local jails
and prisons for the costs of detaining undocumented immigrants with at least one felony or two
misdemeanor convictions for violations of state or local law. And so the kind of information that
the sheriff's office was, I don't know, giving to the federal government was like full names,
unique inmate numbers, date of birth, place of birth, incarceration date, release date, and FBI
number. And Alameda County received $1.2 million from the SCAP program in fiscal year 2024,
which is the second most amount given to a California county. And then the fifth most
nationwide, California received more funds from SCAP than any other state in 2024, a total of
$59.4 million. And so I'm glad to hear that Alameda County is cutting ties. I can only imagine
what, you know, how that may have involved the city. I don't know. But also, insofar as I'm aware,
immigration and customs enforcement is still camped out on Coast Guard Island.
I'm unaware of updates on that and we also need to keep an eye on the federal correctional
institution in Dublin because the federal government has taken an interest in converting
the federal prison into a detention center and their detention centers
violate human rights and potentially may even have child abuse. So I'm supportive and I'm
I'm in support of the partial government shutdown
for at least some accountability on ice for now.
Thank you.
The next speaker is Douglas Spaulding.
You may unmute yourself.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Melissa Wong.
That was a very interesting idea.
I nominate you to join the finance committee
along with Lucas.
I think we're better when we have the maximum citizen
participation and while our budget problems
have always been difficult,
seems like we're a little farther away from a solution
than we were when we had the budget task force.
Also shout out to David Anderson.
I appreciate your concern about the fire,
but I wanna give a tip of the hat to Cat Wellman
and the residents of Beo Vista who have secured an app
and contracted and you can go and find out
your best evacuation route and do it in real time
if there ever is a fire up here.
Thank you, Bernard Ashcraft.
I think it is time for the City of San Leandro
to approve a resolution acknowledging the crime
of redlining.
And we started to address it with the library presentation,
but it's something that we really need
to continue dealing with.
In terms of housing protections,
I would like to know the status of the rent registry.
I know it's gonna take a while to get that going.
I'd like for the city to clarify again,
what the timing, the timeline is between the start
of the base year in July 1st, 2025
to the implementation of the RSO on January 1st, 2027.
The city needs to publicize and educate tenants
and landlords about all those things.
And we need to get going
on the next housing protection tenant, which is just cause.
Finally, you know, I had a great meeting with our fire prevention bureau inspector, Zarmena
Khan of the Alameda County Fire Department.
She's very thorough, very generous with her time and very reasonable since I asked her
to look at my yard, and yes, I trim my trees.
I got the five foot gap so that I'm not going to be spreading the fire here.
We need to do the same thing and look at St. Leander Creek.
That is-
Thank you, sir.
Your time has elapsed.
next speaker is Jesse. Hi, good evening. My name is Jesse Reuben and I am a member of the League of
San Leandro Voters. It is appalling that neither council member Simon nor council member Aguilar
has publicly acknowledged the gravity of the crimes that former council member Acevedo
pled guilty to committing. Just because a person has done good in his life does not justify looking
the other way when that same person causes real harm. Failing to recognize that Asevedo's corrupt
acts were unacceptable is in itself unacceptable. It also highlights that Aguilar and Simon care
more about making their political ally look good than doing what they can to restore public trust
and confidence in City Council thank you the next speaker is Betty Muniz Betty are you there
if you're there please go ahead and unmute yourself it's your opportunity to speak
we're going to move on to the next speaker name is two t-a-u uh good evening council members and
members of the City of San Leandro. My name is Taray Nenguk. I just used the towel for short.
I live here in Bay of Vista. I wanted to highlight or bring to attention the City Council
and members in general often way of thinking about transportation and housing crisis that we have
in the Bay Area here. I did write an article in our San Leandro Times Thursday, February 12,
of 2025 on page five.
And I highlighted at the top,
the topic I use was high-speed trains.
So I will read part of that.
I argue that we aren't just suffering from a lack of homes.
We are suffering from a lack of speed.
Small transit map due to lack of high-speed regional transit
is exacerbating the housing shortage.
Currently, workers are forced to cram into
an overpriced urban core,
because commuting from more affordable regions
is unfeasible.
Imagine a high-speed rail system
connecting San Francisco, San Jose, and Berkeley
to cities 50 to 100 miles out,
such as Sacramento, Tracy, Modesto,
in under an hour.
The math is simple.
A worker currently paying $4,000
for a two-bedroom apartment, say in San Francisco,
could instead rent a three-bedroom home
for 2,400 in the Central Valley.
even with a $40 daily round trip ticket,
which amounts to $800 a month.
And even if they have their breakfast on the train,
spending about $400 a month,
they will still have $400 left over
from what they were spending from San Francisco.
In addition to these savings,
they're also gaining a bedroom
and a better quality of life.
Even after accounting for these 800 monthly transit pass,
the family comes out ahead financially and in square.
So I think we need to expand this and make it into a regional high-speed transit system.
Thank you.
We are now going back to our last speaker, Betty Moniz.
If you're there, please unmute yourself.
Betty has lowered her hand so that concludes our online comments, Mayor.
Thank you.
So with that, we will close public comment on non-agenda items.
Okay we do not have a public hearing but we do have item number nine on our agenda, which
is a presentation.
So with respect to the downtown San Landro community benefit district our annual update
and we've got economic development manager Katie Bowman to introduce the item.
And then I believe we'll have Morgan macros do the presentation.
Good evening Mayor and City Council Katie Bowman economic development manager and we're
here this evening for what is our annual update on the downtown community benefit district or
slia slia we'll learn more about it or hear more about it but among other things they work to
support safety beautification and a good business climate in our downtown and tonight we'll hear
from morgan macros the director of slia and and hearing about what activities over 2025 upcoming
programs and activities as well. And with that I'll hand it over to Morgan.
Thank You Katie. Mayor, council members, staff, this is something I look forward
to every year. I don't know if there's anyone who looks forward to presenting
to you as much as I do. And especially this year after we had a banner year for
2025. I've been with the district now for six years and last year exceeded all of
expectations and we have some new developments for 2026 that are going to knock your socks off.
So I have 10 minutes so I'm going to speak very quickly. Some of this will be reviewed for you
folks up on the dais, but I always like to review what the district is for the folks in the audience
at home and here. We are a non-profit, San Leandro and Provost Association is a non-profit and it has
a volunteer board of directors. Our current president is Deborah Cox. And then we have
representation from council member, vice mayor rather, Vaveros Walton and council member
Bowen. And also Katie Bowman sits on our board. So we have a lot of city ears and support
which we really appreciate on our board. We're a small but mighty office. There's myself
And then Julia Jacquombe actually was elevated
to program manager recently.
Julia Marquis, our graphics and marketing person,
and Matthew Mayo is our operations manager
for all of our ambassador services,
and you can see our current ambassadors down below.
And then also, while they aren't part of our staff,
I wanted to give a shout out to the alternative response unit
because without them, we would not be having the success
that we are downtown.
they really are the only tool we have
to address some of our hardest cases
of unsheltered neighbors in downtown.
So we really appreciate their efficacy and their doggedness
and making sure folks get care that they need.
So thank you, chief.
The benefit district was approved by voters
of parcels within the district.
And so it's a little odd shaped
because it's only commercial properties
and apartment buildings.
It does not include single family residences
or condominiums at this point.
As I said, it's a not-for-profit.
The actual not-for-profit
is San Leandro Improvement Association,
but the program delivery is through
the downtown San Leandro Community Benefit District.
Our board is consists of no fewer
than one third at large members,
so the rest are actual property owners or their designees.
Assessments aren't determined by the value of the property.
they're determined by three measurements of the property.
So while the value of property in San Leandro
may be going up, that doesn't affect our assessments,
which becomes a challenge for us.
Last year, we had higher revenue than ever before.
A little over, we broke the million dollar mark,
but we did have an operational deficit
and since this presentation was done,
it's actually down to about $15,000 operational deficit.
But that's because one of our key programs,
the Safety Ambassador Program, was flat funded this year.
And a flat funding really is a cut, right?
And so we were able, the association was able
to make up the difference to avoid any cuts to program,
but I'll be speaking in the future
about how that isn't sustainable moving forward.
We are going to have to be cutting programs
with the program, the financial cut.
Our program's divided into three sections,
sidewalk beautification, order, district identity,
and street improvements, and then the administration.
We have safety ambassadors and cleaning ambassadors.
Our cleaning ambassadors pictured here
work seven days a week from 7 a.m. till 3.30 p.m.,
doing a variety of things,
everything from distributing lunches
to cleaning up things that we just don't want to clean up.
Pressure washing, removing breastfeeding stickers.
And this is our annual total for what they do.
And people say, well, gosh, 67,000 infrastructure's clean.
What is that?
Well, that's like garbage cans.
Let's see, the little things you push to get across the street.
You'll see that they only contact.
They also do de-escalation.
And in events that they aren't able to de-escalate a situation,
they do have to call EMS.
You'll notice this year our EMS rate of 29
for cleaning ambassadors,
and we'll get onto the safety ambassadors.
That increase doesn't indicate a lack of efficacy.
In previous years it's been as few as 15.
What it indicates is we have the ARU.
We now have someone to call who can respond
to the many things that our safety ambassadors
and our cleaning ambassadors respond to,
which tends to be, in terms of de-escalation,
are dual diagnosed unsheltered neighbors.
This is the safety ambassadors.
Monday through Friday, we have safety ambassadors
coverage from 6 a.m. till 9 p.m. at night.
And actually it's 9.30.
And then on the weekends,
we don't have a morning safety ambassador,
but we do have someone from 12.30 to nine.
I guess it is nine.
As you'll see, they did have 25 EMS calls,
but if you compare that to the number of de-escalations,
over 3,000 de-escalations,
you can see how we're really,
and also almost 2,000 ordinance violations.
You can really see that we're redirecting a lot of calls
that would normally go to SLPD,
that they may not have the time to respond
to these low priority calls,
but for the people that are out on the street,
the people who are working in our businesses,
it's a high priority for them, right?
And so we're glad we can be there
for this very effective program.
And I do wanna give a shout out to all the many volunteers
who bring 10 lunches, 10 SAC lunches,
all but two days a year for us to distribute
to unsheltered folks in the district.
We do our best to outreach and remind people
of our services and this past year we were able
to translate our services card
into Vietnamese, Chinese, and Spanish.
So that kind of encapsulates our Ambassador Services Program.
The other big thing that we're known for are our events.
And last year we had, gosh, 11 events, I believe.
We now do a monthly market on the second Friday
of the month, so Oakland has first Friday,
San Leandro has second Friday,
and I gotta tell you, it's really gaining momentum.
We had the first Lunar New Year celebration last month,
And we estimate about 2,000 people attended.
What I'm super excited about is this year,
we are coordinating very closely with the library
and also with the Recreation Department.
We're all trying to leverage our resources together
because we're out there to accomplish
the same mission, which is making downtown and San
Leandro a place that people feel comfortable, welcome,
and are excited to be at.
One of the events that we have coming up,
so these were some of ours last month,
our events coming up this year
is that I'm super excited about.
Next Friday is the Women's Herstory Festival,
where we're gonna have eight volunteers
representing what can only be described
as badass women from history.
So Jane Goodall, Junco Tabay,
who was the first woman to summit Everest,
Kalpana Chawla, the first South Asian woman
into outer space and even Tammy Duckworth.
So we will have Susan B. Anthony,
but we're gonna have a lot of other very, very cool people.
And then it's gonna be followed by a diva dance party.
So I wanna encourage moms, grandmas, daughters, aunties,
and the men who love them to come out
and join us next Friday night.
And as I said, we're doing this in close cooperation
with the library and the librarians there have been fantastic
in helping research these characters
will be on hand to support that program. We're also doing a lot of public art
thanks to grants from the culture library and arts culture and library
commission. Last year we were awarded a grant to do a mural of the field works
garbage enclosure and it is finished now I went by today it is finished it does
need its anti graffiti coating. But what's interesting is that this is a
a fine art, right? A visual art that we got awarded a grant for. But if you'll see on
the left, it really is participatory because sure enough, inevitably as our artist was
out there working, she would find small children behind her who were wondering what she was
doing and she enlisted them in her support for her work. And so what are we hoping for
this year? Well, we have this lovely, brutalist fountain in between tequila grill and kakuna
and so we're hoping that we can get a small grant to paint that as well, a mural on that
beautiful, beautiful fountain. The previous year we got a grant to do an incredible mosaic on what
we call, what was formerly known as the bell planter, but now we're calling it the IHOP planter.
It was a fountain at one point, but then we turned it into a planter many years ago, and it was pretty
unsightly and we had this incredible mosaic put in there thanks to a grant from the Commission.
Unfortunately, there are no bollards. There are no hardscaping around there. Am I upon
my 10 minutes already? Holy cannoli. Anyway, it's super dangerous and something needs to
be done and it needs to be repaired. But I have Eric Inglebert working on that.
So why don't you take about three minutes to wrap up your story because there's gonna
me plenty of discussion I'm sure. Okay. The other program we have going on is
we received a grant from the city to put in a coordinated camera system in
downtown San Leandro and it's a unique program in that it's a public-private
partnership with a community so it's public space but private property which
changes how cameras can be used. The district actually runs the program and
And if anyone needs any kind of footage from these cameras,
they come to us, and they have to meet certain criteria
before we'll release footage.
Right now, we had it at the corner of East 14th and Davis.
Or no, I'm sorry, East 14th and Wanna was our pilot site.
And now what we're looking to do is expand over
to the Rockies area over by the San Leandro Museum, which
has a lot of issues.
And hopefully, we're proposing that we
cover inside Washington Plaza. And we started with a dog so we had to equal
time, give a cat. Now, questions. Thank you so much for your presentation. At this point in time, we
will take questions on this item before going to public comment. Okay, our first
questions come from Councilmember Aguilar. Oops, I punched the wrong one. My apologies.
Can you force your way into this? Let's do this and if you can wait councilmember bolt councilmember regular
Wonderful. Thank you. Mayor Gonzales and thank you Morgan for the amazing work
I've been to
Some of these events especially the pride event which is fabulous and you work that what goes in behind it
I remember the first time we worked together. It's a lot of work and trying to find sponsors, but it was fabulous
my question is
With regards to the the benefit district you had single-family homes
That were zoned and you said do they pay
No, so single-family there
That's why it's that weird C shape because what you what's inside the what's not colored yellow are single-family homes
So we don't they don't receive services and they don't pay for services. Okay, I just wanted to be clear
And I think we had you had walked me through the tequila breeze way
And in hopes of getting that turned in the water fountain working.
Is that?
That's not feasible apparently.
It's just the way the water is set up with the restaurant nearby, according to Public
Works, it's just not.
So we turned it into a planter.
And then the proposal we have for the mural is actually an aquarium.
So we're going to try to stick with the fountain theme, but it's never going to function as
fountain again unfortunately. Have you got an estimate as to how much it'll cost to add
the brutalist piece of artwork to life? Our proposal is for $3,500. Okay. Yeah.
Those are my questions. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. So now we've got a council member, Bolt.
Thank you Morgan. And that was one of my questions, the price of the fountain to be painted.
The first question though for that was how much did it cost for the other one,
the trash enclosure at Fuelworks? $16,000. $16,000. That's beautiful.
That's a money well spent, especially if... It is beautiful. It's taken longer because the
weather has been so uncooperative, but I think it's really gorgeous. Yeah.
Cool. You mentioned that there is an organization that gives 10 sack lunches a day that you guys are able to provide.
Are you at liberty to say what organization that is?
Well, it's not an organization. It's just a bunch of San Leandrons who have committed to doing it.
So if anyone wants to do it, please reach out to us.
But essentially we have volunteers. A lot of it is from the ecumenical community.
So different churches, their members do it. But there's no one specific organization.
It was something that was actually started by Evelyn Gonzalez, and she coordinated the
program the first couple of years, and now Julia Chacombe, our program manager, is coordinating
it.
Yeah.
I will reach out because sometimes it's about getting the right material to do this too.
If we have access to it, we should share.
So those are my questions.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Great work.
I really appreciate the presentation, but more importantly, what's going on out there,
so thank you.
Great.
Thank you.
Next we come to Vice Mayor Ivo de Swelton.
Hi.
Good evening.
I just wanted to, one, just say that I really enjoyed working with you through my tenure
on the council.
Thank you for your work and to the rest of the team and all of the stakeholders that
kind of help move all of the work.
Special shout out to Katie Bowman who also works closely.
I'm just a visioning question around what do you see as one of your largest challenges,
kind of looking ahead into both this year and the coming year, and then what is the
one thing that makes you the most excited about what's coming?
You shared a little bit about that, but a challenge, and then what gets you most excited
about that?
So the challenge, of course, is always money, and there's a couple of fronts that's coming
on is that we're capped at 3% for annual increases for assessments, however the
district needs to go up for reauthorization in 2028 and we're going to
move that up to 5% which is in line with all the other districts. The flat
funding to the Safety Ambassador Services has been really difficult for
us, really difficult for us, and so I'm sad to see that this year
we've had to cut one shift which isn't too big of a burden but next year we
will have to eliminate the safety in the morning safety ambassador program so
again while it's been flat funded from the council's or the city's perspective
that's really a cut you know because obviously the cost of service goes up
every year in terms of what I'm excited about I don't know maybe I'll tell you
what I'm excited about I understand that and I'm gonna throw you under the bus my
friend. I understand that there is money for a downtown park. So developers
have to do Park and Lou fees and Central Callan had quite a few dollars of Park
and Lou fees and so that needs to be spent within downtown and we really
don't have any public space to have all these fantastic events so we have to
shut down a street, we have to shut down parking lots. There is, we discussed a
a couple years ago, the idea of extending Joaquin Plaza.
So it was like a legitimate Zocalo kind of thing
where we can have actual events and have a stage,
like a permanent cement stage where bands can go
or acoustic folk can go.
So I'm crossing my fingers that that might actually happen.
That's what I'm excited about.
Thank you.
So every time that we meet, I come back to the council
and let people know what is happening.
Can you talk a little bit about the work
that goes into reauthorizing the bid?
I think this is something that as stakeholders,
although we represent districts,
I think all of us benefit from a thriving downtown.
Can you talk a little bit about what that
reauthorization process looks like
and what partnership would you like to see
with my colleagues on the dais?
So the biggest challenge about the reauthorization
is communicating to property owners.
A lot of our property owners are absent property owners.
And so it's a real challenge to reach out to them
and share the good work we've been doing.
I think if people are aware of what we're doing
or if they listen to their tenants
and how happy their tenants are with what we're doing,
everybody's going to vote to support it.
And so you hire a consultant, you'll do surveys.
Hopefully, you'll get responses from surveys.
And then it's a lot of calling and doing the direct ask.
I've never gone through the process before,
so I hesitate to speculate more.
That's why you use consultants to help you,
guide you through this process.
And I know we're going to get good support
from the economic development team,
because they're extremely supportive of our work.
But I think the real challenge for that
is going to be sharing that good work
and getting people to listen.
Yeah.
Thank you for that.
That's the end of my comment.
Before I cede my time back to the chair,
I also wanted to acknowledge the other members of the board
who you mentioned at the beginning.
Many of them are business owners who spend a lot of time
thinking about our downtown space.
So thank you, and I'll cede my time back to the chair.
Thank you, coming to council member Bowen.
Hi Morgan, thanks so much for the presentation.
A few questions and then some comments.
To build upon Vice Mayor's question
with the reauthorization in 2028,
would there be a consideration of an expansion
of the district all with new businesses
coming in further down along East 14th,
both to the north and the south?
Well, that's certainly the time to do it
is during the reauthorization.
I think that, you know, the consultant would guide us
in surveying those folks.
I know a while ago a survey was done for the north end
of East 14th Street.
And there wasn't a lot of enthusiasm.
But I think since then we've really demonstrated our worth.
and so I'd be interested to know about expanding it, yeah.
That's great.
I think maybe the last meeting or the meeting
before we had a presentation about the economic landscape
and potential development of larger scale apartments,
housing, and one, the Bellwether Building
was Central Callen, right?
Like if we can get that built out,
then that would really encourage others
to come to San Leandro.
And we talked a lot about marketing
and marketing the story of San Leandro.
And obviously the downtown association
does so much to build that up.
I'm downtown all of the time.
And right now, especially with new cafes opening
and the weather getting better, there's a lot of buzz.
And if I understood your last comment to the vice mayor,
tenants are really happy with your offerings,
but really it's about convincing the property owners.
Okay, and so to me that speaks to working
with community development and obviously the work
that you all have been doing is aligned
with the San Leandro economic plan right in our vision.
But a critical piece of that is going to be
how do we share that story of San Leandro as a whole
and our downtown because it is really special.
And one of the words that consultant used last time
was the scalability of San Leandro.
So we're very urban suburban, but it feels very accessible
and you can walk around the downtown.
And I think what you're doing with all of the events
are fantastic to really creating like a robust community.
And so just thinking through how we, as the city,
and obviously as Vice Mayor on the board, too,
figure out a way to be able to build all of that up.
So by the time 2020 comes around,
it'll be a pretty easy sell.
And then I really just wanna acknowledge, too,
the safety ambassadors.
I know when I was downtown all the time,
because my child was going to decade on town,
the safety ambassadors were fantastic.
I see them walking around doing fantastic work.
Translation service is huge.
We have so many non-English speakers,
I think at our rules committee,
just 43% of the same leader population,
just those Chinese or Spanish,
not even thinking about the other languages,
so obviously critical.
Love that you're coordinating and leveraging resources.
That's huge because, especially right now,
and once the farmer's market opens,
everybody's just walking between all of those
different resources that you're talking about.
The one thing I would really love,
the Women's First Story Festival coming up,
and then maybe a request for the May 8th API Fest
is trying to get those fish sandwiches
that everybody's been going for downtown or anywhere else.
Just gonna throw that out there.
That way we can get more people
to get more of those fish sandwiches.
I don't know what you're talking about,
but we will find out where the fish sandwiches come from.
Just go on social media.
Okay.
Honestly, I don't do social media.
Okay, we'll work with your team, Morgan.
Yeah, I have a team, thank God.
Okay.
Younger people than me that know how to do it.
Thank you.
Thank you.
At this point in time, I've got a council member, Simon.
Thank you, excellent presentation and nice job all around.
Beautiful downtown and it's continuing to grow
and to get even more beautiful.
A question on your ambassadors.
I as well am impressed with the work that they do.
I've seen them de-escalate situations with folks,
and they are making us feel more comfortable,
and I've seen the public really appreciate them.
A question as far as increasing their coverage
or increasing how much ground they can cover,
have you considered them using bicycles at times
to cover more ground?
Yeah, we do have bicycles for them,
and when the weather, when it's less rainy,
they will be out on bicycles.
You know, to be quite candid,
We finally have some ambassadors
who aren't too tall to ride the bicycles.
That was the problem earlier.
But we do have two bicycles,
so they will be out on bicycle patrol.
Excellent, thank you.
That's my question.
Thank you.
At this point in time, there are no more questions.
We'll take public comment,
and then there may be some additional comment for you.
So you can go ahead and have a seat.
Any public comment on this item?
Mayor, we have not received any comment cards.
There are two hands raised online.
Okay, so we have opened and now closed
in-person public comment,
and we will go online to open public comment.
Our first online speaker is Douglas Spalding.
Thank you so much for your work.
We're all benefiting from the benefit district,
and I enjoy the events, I enjoy the art.
I love to work the ambassadors,
and it's not just about beautifying,
it's that there is a vibe downtown and it's a big draw.
I appreciate the data you presented
in terms of safety ambassadors and the ARU.
I think it really, you know, again,
it underscores their importance and their efficacy.
I, you know, I'm one of those that a few years back
put on the defund the police cap.
that wasn't a call to actually take all the money away
from San Leandro police or other police,
but to spend the money on things like safety ambassadors
in the ARU and human and social services.
So I'm wondering, have we studied how these services have
hopefully alleviated the pressure on our police department
to respond to social service calls
that they're not really equipped to do?
That would be very interesting to know.
And finally, I have a concern about your safety camera program.
I don't know what the purpose is exactly.
If it's about solving crime, I believe the police department
already has a registry of private cameras they can go to.
But I have the same privacy and civil liberty concerns
that we've raised around flock cameras and other kinds
of surveillance.
So it raises the question about who and how
has access to the data and how that data filters from, you know, the benefit district
to the city to state and federal designations in this context of, you know, the surveillance
state which is going after our neighbors and especially immigrant neighbors.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Our next online speaker is Tao.
Yeah, good evening once again, my name is Tao Reinenk.
I just wanted to ask if you have any programs
or can think of something to do
with maybe the local businesses in downtown
regarding the World Cup that's coming up,
maybe highlight some games as something
that can bring the community together.
World Cup Soccer in June.
Thank you.
the next speaker is San Leandro Chamber of Commerce.
Hello everybody, good evening.
It's Emily Grego, President and CEO
with the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce.
I also serve on the board of directors
for what we refer to as SLEA.
And I just wanna make a few comments
in support of all of the work that has been going on
with SLEA over the past several years
and how much downtown has improved.
We are so really thankful for the safety ambassadors.
There are many times with our office being downtown
that something has happened
and we know to call the safety ambassadors
before we call PD.
And it's just such a relief to know
that we can actually do that
and get somewhere with whatever we're calling about.
So that's been really great.
And then of course, our cleaning ambassadors,
There are just times when I come downtown
and I just think if we didn't have our cleaning ambassadors,
what would downtown look like?
I mean, it's like immaculate.
It's just so clean and all the new garbage cans.
So there's been so much work over the years
that has gone on for SLEA.
So, you know, it's been wonderful
and whatever we can do to continue this work
and re-up the district in a couple of years,
all support is needed and wanted.
So however anybody can help support us on that would be great.
So kudos to Celia.
I think everything's going swimmingly.
We love all the events downtown, but most of our cleaning
and our safety ambassadors have made such a huge improvement.
So thank you for all of that support.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The last online speaker is Lucas.
Hi, can you hear me?
Yes.
Thank you.
Thank you for taking my comment again this evening.
I wanted to echo the concerns raised earlier in the call about the expansion of the surveillance
state and how these cameras, whether they're owned by this nonprofit or whether they're
owned by the city or owned by the police, it's unclear who eventually gets access to
them, raise serious concerns about the city and the government surveilling the public.
I remember when the flock cameras came around and there were many times we debated proposals
for expanding their deployment and the cost and all that stuff around the city and the
entry points throughout the city, we asked the council to promulgate policies around
how they would be used and the police and the police chief at the time came in and they
talked about how long the data would be retained and who could use it and whether it would
be shared with ICE at the time and whether it would be used in any kind of criminal investigations.
Here we're told that these cameras will be installed. I don't see information about exactly
how many. There's talks about storefronts except Safeway and CVS. I'll tell you this
from having seen some of the robberies where people just walk in with garbage bags and
and just load them up with all sorts of electronics
or the personal cleaning stuff
or household cleaning equipment at Safeway and CVS
and they just walk out, they just walk out.
You need them at Safeway, you need them at CVS.
So I don't know why all the storefronts
accept those are exempt, but even though,
even if you do decide to install these extra cameras,
we need some policies around who gets access to this stuff.
How long the data is retained?
Will the data be shared with ICE?
Are they going to scan the faces of the people in these public spaces and connect them to
immigration databases and try to figure out who in our city has a warrant, who in our
city is an illegal immigrant?
Thank you.
Your time has elapsed.
Mayor, that concludes our online public comment.
So with that, we close public comment online, and then come back to Morgan for some questions
that were raised.
Can we start with the World Cup?
there been any consideration at this point in time with respect to the World
Cup you know one of the things we do is really promote the programming that our
merchants are already doing so if field works and I'm trying to think of who has
who has big TVs Baga crabs has a huge TVs no we don't plan on doing it because
we're doing cherry festival and Juneteenth but if their business is out
We're happy to promote what they do on our socials
Perfect. I do. I have any other questions from council members or comments at this point in time
Does not appear that way. So I'll close out with a couple of thoughts first. Thank you for all the data
Because you guys track information and I know at the time when you started doing that
It was a little bit tedious and you were working through processes and consistency and all that kind of stuff
But I feel like it's really paying off dividends now all the work that goes into having that data organized
And I think the other thing that I
Just want to highlight is a sheer number of events
That you guys are coordinating, you know, it started with a couple and now we're literally at a dozen events and
And just the number of people that come downtown
really, really appreciate the number of people
that are coming in, spending money.
And I've met a number of people from other cities
who come here specifically to avail themselves
of what we're offering.
So thank you for all that you're doing
to drive economic development and activity.
Thank you, you're welcome.
At this point in time, we'll close out this item
and move to our action items.
Our first action item is item 10a,
And this relates to the discipline to execute the discipline already agreed upon at the January 20th 2026
Meeting with respect to council member Aguilar. And so for this I will turn to our city
Attorney to introduce the item
Thank you mayor. Good evening council richard peirotto city attorney
the title is
What we're talking about today. This is a follow-up to execute the discipline already agreed upon at the january 20th
2026 City Council meeting on the Council Member Aguilar under Chapter 1.13 of the
San Leandro Administrative Code and this is pursuant to Councilman Bowen's
internal request for discipline that was submitted to on October 24th, 2025.
In summary, the Council had decided based on San Leandro Administrative Code
Section 1.13.115 to adopt a resolution concerning Council Member Aguilar
containing a statement of disapproval
and admonition of Council Member Aguilar
under San Leandro Administrative Code section 1.13.120.
At the last meeting, at the January 20th meeting,
the Council adopted the findings
of the investigation report
and also decided at that meeting
to take discipline short of censure.
And those two items would have are
the statement of disapproval,
sorry, letter of reprimand, and an admonition.
Sorry statement its approval and an admonition in a resolution, excuse me
And those were are under item C and D of section one point one three point one one five
So that is what's before the council this evening is the resolution and the resolution is presented for the council's approval
I'll take any questions
Seeing no questions. We'll move to pull the comment on this item
Mayor we have received seven comment cards and there are presently two hands raised online
Please we get in person
the first three speakers in person are
Tondaleo Smith
Emily Rich and
Sarah Bailey
Good evening. My name is Tondaleo Smith and I am a resident of San Leandro
Prior to the election in 2024, I was a person who closely
followed politics and current events.
However, after that event, I disengaged and stopped
reading the paper, watching the news,
and listening to civic podcasts.
My peace of mind was at stake.
And I didn't feel I could do anything about the chaos
I saw in the world.
I did, however, keep my finger on the pulse
of what's happening in our little city of San Leandro.
I am pleased to have walked closely
to the leadership of our neighborhood
as we try to get Lake Chabot Road opened.
In that capacity, I felt I could actually do something
about the evacuation and traffic issues facing our city.
I am here tonight to say I have participated
in many meetings with most of you,
And in each of those meetings, we have felt heard.
And in this very body, it was encouraging
to hear council members questioning and advocating
on behalf of their constituents.
I am disappointed some of them are being chastised
and about to be punished for actions that they took
on behalf of their constituents.
I think it is wrong.
And along with all the other dysfunctional
infighting among you, it's just like the chaos
of national politics and it's pitiful.
Please engage your own brilliance,
find some humility, and get professional mediation help
so that you can work together on these issues
that are so vital to our city.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The next three speakers are Emily Rich, Sarah Bailey,
and David Anderson.
I count myself as a supporter of both council members, Simon
and Aguilar.
I voted for both of them twice, and I'm glad I did.
They have been steadfast in their support
of renter protections, something I and many other San Leandrins
have been working for.
I am grateful for their attention to and consistent votes
in support of the San Leandro community.
people. I say this sincerely.
But San Leandro has suffered
two investigations into these
same council members treatment
of women they have worked with.
The first brought because of
the former city managers
complaint found that both had
interfered with her in properly
in the execution of her
official duties. The second
brought about by Council Member
Bowen's complaint. Details
witness testimony from seven
work closely with both Aguilar and Simon and all believe both Councilmen have
intimidated and interfered with Bowen and other women and that their behavior
is based at least in part on gender bias. Nine people have seen this and
testified under oath about it about what they saw. It is impossible to believe
there is no there there. We all know that both things can be true. The Councilmen
are dedicated public servants and they exhibit the patriarchal tendencies and the male
supremacism that have defined our relationships and culture for millennia. I believe we all
exhibit such behavior and must constantly guard against the expression of these tendencies.
But if this council is to move past this conflict and toward reconciliation, there has to be
acknowledgement and change. Please, I ask you councilmen to look carefully at your behavior
and feelings to set aside your desire to win this dispute and to find the courage to commit
to trying to do better. I look forward to continuing to support you both in your future
political endeavors. Thank you. The next speakers are Sarah Bailey, David Anderson and Deborah
Acosta. I'm Sarah Bailey and I'm speaking here as a member of the League of Stanley
voters. Councilmember Aguilar this is for you. The findings adopted by this
council include bullying and harassment, retaliation and differential treatment
reflecting gender bias. Those are not procedural disagreements they go to
character and leadership. Public office is privileged it carries authority and
influence when that authority is used in ways that retaliate against a colleague
or treat women differently, it harms more than internal dynamics, it harms trust and this
institution. Disagreement is expected in public service, retaliation is not, debate is healthy,
bias is not, strong opinions are welcome, diminishing others is not. This discipline
before you tonight is limited, it does not remove anyone from office, it does not silence
someone's voice. It asks for acknowledgement, correction, and growth. Leadership is not
measured by avoiding consequences. It is measured by how you respond to them.
I understand that these findings are uncomfortable. That's understandable,
but discomfort does not invalidate accountability. The residents of San Leandro deserve a council
that can disagree fiercely without crossing into bullying, retaliation or gender biased conduct.
That is not partisan standard. It's a moral one. Accepting the discipline council member,
do better and help restore the ethical standard this office requires. Thank you.
Thank you. The next speakers are David Anderson, Deborah Acosta and Lacey Vong.
Thank you again for allowing me to speak.
I was on the senior commission with Fred Simon for about seven years and I observed him working
with all the senior commissioners.
I'm going to ask you to wait until the next item as this is council member Aguilar specifically.
I was trying to combine the two pieces together so I'll combine the two because I mentioned
it to you.
And I reserve Fred and I think a lot of times his passion to get things solved could be
misconstrued as not wanting to work with somebody or just get something done. We
worked on the age-friendly initiative for the city and when we got on it they
told us they had been working on it for two and a half years and we were trying
to figure out why which takes so long and I'm kind of aggressive too I like to
see get things done and all you guys are here have the same agenda you want to
move the city forward. So this is something that could have been resolved
behind closed doors with legal with the mayor and with each one of you by saying
Fred you talked about it and you say look if you have a problem with the way
we're communicating let's work it out maybe get some help outside help or
inside help but it could have been worked out we could have saved a lot of
money and I hope after you guys make your decision that it doesn't widen the
gap because a lot of times when you're doing different things it pushes you
further apart and I hope whatever you come up with that you guys would be able
to work together and move forward because it's definitely heard the image
of the city because they wanted to know why are we doing this why are we spending
so much money and I mentioned Chabot Road a little while ago and they said
they don't have the funds to do it this is one of the reasons we don't have the
funds this is like a easy to sue city we've got a former city manager that's
coming back because of stuff like this and we can't do this we had a police
chief that we terminated. And I thought he was doing an excellent job. We got rid of him again
and there's other cases, but my thing is that I work with Fred, I work with Victor, and I know
that sometimes, like I said, it could be passion. Our next speakers are Deborah Acosta, Lacey Vong,
and Kat Wellman. Deborah Acosta's League of Sandlander voters, certainly, that was very loud.
this is regarding 10A. An independent investigation was conducted. The report was released publicly.
The council voted to adopt its findings. Those findings include retaliation and abusive conduct.
This resolution is not about personality. It is about whether this council enforces the standards
It has adopted, in its own code of ethics,
standards requires enforcement.
If the council adopts findings, but hesitates
to reinforce them through discipline short of censure,
then the code becomes advisory rather than binding.
This resolution affirms that retaliation, intimidation,
and disrespect have consequences.
not because they're unpopular, but because they violate institutional standards.
It also affirms something equally important that when due process is completed and findings are
adopted, there is closure. Reopening or minimizing adopted findings undermines the very process this
Council established. The community deserves a governing body that enforces
its standard consistently and then moves forward. Adopt this resolution,
reinforce the code of ethics, close this chapter and return your focus to
creating policies that advance our city's goals. Housing, public safety,
infrastructure, economic development. Thank you. Thank you. The next speakers
our Lacey Vong and Kat Wallman. My name is Lacey Vong. I have been a resident of San
Leandro for more than a decade and it has been a pleasure to live here except for what
we have seen recently. I'm also a member of the League of San Leandro voters. I speak
to you today as a former public servant who has personally administered the oath of office
to those entering into public duty.
From that perspective,
I find the current trajectory
of this body deeply disheartening
and the disservice to the standards
of the oath that it represents.
The findings adopted by this council
regarding a council member Aguilar
are not merely, as the four other speakers said,
procedural disagreements.
They included instances of retaliation,
abusive conduct, differential treatment reflecting,
gender bias.
When I swore officials into office,
it was with the understanding that public service
is a privilege.
It's one that demands the highest standard, integrity,
and a commitment to treat every colleague and constituents
with basic human dignity.
Item 10A is the formal execution of the decision
of this body that already was made on January 20th.
If you hesitate now, your previous votes
become purely symbolic.
The symbolic vote erodes the fiery foundation
of public trust.
Public office does not grant immunity
from standards this council itself adopted.
We must hold our leaders accountable
and follow the process through to its conclusion.
I urge you to finalize the resolution
so we can begin the work of rebuilding public trust.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The next speaker is Cat Wellman.
Good evening, I'm Cat Wellman,
president of Bayo Vista Improvement Association.
Victor Aguilar and Fred Simon are elected officials.
They were chosen by their constituents to ask questions,
raise concerns, and advocate on their behalf.
And they do a very good job of this.
Many of us are deeply concerned
that taking disciplinary action
based on some of the findings of this report
could have a chilling effect on council members
asking tough but necessary questions during public meetings.
Council members also deserve to be respected and heard,
but disciplinary measures rarely resolve disagreements.
In fact, when there is a genuine dispute
over the underlying allegations, as there clearly is here,
punishment often creates resentment rather than resolution.
Public shaming does not typically lead
to meaningful behavioral change.
Studies consistently show that it more often results
in defensiveness, which only deepens division
and blocks progress.
The city spent $134,000 on this investigation.
Many residents believe funds might have been better invested
in bringing in a professional communications specialist
to help the council work through differences
constructively and respectfully.
Mediation and facilitated dialogue bring understanding.
Punishment often does not.
So the real question is, what is the goal here?
If the goal is a functional collaborative city council
that can focus on pressing issues facing our community,
then we need a plan for moving forward in a positive way.
San Leandro is facing serious challenges
in a climate with diminishing funds.
Addressing these challenges will require trust,
cooperation, and a major commitment
from everyone on the dais.
There seems to be distrust and frustration on all sides.
Thank you, your time has elapsed.
Mayor, that concludes our comment cards from in the room.
So we will close public comment in person
and we will move to open public comment online.
Our first online commenter is Malin Dupri-Dominguez.
Hello, can you hear me?
Yes.
Thank you.
Mayor and Council, my name's Malin Dupri-Dominguez
and I am a member now of the League of San Leandro Voters.
Let us be clear about where we are.
An independent investigation was conducted.
The findings were completed.
Attorney-client privilege was waived.
The report was made public.
And this council voted on January 20th
to adopt those findings and to impose discipline.
That has already happened.
Item 10a is not a new accusation.
It is not political theater.
It is not the formal execution of a decision.
It is the formal execution of a decision
that has already been made by this body.
If the council hesitates now
or delays or attempts to reopen what it already voted on,
then your vote becomes simply symbolic
and symbolic votes erode public trust.
Due process has occurred.
The investigation was independent.
The findings were adopted.
The discipline is limited when the process was followed.
At some point, leadership requires
standing by your decisions.
You cannot waive privilege,
publish findings of retaliation and gender bias,
vote to discipline,
and then retreat when it becomes uncomfortable.
Governance is not comfortable.
A vote must mean something,
and the public is watching to see whether it does.
I urge you to execute the discipline
that you have already approved.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The next online speaker is Lucas.
Thank you, can you hear me?
Yes.
Thank you, thank you so much.
Many speakers have so far spoken about what needs to be done about these measures.
I want to talk about what I think the city should do long-term.
I urge the council to implement new rules into the code of conduct and the code of ethics
that require council members who have been punished or censured or admonished to either
strongly consider resigning or publicly issue a statement that explains their decision to stay
in office. I find it unacceptable that two council members who engaged in significant
discriminatory behavior and in serious misconduct on multiple occasions at this point, who are
censured, who are about to be reprimanded today, I find it horrible that they continue to serve.
Shame on them for remaining on the council.
I thank you for releasing the Aguilar files.
I thank you for releasing the Simon files.
We were all shocked by the allegations in them.
They should resign if they have any decency in their heart.
If they do not resign, I hope the city and the voters
will judge them appropriately
the next time they are up for reelection.
But at minimum, the city should have a standing policy
that requires people like this in situations like this
to either strongly consider resigning
or explain their decision not to resign.
I wanna remind the city council that Azevedo,
after being charged by the FBI in a corruption case,
was on the council for months
and continue to do the people's business for months.
He denied any wrongdoing for months, maybe years even,
until finally he pled guilty.
we cannot deal with these corrupt and untrustworthy people
sitting on the council without at least explaining
their cowardly decision not to resign.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The next online speaker is Adam.
Hello, good evening.
My name is Adam Raden and I am a four year resident
of San Leandro.
I just wish to say on this action,
I know if it is not adopted by the council,
Then I would ask, what are actually the anchored principles
of this city council?
And is there any type of accountability?
As a father, I'm trying to teach my young boys
to be accountable and to become accountable young men.
And it's hard to find any of this
at any type of institution that we see at various levels.
And I would hope to find it at least at the local level
within our city council.
I'll keep this short and to say,
I ask that the council affirms
what has already been agreed to,
acknowledged and adopted.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you.
The next speaker is Melissa Wang.
Well, hello again.
I'm not a member of any organized group,
but I know I speak for many others
who might not be able to speak tonight.
I may not be as polished as others,
but please reconsider your vote in these draft resolutions.
The investigation report lacks substantiated conclusions
and findings only if someone actually reads it objectively.
And I had called for that.
So I would say, unfortunately, we have heard
the report can now be used as factual without questions
and forever.
And that is so unfortunate.
I'll speak a little bit later on that.
But as I've said before, an employer always checks facts,
all of the facts before taking any personnel action.
There's been a lot of questions.
None of the folks who want this to be going away
have actually mentioned any of those questionable facts.
This current council cannot possibly make
any personnel decisions without fact checking.
It is simply not fair.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The next speaker is Jesse.
Hi again, my name is Jesse Rubin.
I am an active member of League of San Leandro Voters.
At the end of the day, this moment is bigger
than either council member Aguilar
or Council Member Simon and their unacceptable behavior,
you, Council and Mayor adopted a code of ethics.
You created, excuse me,
you created a formal disciplinary framework
under chapter 1.13.
You authorized independent investigations.
You adopted findings.
You voted to impose discipline.
If that chain can be reversed after the fact,
just because it is politically uncomfortable,
then the code has no force, it becomes optional.
Future council members will learn the lesson.
One, you can outlast the process.
Two, you can pressure the body.
And three, you can relitigate after the vote.
And future complainants will learn a different lesson.
That is that even if findings are adopted,
accountability is negligible.
That is not governance, that is instability.
A council that cannot carry through
its own disciplinary vote sends a clear signal
that standards bend under pressure.
If you weaken this framework tonight,
it will not be rebuilt easily.
Stand by your vote, thank you.
Thank you.
Mayor, that concludes our online commenters.
Okay, so we will close public comment
this item. I've got councilmember Aguilar in queue. We will begin with you. Thank
you Mayor. I just wanted to talk a little bit about this item and you know thanks
for the folks who came out to come speak. I just wanted to be completely honest
about what this resolution actually is. This resolution is asking you to formally
brand me as retaliatory, abusive, and biased based on an investigation
narrative that stretches disagreement into misconduct and political friction
into ethical violation. This is a serious accusation and it deserves more
than a rubber stamp. I will not sit quietly while my integrity is rewritten
to fit a convenient storyline. I have challenged colleagues, many of you, I have
pushed back. I have refused to fall in line when I believed something was wrong.
That is not retaliation. That is representation. We were successfully able
to pass the rent control for standing up for what we believe in. If strong
advocacy is now considered abusive conduct, then we are redefining
leadership into something timid and performative. And let me be very clear, I
categorically reject the allegations of gender bias. My record speaks louder
than any selective interpretation in this report. I have consistently supported women
in leadership, appointed them, worked alongside women, and fought for equity in policy to
suggest otherwise is not just inaccurate, it's completely offensive. What concerns
me deeply as a precedent this sets. If disagreement becomes discipline and
personality becomes ethics violation, then no one on this diet is safe from a
weaponized complaint process. This body should not codify political tension as
moral failure. I stand by my service, I stand by my record, and I will not accept
conclusions that distort both. I urge you to pause and reconsider and do not move
forward with this resolution that does not reflect the full truth. I urge you to
vote now. It's my comment. Thank you for your comment. At this point in time I'm going to
Councillor Bult. Okay. We're here. This is not easy because
it requires conversations with everybody to become public. I have listened to my colleagues.
I've explained to my colleagues where I'm at,
I've explained to people in the public how I feel.
For every one email call text we get saying,
this side, we get the same amount for the other side.
Meaning, is there gender bias, is there not?
This is something that I did for both,
but the comments right now are about Council Member Aguilar,
we had this conversation.
I'm okay with a lot of the wording we have,
but as I explained to the other colleagues on the dais,
I am not okay with the last statement
of reflecting gender bias.
I worked with you guys, I don't find that.
Yes, I did vote to accept the findings of the report.
I'm not going to say immediately because I wouldn't answer my phone after the council
that night, but the following day, I got more than one text or call saying, hey, this is
not what I said in the report, or this is different, and then we had a former mayor
ago in a public setting and completely turn around what we had voted on and I
can't sit here now and just throw that out the window the the moment that I
voted on it in the past I didn't know a lot of the situations I didn't know what
was going on I wanted to listen to everybody I do think you guys messed up
I do think you were rude. I do think it was unbecoming of a council member
But I cannot
Agree that you guys have a gender bias all the other stuff. Sure. You guys may not agree with it, but there's enough there for me
to say
Okay. Yes
So and it's hard
Because I don't want to do that to anybody, but I also want to stand up for councilmember Bowen
I do feel that she's been hurt in this and your guys's actions. Oh, I can only speak to one right now
But I don't want to do I don't want to do this twice. So your guys's actions
cause that and I really wish that
We can get past this
But the only way that that I'm gonna be able to do this and I wrote it down because I didn't want to just be
problem guy but if on that last sentence instead of it saying and female
employee differential treatment reflecting gender bias I would like it
to say treatment unbecoming of a council member but everything else stays that
would be my request here that would move me and that would stand for both
of these items, and I'll stop there.
So just to clarify as chair, so I've got on page two
of the resolution, towards the top of that page two,
there's a subletter C. C, that's correct.
And you would take the last three words of that sentence,
you would mark those three words out and say,
What three words?
A treatment unbecoming of a council member.
So where it says treatment reflecting gender bias.
That's a treatment to differential treatment, comma,
reflecting conduct unbecoming of a council member?
Yes.
Yeah, I'm sorry, yes, sorry, yeah.
So how it says, and a female employee
to differential treatment and reflecting gender bias,
It would say, and a female employee to treatment unbecoming
of a council member.
Are you also scratching out the word differential
in your proposal?
Yeah, because if you go differential,
then you're just saying it's almost still reflecting
the same thing as a gender bias.
If they're being, look it, I've had council member Simon
come at me hard in personal conversations,
and I appreciate that.
That's how I like to operate.
so I assume he does that with everybody and so that's why I'm requesting that.
Okay so I'm going to read the full sentence to make sure that I understand
what you're proposing and then we can work off of that in case others want to
make a motion in that regard or you could as well. Councilmember Vick
Regular Jr. subjected council member Sua Bowen, comma, female city council
members come up and a female employee to treatment and becoming of a council
member. That's correct. Thank you. Who would like to proceed? Vice Mayor. Thank
you. I'd like to address some of the statements from councilmember Aguilar
that he just made. What was, what are the findings that are in the report are not
not political tension or disagreements over policy, or a very spirited debate on policy
issues.
Rather, the investigation found that Councilmember Aguilar retaliated against Councilmember
Bowen after her vote on the censure.
Further, it also found that he attempted to besmirch her reputation after she was physically
violated by a mutual acquaintance.
That is not a policy disagreement.
It is behavior.
Further, the report found that the council members objected, Councilmember Bowen and
others, to differential treatment that reflected gender bias.
I am going to make something crystal in case it is not clear.
I will not continue to do additional unpaid,
unrecognized, never ending emotional labor
of explaining to my colleagues on this council
why we need to hold each other accountable.
To this day, I have not known
that my colleagues have apologized for their behavior
or acknowledged the impact of their actions.
I do not support taking that out of the resolution.
I support having the resolution stay as is.
I also want to extend my apologies
to Council Member Bowen for shouldering this
for as far as we know a year.
And when I came onto this council,
I made clear that I wanted to work with everyone on issues.
And to your point, council member Aguilar,
that I actually do think that disagreement
over policy issues and talking them out
makes the policy better.
But that's not what happened here.
This is not strong advocacy distorted into something else.
And this is not about personality or setting a precedent
that disagreements over approach
would put someone in a position
of vulnerability to investigations.
I advocate fiercely and consistently.
And when I have said something
that did not have the intended impact
or when I have done something
that did not have the intended impact,
I apologize and I've done it from the dais.
And I think that we can exercise a little bit of humility
and do that.
I think that an apology tonight
would go a really long way in putting a period
to this chapter and having all of us move forward together.
We will have a conversation later
about what that may look like, but I just
want to throw it out there that an apology tonight
would go a really long way.
At least as a member of this body wanting
to work with everyone, it would mean a lot to me
that you would apologize for the behavior and the impact.
I've seen my time back to the chair.
At this point in time, we go to Council Member Bowen.
Thank you, Mayor.
Just wanna share a few things.
There's been questions around why this happened.
Ultimately, I wanted misconduct to stop
and I wanted to stop the harm that was occurring to me,
what I was experiencing.
So much of the conversations we've been having
have been to do with others on this council
and Council Member Aguilar tried to frame it
as a policy discussion or a disagreement.
And the reality is it hasn't been a year,
I appreciate your apology.
It has been a year since I was public with this,
going to HR, asking for help,
because I was emotionally, physically, mentally harmed.
I should not have to walk into a toxic work environment.
and I specifically asked for a year before
for the behavior to stop, and it did not stop.
So I did actually try really hard to work within the system.
And I just want to clarify a few things about the process
with both you, mayor and city attorney.
And I'm gonna kind of go rapid fire with this
because there's a lot of questions.
In September 2024, who adopted our code of ethics?
Mayor or city attorney?
City council did. City council did and do we look at that code of ethics on an
annual basis when we look at our handbook? Yes. And have we adopted it
since like this year or last year? Great. So everybody on this council has
multiple times acknowledged the code of ethics has access to it should be able
to read it understand it ask questions if they have any, correct? Yes. Thank you.
And the process for discipline. When did we we adopted that last year the year
before a correct city attorney, mayor to the city attorney?
2024.
Thank you.
And when I sent, when I came to staff
and I shared what I was physically, emotionally,
mentally experiencing, and staff actually advised me
that the process would be to go through an HR investigation
but who actually authorizes an HR investigation?
The city council, if it involves a staff member,
one of our employees, city manager, city attorney,
or a councilman.
So this council, except for myself, council member Aguilar,
council member Simon.
Correct.
Great.
And who chose the investigator?
I believe that was led by.
Who authorized and approved it.
So we authorized the payment.
We set aside the budget.
The selection, I believe, was city attorney working with HR?
Correct.
Working with the HR department.
Great. And throughout the process that lasted an abnormally long time,
did the council have opportunity to talk to the investigator and review the
report? Yes. And did the council,
I'm just gonna, I will not accept the abnormally long part,
but everything else I'll say yes to. Sure. Maybe not best practice. Great. Um,
it was, you know, eight, nine months. Um,
so council actually authorized the funding council authorized the investigation.
council reviewed it look at then who adopted the investigation City Council
City Council did and when was I and council members Aguilar when Simon when
were we actually allowed to be able to look at it the end of October and the
only way that we would be able to look at it would be through a discipline
process that we formalized correct the process that we went through to be able
to allow us to be able to see it followed the discipline process that we created, correct?
We followed our discipline process to the team.
So I followed everything that we, the council, actually the council that is going to be voting
on this short of Councilmember Aguilar and Simon and myself.
This was the only process that I could go through, correct?
Because as a council, we have to regulate ourselves.
I just want to confirm that.
We regulate ourselves.
Great.
This is the final step in a process that we went through.
And I have another question about the money that was authorized.
If misconduct did not occur, would we have to pay for investigation?
Yes.
Yes.
We would still pay.
Oh, I'm sorry.
If I never had to file an HR complaint, would we have to go through this process?
If there was no complaint, we would not go through this process.
Right.
And the thing about me going to HR was because these are things that I experienced, and because
As we take this seriously, we actually hired an objective outside investigator that does
not work with the city of San Leandro.
That is a professional in this space that did an outside investigation that then interviewed
others and nine other people that have worked with Councilmember Aguilar in the capacity
of a colleague with this power dynamic was able to share their experiences that also
affirmed what I knew to be true.
And I have a question around gender bias to the city attorney.
Given the fact that we have been in litigation with previous city manager and the fact that
we just went through training about discrimination and protected classes, and if there has been
an independent investigation that has objectively found that there is gender bias and we have
adopted it, and then chosen to remove that.
Does that increase legal exposure
for the city of San Leandro?
Certainly, yes.
Can you expound a little bit on that?
And when we say legal exposure, what that actually means,
because we like to talk about money.
Well, certainly legal exposure would be damages,
which would be monetary damages.
And then, of course, this is all based on legal theories
that if the leadership, the council,
does not take such complaints seriously then there is an argument, of course, an illegal
theory that someone who is an employee of the city or someone who has been harmed by
the city, perhaps a consultant who has experienced a violation of FEA, Fair Employment and Housing
Act, they would be able to point to the behavior, the facts as they're existing now in the moment
that to make an argument that, of course, leadership
is unserious about these types of allegations
and is not addressing them in a way that would process,
would be serious, and taking them seriously.
Thank you.
I just have one last comment.
I know I've gone over time.
The reality is that on this council,
I take my job very seriously, and I
to advocate very passionately for not just my constituents in District 5 but
across the city of San Leandro and across the state and when I go to my
when I'm able to step outside of the city in this capacity to get really
seriously and the reality is that I want to be able to advocate for my community
I want to be able to have a disagreement I want to be able to vote on something
and not be retaliated against and that was the problem so the gas lighting that
continues to happen is mind-blowing and I'm just asking for it to stop the last
councilmember Aguilar said is I will not accept you know acknowledgement or
accountability of what is stated here and that was the whole point was just to
acknowledge that it happened that was it and honestly I didn't ask for much
acknowledging that it occurred is the bare minimum. Thank you. Councilmember Simon
please. There you go. Thank you. Similar to councilmember Bol, I'm going to kind of
referenced myself and Victor Aguilar at the same time because we are intertwined
in this. We are in the same report. We are interviewed by the same investigator. So
I'm going to kind of speak both. I'll go into mine later as well but I do want to
say upfront I regret that Councilmember Bowen felt that I was biased as I do not
feel any bias towards women. My only intent was to cast my vote on what I
felt and I still feel are the merits. Just as I voted no and council member
Aguilar voted no on a male council member Pete Baloo just a few council
meetings before Sue us excuse me council member Bowen's vote and that is not
raised in the investigation or discuss in any proceedings. I treat women the
say as I treat men, races, I treat everyone equally and sometimes maybe it
comes across a little harsh. One of the speakers said I'm passionate. Council
member Aguilar is passionate and I've seen it in many ways. I will ask you to
focus all of your commentary on council member Aguilar. I've given a little bit
latitude but this is not about you right now. Please proceed. Okay. What we
have before us tonight is we're faced with an issue of ethics. What is right
and what is wrong and I do believe the process that we are following does not
follow our own code of ethics which we have adopted. I oppose two questions.
Number one, are we following the spirit of the loss for our code of ethics? Number
number two, are we following the laws themselves, both state and federal? And there's an item
later item 10 D where I have questions to the city attorney on that. And we'll talk
about those later. And again, I mean, I do want to show respect to my colleagues and
council member Bowen, because you have been through a lot. And one thing I will say, this
has taken way too long, way too long for you to raise these questions over a year ago and
to just be getting to this whatever we are 13 months from now. So I do acknowledge that
and that must be very hard. But an overriding question on all of this and we talk about
due process. I'm just going to read you due process is a fundamental right guaranteed
by the U.S. Constitution. It protects people against arbitrary.
Okay, so I'm gonna stop you because your commentary is supposed to be on the resolution.
That sounds like we're re-litigating a decision that's already been made by the council.
So if you are saying that council member Aguilar, his due process is being violated in the words
that are chosen here, you need to focus on the words that are chosen because what is
is this agendized is not our past decisions or future.
It's literally what's agendized is this resolution.
So let's focus on this resolution.
Otherwise, we have potentially a Brown Act violation.
I, in fairness, heard my other colleagues
speak about issues of due process fairness.
So I was just trying to be afforded the same opportunity.
just saying I don't think the process is fair and I'll just put it out there
talk about fairness I don't understand how the accuser can vote on the accused
and we call this fair so I think we really have to take that into account
we really should but back to the gender bias claim against councilmember Aguilar
and myself that's the most serious claim of all of all these claims that are in
there and I would agree with councilmember bolt I'd be willing to
support letting the other ones stay but I do believe that gender bias needs to
come out and my reasoning is some of the evidence that was used in the report
using the cow report has been shown to be false and some of this came after the
decision was made to find that report as fact which leads to much of it and some
of it being referenced by the former city manager who was referenced
extensively to be questionable and that former city manager she did state in
the report falsely that false information that was verified by the
the former city mayor, the mayor, the mayor, the mayor.
Because of that, I would say that we have to be very careful what we decide here.
And I do not feel there is enough evidence that is verifiable to show that there is gender
bias.
And I support the recommendation to leave everything except for changing that last sentence
to show that's to the treatment on becoming of a councilmember. Okay I'm
going to say a couple of things and I want to come back to my council members
and we really try to stick to this resolution in particular how we got here
because there's been statements that made that suggest there have not been
behind closed-door discussions and nothing could be further from the truth.
I've been behind closed-door discussions. This is this is the very end of a long
and tortured process. So please understand members of the public, but it
didn't begin with just a willy-nilly decision to just, hey let's go and have
some disciplinary action. That's not how this works. And any intimation to the
contrary is simply incorrect. But what I also want to know for the public to
understand is that when in when we as a counsel hire an independent investigator
who is a defined by her colleagues as a super lawyer with a focus on this
particular area of law, we've made a decision that we're going to rely on the
expertise of that individual. And so right now I'm really struggling on how
we can take the work of a highly qualified individual who is highly
respected in the legal community and then say, well guess what, if we had
giving you more money, you could have done more interviews and collected more evidence.
And we're perhaps shortchanging the work that she did because we didn't give her more time
to do more work.
But based on her professional experience and many, many years of legal work in this very
arena, she reached the conclusions that we did.
right now I'm inclined to keep exactly what she found and keep the resolution
as is. I want to come back to councilmember Bowen and any others that want to speak.
Thank you. There have been numerous times I think when both councilmember Vice
Mayor Rivera's Walton and I have tried to share from our perspective as women
that walk the world as women and I should note the irony that we are
They're literally celebrating proclamation
for Women's History Month.
This weekend is International Women's Day,
and the theme is literally to address the gender bias
and empower women to be able to speak up and be heard.
So it is very difficult for me to understand
how we would remove the most serious
in terms of legal exposure to the city
because, again, gender discrimination is protected,
just like veterans are protected,
just like people of color are protected,
just like many other groups are protected
because it is real and occurs.
So I would challenge my council members,
especially the ones that do not walk the world as a woman,
to reflect on how confident you are
that you understand and could be able to identify,
confidently, every time gender bias occurs,
in the small ways and in the big ways,
and when the small ways continue to add up,
that's actually when most of the harm is committed.
And what I am sharing,
and was sustained by the legal work
that the Council authorized,
and that was corroborated by other women
expressing what they experienced to be true.
I really do ask Council Member Bolt
for you to consider, and Council Member Simon,
to consider that it is possible
that you may not understand it
and may not be able to identify it in real time,
but it is absolutely a real thing that occurs,
and it did occur and does occur.
and for us to say that we acknowledge retaliation
and harassment and bullying,
but somehow they didn't do the one other thing
that is now a pattern because there are many women
that can say, I experienced it too.
I just don't understand how that message that we're sending
Certainly the message you're sending to me and to all of the women that are watching this that has experienced under bias
and and so I'd like to make a motion to adopt the resolution as
as written
Vice mayor I
Second the motion council member bolt. I was gonna answer the questions, but I don't know I can't okay
So to be clear
I'm not making this assumption that they don't have gender bias based on a male opinion or Dylan Bolts opinion
I said that I got multiple calls from people and
Have women not believe me. I'm not you know
Growing it up with people going no way. This is not true
it was actually women who were either named in the report and
disputed the report whether it was publicly or behind a closed door with me, so
It's not easy to do this
Because I know how you feel about this issue and we had this conversation so
I
I'm not upset that you'd question me on it. I'm not gonna go into the well. Don't question me
I'm a man, and there's no way if I'm a man. I can't understand gender bias
I'm not doing any of that. I'm trying to be respectful of the process but let you
know that it took a lot to say you know what I need to make sure I'm doing the
right thing and if I'm not comfortable because I haven't seen it I haven't
dealt with it. When the incident that I dealt with with Vice Mayor or around the
Vice Mayor. To me, I'll say it again, you guys don't like each other and and you
guys do things that affect the way councilmember Bowen feels. But I don't, I
think if it was a male, I saw him do it to Pete and it hurt me sitting in the
stands when you guys didn't vote for this thing about a stupid sign. I thought
that was extremely disrespectful and unbecoming of a council member and so
that's where I sit I don't think they have a gender bias based on their
actions with you I think they do things that they shouldn't do to a fellow
colleague to a female fellow colleague I told you before I'm not gonna see these
things when they're happening. I am a man. I've walked this earth, as you say. I'm
a man. I walk it as a man. So I don't pick up on these slides. I even told
members of the the audience who have told me, make sure you're watching out.
And I said, I'm sorry. I may not see it, but what I do know is they won't be
disrespectful to you. They won't call you out of your name. They won't do the
things that I can see and I still stand by that. They may do these things that
are slight-handed and I don't agree with them but I don't think it's a
gender bias and that's where I'm at and that's the only thing I can go off of. I
have to be able to look and say okay did I do the right thing and as I go
through this time it is not easy to tell you I want to take it out. I know you
guys are upset the male saying to two females I want to take it out and you
guys want it in I get it but I still need to be sure that what I'm doing is
the right thing and I don't see a gender bias in them and I've been told by too
many people yeah I don't know that report this is what I said and that
affects me so vice mayor I know this is not usually our practice but I would
actually would like to request a five-minute break to step away and just
we have gone typically we break at nine o'clock it is essentially 930 I think
we would benefit from a bio break get a little bit of sugar into us and so what
I'd like to do is propose that we come back if madam clerk you can set a timer
for ten minutes. Thank you. So we will stand in recess for ten minutes. I
appreciate your accommodation. Thank you. Okay so we are back in session. I've got
vice mayor in queue. Please proceed. Thank you I'd like to make a motion to
extend our meeting to 11 o'clock to accommodate the rest of the items of the
agenda. Council Member Iglad. I'll second. Please vote. All votes are in and the
motion carries unanimously. Okay so at this point in time we've gone through a
couple of rounds of discussions. We have some informal proposals. We have a
discussion around what it might look and feel like. So I want to come to Council
member Simon next yes I just wanted to kind of can continue or follow up on
the discussion I was trying to have I want to clarify one thing quickly sir
and I'll give you your full-time I had forgotten that right before we broke
there was a motion and a second motion and second okay sorry coming back to you
and sorry for interrupting. Okay. Yeah, I just wanted to have an opportunity
to complete the discussion that I was trying to have when I spoke the first time. And I
just want to make sure that we're all treated fairly and equally on this council, every
one of us. And I just want to say that councilmember Bowen, she asked questions and I support
the questions she's asking.
But she asked questions that were not directly
onto the text of the resolution.
She asked questions about the process, who approved it,
whole litany of questions, which is fine.
But I was cut off, and I was not allowed to do the same.
And I don't think that's fair.
So I'm requesting that you allow me to ask similar questions
statements and it won't take a long time within my time limit as councilmember
bone please proceed okay so it goes back to ethics and what is right and wrong
and so many times we're hearing tonight this document was found as facts and
this was approved by the council but I have to I got to hit this home I got to
say it again and we talk about due process and I'm going to I need to
really say this due process fundamental right guaranteed by the US
Constitution it protects people against arbitrary government decisions and
ensures fairness and legal matters and I'm going to highlight that word
fairness and I'm going to go back to should the accuser vote on the accused
Should Councilmember Bowen have a vote on Vice Mayor Aguilar? Is there anyone on
the council? That's a question and what she did is she asked questions and
then we gave answers. Okay. So the answer to that question is under the process
adopted by this council the answer is yes. Okay my question is ethically, this
is a code of ethics, ethically should accuser vote on the accused? So I think
It's ethical to follow the adopted process that this council adopted
I will ask city attorney if you would like to weigh in on an ethics question
Beyond council following what it has adopted as its process. I have nothing further to add to that man
This is the council's process and its choice. Let me continue, please
Is there anyone on council that actually believes I'm not talking about the what's written on the piece of paper
This code of ethics this is the first code of ethics that this city has adopted in the 150 year
History plus history. This is the first revision whenever you have a first revision
Obviously things need to be changed
Does the council actually believe that this is an ethical process or did it slip through as a mistake an?
Unintentional mistake as the first and only ethics policy
This item of updating our policy it's going to be considered as a priority just in four days on March 6
It's just on Friday
And why are we acting on something now?
If we believe it's wrong, I believe it's wrong
Even the appearance of unfairness
Undermines trust and trust is what we need to build our community. I
Just want to get that out
That I don't feel this process is fair
I do believe councilmember Aguilar is being treated unjustly in this entire process
but I do want to recognize and I will agree with councilmember Bowe that
vector Aguilar you
have not acted and I mean either and
What's becoming of a councilmember? We could have behaved better. Let me put it that way we could have behaved better and
We will behave better. We will I guarantee you we will
But this is not the process to make that happen
But I believe the process is and I've heard this from public commenters. It's
Restorative justice mediation and that's an item after my item comes up
That can help us to communicate and work better together
It will help mend the gaps in empathy trust and respect between us council members
So we have work to do to work as a council
well and I believe we can do it but I will go back to I wholeheartedly believe
this is not a gender issue this is not a gender issue so I will remind the
public that you council member Simon you made the motion for disciplinary action
against council member Aguilar that motion was seconded by council member
And then we took a vote so it was your request that this take place at this
point in time I'll go back to you councilmember Simon just to clarify my
discipline is restorative justice mediation that's what I believe
discipline that will help us move forward as a council I believe we need to
move forward and that's my form of discipline that I recommended for
Councilmember Aguilar mine as well but I know there's more on the table tonight
and I accept that. I accept more. Councilmember Bowen. I'm sorry that was a
very confusing answer can you clarify what the actual motion that council
member Simon made that I second it was that got us here? I'd have to go hear the
exact words in the meeting but we were talking about disciplining on the
findings in the report because first we adopted the findings of the report and
Then there was a statement whether we should be having discipline based on the findings
in the report.
This resolution that we have here today is based on the findings of the report.
That's what I can say.
And it was all of the findings of the report.
We did not say we disagree with or want to remove the findings of the report.
so this is the complete report that we, the council,
approved and directed staff to be able to come back
with this discipline, a resolution that states the findings
and simply says it is a violation of our code of ethics
that we adopted and that it should not continue to occur.
So I have a question to the city attorney.
If we have adopted the findings, all of the findings,
as stated, then do we not have to include
all of the findings that we adopted
and that we direct it to be included
and to be acknowledged and admonished?
That was the direction to counsel to me.
That was the direction from the counsel to me to prepare,
which is as stated in the policy.
chapter one, that's 13 of the administrative code.
So that's what I heard and that's how I was drafted.
Thank you.
So again, to follow our process
and to follow the vote we already took on
to finish this process,
I would like to then call the question
if nobody else has discussion.
May I ask you to withdraw that?
Sure.
Let's vote.
Okay, great.
Yeah, can you clarify one?
The vote is to adopt the resolution as is.
That's what was proposed and that's what was seconded.
All votes are in and the motion is tied three yeses
and three nos, so the motion fails.
So with the motion failing,
we have a council decision to have disciplinary action.
So then I turn to my council colleagues
and say how would you like to proceed with another motion?
Council member Bolt.
I would like to propose a motion to strike those words
and add unbecoming of a council member
as I had stated in the beginning.
Okay.
So we would, I'm just trying to find
where I took my notes, my apologies.
Do you want to?
So we will take the motion.
we will so we have received a motion from Councilmember bolt to adopt the
resolution as written with one exception and that is that on page two at the top
of the page under sub paragraph C parenthesis C close parenthesis that will
now end with the words and a female employee to treatment unbecoming of a
council member yes other words remain the same correct that's correct but I I
would like a clarification I think we just voted and we did it wrong meaning
councilmember Aguilar should not have voted so it should be three two for the
record to be fairly depicted thank you for noticing so our record should
reflect a vote of 3-2. Thank you for calling that out.
Yes. Okay at this point in time is there further discussion on this item? So we
will begin with Councilmember Bowen then go to Councilmember Simon. Thank you and
thank you Councilmember Bolt for trying to work on figuring out this resolution.
there's I think two parts of this actually because factually on October
20th on January 20th the council adopted the investigative investigation report
and all the findings pertaining to the Councilman regular investigation report
that's factually true that we did that that we accepted that so you know if we
are going to not include admonishment for it I would still like the inclusion
that we the council are taking that out in this resolution because we are we it's
stated here factually just a recollection of the process that we
accepted the findings and the findings were of gender bias so we are accepting
retaliation bullying harassment and we the council will not admonish the gender
bias finding I don't know how we want to wordsmith that but that's actually what
we're doing here so I want to be reflective of what we're actually doing
on the council and I do want to just procedurally apologize and want to come
back to you but I didn't actually get a second and I'm assuming that's going to
come from you councilmember Simon are you going to second the motion or is
anybody seconding this motion so councilmember Simon yes I second okay so
we've got a motion by councilmember bold with the second councilmember Simon and
I think what you might be saying is that you'd like to suggest some additional
word changes is that what I'm hearing correct but would that not be an
amendment to his motion. That's one way to handle it. However it works but I just
want to make sure that we're actually following not just our process but again
this is a legal document it's our resolution and so it states that we have
adopted all the findings so I needed to also so that we follow this process and
are you know ensuring that maybe we can mitigate some of the legal exposure that
we're putting ourselves in right now by removing gender bias that we the Council
have accepted the other findings and we are choosing to not admonish and
discipline gender bias. So I want to be I don't put words into your mouth so
please just work with me here for a minute as I try to make sure we're all
on the same page. The findings of the report are clear and the findings of the
report have been adopted by this council and so I think what you're saying is
make sure that the that nothing in this resolution contradicts what is already a
council decision but rather simply clarify that action is not being taken
on that last piece? Correct. We are not, we are not admonishing, we are not, what
is the first one that we did? Yes, reprimand and admonish. Yes. Okay, that's
a very important distinction so I'm going to come back to Council Member
Simon. We can work on the formalities whether it's a substitute motion or a
friendly amendment but I'm just trying to understand, I want to come back to you
Councilmember Boldt I should say. I want to make sure that we're in agreement in
our understanding of what Councilmember Bowen is talking about here and to
see if you might be open to to this clarification. She has made clear that
the council has already accepted the findings of the report but we are making
a decision potentially tonight to not reprimand or admonish for that third
finding. Would you be open to that language of clarification? Thank you for
working with me. My problem is that we're saying, the reason I'm not, if I
believed they had a gender bias, I'd be voting yes. Yes, I did vote to accept the
report. But really closely to immediately after I had too many people tell me give
me stories about the report or why this is that. And so I accept the fact that I
voted to accept the report that had gender bias in it. But I can't now say I
agree that they have a gender bias and have a feeling that these words that I'm
open to figuring this out but I'm not open to saying we no longer want to
reprimand because if I felt they had a gender bias you know I would be a hundred
percent in so I the fact that I accepted it and you know I made a mistake
that's all I could say right now is I made a mistake I I thought I was doing
the right thing I listened when I asked if I could go back and ask questions to
some of the people and I was told no you can't do your own investigation so I
accepted it the way it was and I can no longer do that so do we have to go back
and re-accept the report gosh I don't want to do any of this and if what we're
saying is is that I don't want to say that I'm not willing to admonish or
reprimand two people who have a gender bias I'm not willing to say that because
that means I'm accepting that they have it and I'm not willing I'm telling you
I don't believe they have it I know you want to stay so cool I'm gonna ask you a
clarifying question I'm gonna come to my council members so again we're at page
to. So instead of wordsmithing specific lines, what if I took A, B, and C and just deleted
A, B, and C? Okay. So just again, just exploring the possibilities because the goal obviously
is to figure out something that would work for everyone present and everyone will have
plenty of time to speak, but I'm just curious as you're exploring in your commentary. So
the word of the City Council adopts investigation reports and all the
findings printed Council regular but take a B and C out so food for thought
so I'm gonna come to Councilman Bowen I know you've been in queue waiting I put
you in there you go Councilmember Bowen please proceed thank you I one of the
things that is the critical step in any sort of resolution whether it's
mediation or anything is to be able to name and acknowledge the actions that
have occurred and so to not explicitly include the actions, the misconduct, would
reflect that we are minimizing that conduct because we are literally just, we
need to just explicitly state it and again this is also the direction that we
gave counsel was to be able to you can't call it out if you don't name it so I
have I have a problem with removing it councilmember Simon this question maybe
for our city attorney and I'm just trying to understand this adopting of
the report City Council adopts the investigation report and all the
findings pertaining to council member Aguilar and we heard through council
member Bowen he has excuse me bolt he has new information and perhaps that
wouldn't have been done perhaps but as far as tonight this sentence the city of
council adopts the investigation report and some of the findings pertaining to
the council and regular because it sounds like there are some areas that
councilman Aguilar can improve my mind me too what would be the impact if the
words were changed to say some of the findings city attorney city attorney so
to be clear the council already adopted the findings of the report that's it it
already adopted the findings and these are the findings in the report what I
Councilmember Bolt is requesting that the council consider is that the finding as it
pertains to differential treatment reflecting gender bias altered even though that is not
what the investigator found.
And so the report belongs to the council.
This resolution belongs to the council.
And Council Member Bowen rightfully points out, you have an investigation report, it
is what it states, it states what it says.
It has made these findings.
If you're going to adopt a different finding, you're going to adopt something that's different
from that finding, then that's a council choice, but you're not making that finding then.
And that finding would be a counsel choice.
That's a counsel finding.
That's essentially what is being asked at this moment in time, is that you've reviewed
the facts, you've reviewed the investigative report, and as it may happen, the counsel
may not accept the finding, but you've already accepted the findings.
And so at this point in time, this is the council choice.
We are moving forward with a resolution that does what the council has said it was going
to do, take a disciplinary action, admonishment and condemnation, and it needs to do that
based on facts.
You've already adopted the facts of the report.
the council councilmember bolt I'll just repeat it again is saying to the
council do we have enough facts to say that it wasn't gender bias but I think
it was something else that's what's before the council so my question to
the attorney to you is what do you recommend tonight in this resolution to
address it's not my place to say as far as language you can't provide language
recommendations? That's not a legal question. This is a this is a council
choice. Did you help draft this? Certainly. Well if you drafted it, I mean
respectfully, if you help draft it could you help amend it? I would look at the
council to ask for that. I would like my thumbs up for me. There's not a motion on
the table of some kind but it would be out of order I believe so let's focus
right now and see if we can work through getting language because this is
counsel language as City Attorney rightfully pointed out the investigation
was done there are investigation findings that report is what it is if we
want to have different findings as a council that's up to us but the
investigators report is investigators report period it's done at this point
time I'm gonna go to Vice Mayor. Thank you. I have a question about whether what
is the number of votes needed to sustain an action right now being that one of the
current members of the Dias count vote. What is the threshold we need to meet
to sustain a valid motion? Thank you Vice Mayor, you still need four votes. We
still need four votes. Okay. So there's so what what I mean it just reading the
tea leaves it doesn't look like there will be four votes for the motion
striking gender bias with the language proposed by Councilmember Bolt. What
what happens then? So we can do any of a variety of things as a council we could
france since we could postpone this until a later date have some discussions
have further time to think about it so that we're not just in the heat of the
moment moment trying to resolve it we could pick a time in the future when we
address this again we could go around in circles three three three three three
three or three two thank you three two two three three two two three okay
would you like a table this until a future no I do not I this needs
resolution tonight the longer this stays before us we just don't move on we
don't address the problem so I will cede my time back to the chair
that Council Member Bowen would like to speak.
Council Member Bowen, please.
Yeah, so I am trying again to work towards a resolution.
I've been trying to work towards a resolution
since this started.
And I hear what Council Member Bolte is saying,
that he, I mean, we can play around with the words,
but factually the report findings have been adopted. We just went over that and
you have expressed that you don't want to admonish them for gender bias because
you don't believe it to be true. Whatever reason it is that you don't want to
admonish them for it, you don't want to admonish them for it. So if that's why
So I'm if because I want this to be able to end I am willing to have you include that
we will not admonish for the last finding and that we are admonishing and disciplining
for the other three but that needs to be included so that we can be accurate because that's
actually what is happening.
We cannot go back and say we are now changing our mind about what we accept and don't accept.
That's not what we're doing here.
You want to edit it to say that we want to be able to discipline for three of the four
things.
I'm asking that if we're going to do that and I would be willing, even though I believe
with every fiber of my being that it did occur and continues to occur and we can have a whole
long conversation, maybe a little retreat just you and I, we could talk about all the
ways that it shows up yeah it'll be great and but it needs to if we're going
to actually do this then we have to do it right because that is what is
actually happening councilmember bolt coming to you I will accept that if we
just add based on new evidence now there is for me there is and and I get it we
cannot have it but for me we've heard evidence we've had people tell us they
didn't say very careful because when you say we who is the we okay so I'll go
back to the vice or the former mayor was very open in a public forum saying I
did not say those words. Okay. So that was in the report. She's not quoted in that report, so I
think we need to be very careful about why we interpret that. That's part of creating the body of work that says
they're gender bias. And if you pull one, if you just start pulling the threads and people are
saying no I didn't say those words how can I admonish them for things that I'm
knowing in the report are now told no I didn't say that I did not say those
words and for me if we're willing to acknowledge why okay yes I said it I'll
I'll say it again.
When I first read the report, it's disgusting.
It hurts.
It's wrong.
All of my parts were right.
I was willing to accept everybody else's,
because I didn't ask no questions of anybody.
And I still didn't after, because I
was told you can't go do your own investing.
You can't ask, you know, once we had the report,
go ask someone, did you say this or say that.
I followed the rules.
But then I had people come to me and say,
this isn't 100% real, Dylan.
And then on top of that, you have public setting.
That's just not behind closed doors.
Now you've got a public setting from a dais saying,
I didn't say those words.
So with that, if we're not willing to acknowledge
that the information that came after,
I'm willing to accept what's being presented
if we can acknowledge why.
Because I don't want it to say we are not willing
to admonish or discipline council members
who have a gender bias.
That doesn't work for me.
So if we can do that part, then yes, I am amenable to that.
I'm a little bit confused though by the answer
because I think what you're basically saying is
you're not willing to do what she has proposed.
If we add the-
Sorry, just-
Just if we add with the new information,
that's all I'm asking, is it where,
because I get what Council Member Bowen is saying,
she's saying, hey, look,
I know you don't even wanna say these words,
but you're really trying to work here, I get it.
And you're saying, like, look, we accepted this.
And I did.
I accepted it.
I'm taking it on the chin right now.
And we're not gonna discipline based on what we found
or what this investigation report has told us.
But I don't want it to period end as if we're not willing to
because I am willing to if I believed it.
Once I decided that this has gone too far
and too many people have told me that,
I am not willing to accept it.
but I don't want to go back and re-accept the report
and go through this whole process again.
Okay, well, I'm gonna say a little bit
about investigative process.
You can always keep investigating, keep investigating,
keep investigating, keep investigating.
At some point, you just have to stop an investigation.
And I am aware of two sources of disagreement,
one being the comment by the former mayor,
and one being the union representative
that came here and spoke.
I'm not, I am personally not aware of lots of other people
saying that there's a challenge with the report.
So if there are other challenges,
I just need to be clear, none of that's been presented to me.
And this is what I did for a living,
so I would expect that I understand
how to balance all that information.
It's important for the public to realize that the standard,
I think it's written actually in the report,
it's a preponderance standard.
More likely than not, it's like 51% to 49%.
It's not this absolute truth that you know with certainty.
That's not the standard.
So that's why I'm struggling some.
So I'm going to come back to Councilmember Bowen at this point in time.
If we look at the resolution, the entire first page of the resolution outlines what occurred.
So we, according to our own process, did not do our own investigation because I could also
bring forward many other people that have actually shared many things with me about
experiences they've had with members of this council that actually refute some of the things
that you say your folks said, but that's not what we're basing it on, right?
We're basing it on the findings.
And so I'm just trying to work.
We could not go forward with the discipline process
until we completed the investigative report
and accepted the findings.
And that's where we're at.
And so, you know, it's like,
whereas Vice Mayor for the findings applicable,
whereas, you know, we started the investigative report,
whereas in January 5th,
San Leonardo could still waive the training client privilege,
whereas in January 20th,
the council adopted the investigative report
and all the findings.
And so if we're not going to accept all of the findings,
or we're not going to admonish based on the findings,
we just have to say that.
That's all I'm saying, and that's literally what's doing.
I'm just asking us to include in the language
what is happening.
Okay, so at this point in time,
we have a motion by Council Member Bolt
with a second from Council Member Simon.
And that is to adopt the resolution as it's written
with the exception of on the top of page two under paragraph parenthesis c
close parenthesis that that paragraph would end with the words a female
employee to treatment unbecoming of a council member period please vote if you
agree with that all those are in and the motion fails with three no votes
and two yes votes with councilmember Aguilar excluded councilmember Simon
okay so to try to help move this along and I'm gonna ask the question because
and then we're going to need council approval to do this is I do believe our
city attorney can help us here if we provide him direction right now to help
us we're stuck as you see we've had two motions back and forth we're stuck and I
and you helped draft this language and I do believe it's fitting I do believe
it's appropriate for the city manager to give us some input to try to help
resolve this and I would like to see if we can get council approval to have the
the city attorney allow us to provide his input with some language that could
meet all sides so I have a motion from councilmember Simon a motion from
councilmember Simon that council direct city attorney to craft some language for
us tonight right now on the fly just like we're doing we're doing it as
council members our city attorney I'm asking that he could provide a few words
to help us I've seen it done before so that's why I'm asking so that's the
motion vice mayor well I'm not seconding the motion is there a second for the
motion for lack of a second the motion dies vice mayor back to you thank you I
would like to bring back to the table which I would be amenable would be
Council Member Bowen's suggestion that would include that would include looking
at the reso that would include the Council Member Bolts at it on section C
Pete on section one sub bullet C on the behavior and becoming of a council
member but also including the language that the councilmember Bowen included. I
would be amenable to that as long as the resolution at a minimum reflects that
that the report the resolution does not include all the findings from the report
Okay so there's a lot there so I'm gonna try to take it in pieces. As currently
written on page one it says the City Council adopts the investigation report
and all findings pertaining to Councilmember Aguilar in the investigative
report. So are we that's currently what it says that I'm just reading the
language, I think. Okay. Are you suggesting that instead of it saying that that it says
City Council finds as follows because it's no longer the investigative report, it's our
findings and that it say A, B and C where C is the amended Council Member Bolt. Suggestion?
at whether we should add a number where Section 3 is or hold on. That's Section 2, a new
number 2 so everything 2 would become 3, 3 would become 4. That Section 2 would be that
council does did not include or this resolution is not inclusive of all the
findings of the report period because that would reflect what actually is am
I capturing it so so what I understand what you're saying you're saying
basically it's not gonna include everything but I'm still struggling with
the beginning so if I look at the now therefore the city council adopts the
investigation report and all the findings are you saying that that would
be struck and and replaced with the council adopts some of the fight for the
purpose of this discipline the council adopts some of the findings no cuz the
council adopted the findings it's just what I'm trying to figure out it's just
I'm saying that the, that what, okay, I see where you're going with this now.
So then it shouldn't live in Section 2.
Let me take a minute and come back because I do, I think I have it, but I need to look
through it.
In the end, what I'm seeking to do is make a very clear distinction between what is in
investigative report of which is to be silent that's fine but there's what's
in the investigative report and there's a council action that has adopted the
investigative report apart and separate from that is what council may choose to
consider tonight as it formulates discipline so I will go to council
member Bowen yeah I just want to clarify a few things again this this draft we
We have throughout the course of this conversation, discussion spoken at length about both Councilmember
Agula and Councilmember Simon, but this is specifically about Councilmember Agula, and
so I had a follow-up question to Councilmember Bolt about what somebody who was not interviewed
that she said or didn't say,
that the person who was interviewed did say.
But does that mean, are you suggesting that
because of that there's going to be a disregard
of the findings of the investigative report
that did find Council Member Aguilar
to have demonstrated differential treatment
that is gender bias.
And I have a second question to respond
to what you just said, Mayor.
It's not a question, I'm just thinking out loud
because I just want to make sure we're not conflating
Council Member Aguilar and Council Member Simon
to just dismiss gender bias because of a conversation
or conversations that happened outside
the investigation and of our findings. And I think that's a fair point because
the two examples that have been raised are specific to councilmember Simon. Do
you have evidence councilmember Bolt that relates to councilmember Aguilar?
I'm sorry my apologies. Can you put your mic down please? Can you adjust your mic please? I'm willing to still sit in the position that I'm in. Once I hear a problem with a report how can I
knowingly move forward and just say yeah screw it you know I'm not I don't want
to fight I don't want to argue with people it's how I feel it is what it is
I can't accept things that I feel are not fair and in this position right now
I feel like that report has had some problems and so again it is what it is
It's how I feel I'm not willing to argue or fight over it. It's where we're at
Back to you councilman bone, please yes, and we are here tonight because we voted to again accept it and then
accept the discipline which is this resolution and so
I just want to clarify mayor you said or we can choose to stay silent or we can choose to change
You know at the findings or I can we actually do that city attorney?
Can you clarify, because I'm confused then
about what we actually adopted and why we adopted something
and can change it in this situation just for the process.
No, you can't change the findings of the report.
You've adopted the findings of the report.
Just to be clear, that report says what it says,
and it's adopted by the council.
What you're doing is, what are you relying upon for discipline?
and I know where you're going with,
okay, if there is an opportunity to say
that we are going to discipline based on conduct,
the report says what it says,
and you've already adopted the findings report,
but you're going to do something, you're gonna discipline,
that's what I think you're trying to say
to Councilmember Bolt is that we're,
okay, if that is the case,
then we are not going to admonish or condemn
based on that particular finding,
but the finding still exists.
I mean, that's essentially what I'm hearing.
Next we come to Vice Mayor.
So I'm rereading because I'm trying to insert,
trying to make this fit.
And I just would also like to point out
that the people doing the work on actually amending this
is still us. I know that you made a suggestion, but let's keep going. I'm just saying, let's
keep going. But when I am reading it, Section 1, that states what happened. So maybe instead
of adopts, is the City Council adopted the investigation report and the findings on January
20th. That's factual.
be yes and one of the things that we've been discussing if I may it's already in
the whereas right and so which is why I was thinking could we just strike one
and go straight to two but there was some pushback on that because it's in
the whereas we have adopted the findings right it is the third one of those
is fourth okay but also in the admonishments it actually does not
include gender bias so it the resolution as is already meets so why are why
didn't y'all adopted as presented by the council by staff or this version this
draft version because it already meets the your intent. The admonishment does not include
gender bias. It's not mentioned in B. It's not mentioned in A. So the admonishment does
not include gender bias. It only states the it only states the findings. So to leave the
resolution as is. So okay so let's do this because your mic's not on. I have no
problem with you guys kind of doing a little bit of colloquy but kind of get
your mic on so that there's a record of what's being said. Thank you. 100% I
agree. That's what I'm saying. Okay so from the beginning all I said is change
that part of C. It has been clear. So this is may I apologize but I think I'm
I'm trying to see if we can get agreement
because if I'm understanding you correctly,
you're saying if I look at paragraphs two
and they're sub points,
they say nothing about the specific findings involved.
And so you are fine with them from what I perceive,
paragraphs two and three.
And Councilmember Bolt is fine with them
from what I think I heard.
He's fine with paragraphs two and three.
So the only thing that's on the table right now
where there is any disagreement is paragraph one.
The irony of this, of course, is that paragraph one
is covered in the whereas already.
So you can see that therefore.
I don't have a problem with one.
What's the sub-point?
Some of the sub-points.
Yeah, but we did accept it.
I know, we did.
And that's what it's saying.
And I said this from the beginning.
only thing I want to change is the differential treatment reflecting gender
bias that's it I don't want to change it wasn't my suggestion to change the
admonishments or any of that but I as long as we're saying that if we're gonna
add that which councilmember Bowen wants I just suggest that we say hey the based
on this we're not, we're changing our idea. I would actually like to reclaim
some of my time since it was taken. Thank you. I appreciate that. I have a
question regarding any kind of responsibility or liability. If the
investigator comes back and says that's that not my finding on the resolution
does that expose us if we were to if we were to amend paragraph one section C
that is a finding that's not that's taking from straight from the report if
we change that because it says at the top of part one does that expose us to
anything from Jane, Miss Cowell?
Yes, the issue of course is that it's not what she found.
So, the paragraph one is a restatement of the findings
as to pertain to councilman Raghvelar.
That's from the investigation report,
that's already been adopted by the council.
Okay, okay.
I just don't see, I just don't see how
we can change section C without exposing us to risk, legal risk. I think the resolution
should stay as is. I think it reflects it's factually correct in terms of what we adopted.
The admonishments does not include that. So if that's the concern, I think the resolution
should stay as is. But Councillor Simon, please.
to address the concern of liability, a city attorney to trust the concern of liability
city attorney. How about modifying that first sentence, keeping it as is that first sentence
of item number one, and then putting a period and then put however, the council believes
on this day, semicolon, then we're not misstating the investigation report, we're making it
very clear what the council believes on this day, which is today that doesn't put it that
doesn't construe what the investigation report said. Would that fly city attorney to relieve
liability? City attorney. I do think that that is a direction that the council
could go to acknowledge that there's a they're having a discussion in whatever
the council comes to today is not changing the findings and that the
council is relying on something else. Again I think you're trying to find a
compromise of course but it's a it's a path that you could take certainly
because you're not changing the findings on the report and I wouldn't you're
I've been advising you you can't change the findings report the findings on the
findings all right so I'd like to make a motion for that item number one keep
that first sentence the same put a period at the end and then state however
the council believes on this day semicolon in addition go with council
member Bolts language that he had stated previously on item number C. That's my
motion. I'm looking for a second on that motion. Second. Okay we've got a motion by
council member Simon to amend paragraph one of the resolution. We leave the first
sentence as is on the first page and at the top of the second page the words
member Aguilar in the investigative report period or semicolon period or
semicolon period their new sentence okay however comma the council believes on
this day and then a B would be identical C would be modified to reflect the
previously numerous times discussed modification proposed by Councilmember
Bult. That's the motion and we have a second by Councilmember Bult. Motion by
Simon second by Bult. At this point in time we go into a discussion by
Councilmember Bowen. When we talk when we say C are we talking about on page two
where we are just recounting the findings of the report.
It is that point, however, given the modification,
what's being proposed is the phrase
that the council believes on this day,
as in today, whenever we vote,
that the new letter C is the correct description
of what the council believes today.
Did you wanna add?
But the language is literally just,
it just repeats what we already adopted.
Are we taking a vote to not adopt the,
to reverse the vote we already took?
No.
Then how can we change that language?
Because that's what we did.
We adopted all of the findings.
What I hear the motion to be
is that the findings were adopted
and the city council adopted the investigation report
and all the findings pertaining to councilmember Agalar
in the investigation report, period.
The next, what I understand councilmember Simon is saying
is that however, this is part of the resolution on this day,
A, B, and modified C, that that's the basis
for the discipline and the admonishment and condemnation.
So it does not change, it accepts the findings
report and decides that the council is going to discipline based on A, B, and a
modified C. You could say that the council relied on the
report and on this day it's relying on these particular statements. Let's not
call them findings now at this point it's A, B, and C these statements because
you already adopted the findings in the investigation report and the council has
identified that what that means is that the findings of gender bias in the
investigation report continue exists however the council is saying A we're
taking discipline on A we're just to take discipline on B and on a C admittedly
is different from the finding in the investigation report but it doesn't
change the finding. The findings have been accepted already.
Does that clarify? No. In section 3 in accordance with family and administrative code and this
resolution referencing the investigative investigation reports we
hereby admonish for these things should it not be in that portion because the
first person again just reflects the findings of the investigation and that
we adopted it. If we're going to say we accept the findings we're just not going
to follow through with the findings which I disagree with. That should be in
section 3 because section 3 actually is what outlines what we acknowledge of the
findings. And if I may, because paragraph one says nothing about reliance. So
there's nothing to change in paragraph one and that there is nothing about
reliance. The only place that the report is explicitly referred to with respect to
reliance as councilmember Bowen points out is in paragraph three at the second
line where it says comma referencing to the investigative report comma the city
of San Landro hereby admonishes that that that it's actually not in paragraph
two are we reading that correctly I'm gonna come to you city attorney yes
that's correct okay so I think what councilmember Bowen has pointed out is
that it is not accurate or correct or really not the right place to make the
change up here in paragraph one what the clarification should be is in paragraph
three where the council says instead of referring to the report the council says
based on the following a B and modified C we admonish or we would straight when
this would admonish is that correct customer bone you feel comfortable that
description yes I think thank you I'm gonna go to vice mayor please okay so
So I'm gonna resurrect the mayor's,
I'm gonna hybrid the mayor's suggested edit.
I do not believe that on this day
there was not gender bias,
that's something I'm not going to concede.
However, I think what we,
Section 1, first line, the City Council adopts
the investigation report and all the findings pertaining
to Council Member Aguilar in the investigation report.
I know that we would like to include,
I would like to have the findings included,
but the Mayor did suggest eliminating A, B, and C
since the first part of the sentence just states what we did
and the fourth whereas also references all the findings.
It's not ideal, but it doesn't change the findings
of the report and it doesn't recharacterize them
in a way that is more palatable to people.
I think that the findings stand on their own
and they should stay as is,
and I do not feel comfortable changing them.
So would that be something that you would be amenable,
Council Member Bowen, ensure that we keep fidelity
to the findings and state that we adopted all the findings
both in section one of the resolution
and in the fourth whereas,
but not amend any of the finding language
and just delete it, delete A, B, and C.
It's not ideal, it's not what I would want,
but at least it doesn't change the language of the findings
to recharacterize gender bias
as behavior and becoming of a council member.
Yeah, I'm just pausing because I am just,
It really should not be this hard to acknowledge that something occurred.
And I recognize that we can choose who to believe, and fundamentally, the choice is
to not believe what I experienced and how I've shared that I experienced it.
And that's, you know, anybody's prerogative.
but that's fundamentally what is happening.
And of the other women and men that were interviewed,
those accounts are not believed.
And it is, I am glad that I at least tried
to amplify why it is so important to speak up
and to share so that it can stop.
And it saddens me that we cannot even acknowledge,
And that's all we're asking that maybe it happened.
And the reality is the impact could be harmless,
but it still occurs.
But the impact could also harm, and it still occurs.
And everybody watching this and everybody that goes back
and listens to this, it is, I think,
a very unfortunate occurrence that it had to be this hard.
And I'm going to have a lot of conversations
with a lot of people about why you still have to keep trying.
I am willing to not name it, even though that
is the important part of it.
And I recognize that Council Member Aguilar has not named it
and may never name it.
but in that case, the last part of this center,
of this resolution.
Furthermore, the city of San Leandro,
city council does resolve that council member Aguilar
must refrain from continuing and or repeating
the behavior described herein and in the investigation report.
And the council expects that he seeks training
and education that would help him to refrain
from such behavior in the future.
So whether or not you would acknowledge it,
I'm begging you to just stop the behavior.
If that means to not engage with me
because you can't recognize what you're doing,
I just need to find a way for the behavior to stop.
Someone come back to Vice Mayor, your mic is still live.
Are you looking to do this in the form
of a substitute motion or a friendly amendment?
What are you thinking?
Didn't the motion fail?
There's no motion on the floor.
I thought there was, we didn't take a vote.
was a motion and a second but we didn't take a vote on that motion did we? We did? I don't
think we took a vote on that motion. I'm not sure. Correct. Councilmember Simon's motion
we have not voted. You seconded I think his motion. Check my notes here. Right by Simon
and bold. So my question to the person with a floor, Vice Mayor, because we have a motion
on the floor, you either need to work with the motion maker to amend the language or
you just go to a substitute motion. Does it matter to me? Or you can remain silent if
you want to.
I actually would like the maker of the motion to make this amended motion. I think that
That would speak to adopt the findings.
I do not want to do a substantive motion.
I think the original maker of the motion and the seconder should adopt what we just agreed
to here.
As yeah.
Okay council member bolt.
I can remove my second in a procedural motion here and I'm willing to do that.
Okay.
different second for the original motion by councilmember Simon okay seeing
then the motion dies for lack of a second at this point time what I will do
is I will propose a motion the motion is that we take the existing resolution as
drafted with one exception and that is that at the top of page two at the very
top of page 2 first line the sentence that ends in the words member Aguilar in the investigation
report that has a period placed right there. Everything thereafter is struck until we reach
the existing paragraph 2 and then we continue in accordance with the San Leonardo administrative
code. So it's just eliminating the A, B, and C. That is my motion. Second. Councilmember
vote I second that okay so we've got a motion by Gonzalez and a second by bolt
some discussion on this councilmember Simon just so I'm clear can you repeat
that one more time please certainly so we've got we're going to take them the
resolution as drafted we're going to turn to page 2 at the top of page 2 the
last six or five words on the top of page at the very top of page to read
member Aguilar is in the member Aguilar in the investigative report we will put
a period right there a B and C sub paragraphs are deleted they're struck
and then we continue with two three etc so that's the motion other discussion
seeing none please vote. All votes are in and the motion carries with five yeses
and councilmember Aguilar excused. At this point in time given the hour I think
we'd extended to 11 o'clock that was pretty intense I'm gonna recommend that
we take five minutes seven minutes I think we need a little bit of time to
to just decompress because that was a lot of brain power so let's take a break
until 11 but I'll need a motion to extend to some point in time vice mayor
I'll make a motion to extend 11 45 I really want to get this done tonight we
need to close this chapter we just need a power through I do I have a second to
extend council member Bowen yes please please vote oh yes please it's not
debatable sorry it's not debatable so we have 11 45 you can always vote no please
proceed to the vote all votes are in and the motion carries unanimously okay let's
take six minutes so it's just gonna be back here at 11 o'clock. Take a deep
breath. It's 11.02 we are back in session. Councilman Bolt. Are we to the next item?
Yes. Okay. I'm ready to make a motion to do the exact same thing that we just did
for councilmember Simons disciplinary that councilmember Aguilar. You've got
the motion so what I've got just as we're starting off we get that piece of
paper out so that I can take notes in case there are any changes. Okay so we've
got on the floor a motion by Councilmember Bolt turning to page two of
the resolution that line that paragraph number one at the top of page two instead of a colon
where it says member Simon in the investigation report that that would be replaced with a
period instead of a colon that a B and C would be struck. That's your motion. Correct. Do
I have a second on that council member that I'll second. So we've got a motion by council
Councilmember Boldt, seconded by Councilmember Aguilar with respect to what was just stated.
Are there any clarifying questions on this motion?
We'll begin with Councilmember Bowen, and then go to Councilmember Simon.
Thank you.
I'll just echo what I said in my last comments, but really want to emphasize that last sentence.
Furthermore, the City of San Leandro City Council does resolve that City Councilmember
Simon must refrain from continuing and a repeating behavior described herein and in the investigation
report and the council expects that he seek training and education that would help him
to refrain from such behavior in the future. And I would also ask that if you cannot do
so to please refrain from engaging with me at all because I refuse to continue to be
harmed. Thank you. Councilmember Simon.
and maybe some comments so a question just to make sure we're following the
proper protocol does the public get an opportunity to speak right now we're on
questions our process is to believe take questions public comment and then we do
council discussion we did a motion I'm just asking cuz I thought we were gonna
fly through it and be done so that's why definitely there's gonna be public
comment no matter what. Okay next again I will repeat as I said before I regret
regret that council member Bowen felt that I was biased I do not feel any
bias towards women and I will strive to improve my communication so as to avoid
hurt or bad feelings or any misinterpretation misinterpretation of my
intent and I do believe restor restorative justice mediation will help
men the gaps and empathy trust and respect between our council and I and I
would like to say maybe this is a first start of us having an open dialogue to
improve respect to each other in our dialogue tonight it's been tough but
we're getting there and there's going to be a lot more tough decisions and
discussions coming up in the future but I do want to say I took some notes
sorry about this oh okay I do want to say in both councilmember Aguilar's and
my resolution it states that council members shall treat all individuals
city staff and public with utmost respect and courtesy they shall engage
and open respectful and constructive debate valuing diverse perspectives and
I'm just going to say in council members Aguilar's discussion it really hurt me
and I think it might have hurt maybe I'm speaking for council member Aguilar to
laugh at my motion when I said at this day and then that was at 1042 p.m. and
then at 1051 p.m. laughing broke out again at what we were proposing and it
really did hurt and that is opposite of what we're saying that's not respectful
that's not constructive debate so I'm just asking what you're asking of us so
that everyone on this council follow I'm willing to do it but I'm asking that we
all look at ourselves and it did hurt to be laughed at. Okay so what I'm gonna do
here is I am gonna call on Councilmember Bowen ideally for questions because I do
want to get to public comment and then we can go back into colloquy unless there
are other questions so please proceed. Actually I'll just it was a it's gonna
it's a request but I can do it after the public comment. Thank you. Seeing no
other questions. Let's go to public comment on this item please. Mayor we
have received nine comment cards from in the room and there's presently one hand
raised online. Let's take the online hand. This is the time to raise your hand to
speak online. So you've got about 10 more seconds because we're gonna flag the
people that have their hands raised and then we'll come into the room. So who
will our public speakers be today online our online commenters include Lucas
followed by Melissa Wong okay so we will take those two public comments online
then we'll come to the nine people in the room please proceed online Lucas you
may unmute yourself thank you can you hear me yes thank you for taking my
comments. At last we have arrived at striking most of item number one. I feel all of item
number one was repetitive since it's already in the warehouse as the mayor mentioned. I'm
glad that we made progress by removing A, B and C. I don't think one was needed at all
because it was repetitive of the warehouse declarations. I mentioned my prior comment
that the council should adopt a more robust ethics code. I think in addition to that robust
ethics code as it relates in particular to the conduct of council members Simon and Aguilar.
Some of the alleged misconduct here happened at events sponsored by the city council. You
know, I'm referring specifically to the party and the drinks and the assault situation that
was mentioned in the report. And as I mentioned, maybe two or three weeks ago when I last called
And I think there should be a policy of the City Council where there is misconduct, where
there is illegal action, where there is council punishment or admonition of misconduct, that
the council members who take those actions reimburse the city and the public for any
funds that they spend, either discretionary funds or official funds or whatever this money
is called because the public should not be paying for trips or for parties or for travel
when the city council members use that money to break the code of ethics or break the law.
I think Aguilar, we should go after Aguilar and get money back from him if we sponsored
the corrupt trip to Vietnam or wherever it was.
And I think that if there was misconduct at this party where the council member was assaulted
and some of the council members played a part.
So I'm sorry to interrupt you, Lucas,
but that's several mentions to council member Aguilar.
And at this point, we are focused on council members Simon.
Thank you.
And the same for Simon, the same for Simon,
whatever role he played in that misconduct.
If public money was spent in the conduct of that,
that money should be-
Thank you, sir.
Your time has elapsed.
The next speaker is Melissa Wong.
Hi again. First Councilmember Bolt, thank you for being one who self reflected. It certainly shows
high value. If we strike in from misinformation at the very least from a former employee,
former mayor and union rep, does investigation yield the same findings? It should not and I
considered it as I previously indicated, it took all the misinformation to get the findings.
Ignoring these individuals sends a clear message
that they don't matter.
The report relied heavily on past officials, half
of the witness list, who may have
personal and financial interest.
They should not be more important,
but they were in the report and well-represented.
Equally damaging, and I want to emphasize,
they even chimed in on the female employee who personally
did not feel she was subjected to gender bias.
that's in the report, others spoke for her and the investigator went with it and into the finding.
Please don't do that. The investigator should have focused on relevant and thorough research
or do not call it factual and certainly not independent. I appreciate the attention to the
draft resolution tonight, but I wish we could have spent more time on the report, which had made,
I had major concerns early on, but we instead jumped into accepting the findings. We are left
with this agreement on fact checking afterwards. If it is not clear, I'm a woman and I celebrated
each and every day and I know exactly what I'm talking about. Thank you Mayor. That concludes
our online comments. We're closing online comment and coming in person and thank you all for having
waited. The first three speakers are Nancy Rafaloff, David Anderson, and Sarah Bailey.
Good evening again. City Council is a serious job. Is that better? Okay. Thank you. Good
evening everyone again. City Council is a serious job and a lot of hard work goes
into it. Communication with others is key to getting things done respectively and
responsibly. Fred Simon has worked tirelessly for our district and has
spent many personal hours doing local town meetings wanting to hear what his
constituents have to say. He takes the time to also bicycle ride various
neighborhoods to see if there are any visible issues that need to be addressed.
Fred has always been professional and never disrespectful to any women at
meetings or myself. The allegation of gender bias in this investigation report
had false findings which was pointed out by residents and Sheila Young. Please
reconsider these damaging this damage this damaging at accusation of Fred's
character Fred in my eyes is an honorable family man and the only thing
he's guilty of is being passionate about getting things done his district and and
city thank you very much thank you the next speakers are David Anderson Sarah
Bailey and Anthony Tejada. Good morning, I'd like to thank everybody for putting
in the effort to try to get this worked out to where it satisfies everyone. It's
really difficult being a public representative and I was really
impressed with Dylan tonight trying to make compromises and make this thing
work. Bauer and I applaud you for staying firm on what you were believing
that you had happened but I think there's still going to have to be some
constantly going on on how to work together. Fred is a passionate person. He
likes to get things done. You have a lot of passion too. I see that you're really
adamant about what you feel that's happened to you, but we just need to
learn to work together and I believe that you know could be a lot better and
like to congratulate the City Council on, I mean City Manager on her award last
week that I missed. So thank you guys again. Thank you. The next speaker is
Sarah Bailey followed by Anthony de Jada followed by Lacey Vaughn. Okay I had
some high and mighty words before but given everything that we've talked about
it sounds like the nitty-gritty is what needs to be addressed. So I refer you to
my statement during the consent calendar when I just told you that in addition to
Bowen's belief that Mr. Simon performs with gender bias.
I also have Baloo's statement who said,
Simon interrogated staff.
He was not respectful towards women like Marquesus.
And performer Mayor Cutter said that Simon undermines Marquesus
and that she noted that when Simon disagreed with men,
He did not question their experience.
Now Mr. Bolt says he is unable to recognize gender bias,
but he's sure it didn't happen here.
I wonder if Dylan Bolt understands
that Sheila Young refused to put in writing what
she said at that meeting.
And does Dylan Bolt understand that Fred Simon bullied Sheila
Young into saying she didn't say it?
Thank you.
Thank you.
The next speakers are Anthony Tahada, Lacey Vong,
and Lawrence Abbott.
All right.
Good evening.
We're all still awake.
Yeah, so I just wanted to talk to touch on Fred's character
and what I know to be him as just a model citizen.
When I look at the draft report in section three,
it talks about the characters of being open, respectful,
on discourse, collaborative, active listening,
all of that speak to Fred and who he is.
Every Saturday, he owes a District Four,
or the first Saturday of the month,
a District Four coffee and ketchup.
It's an ideal time for him to meet his constituents
and hear what's going on, what their take is.
To Karen Silva, who spoke earlier,
I would plus one her statement there
on a communication specialist and or mediation
being brought in, I think going forward,
that needs to be something that's more
of an explored concept and again with the code of ethics,
the disciplinary steps, I think what tonight's process
kind of showed is that there's really no optionality
that's there, it's kind of this one pathway
into an investigative report being conducted.
So the city should really start to look at other avenues
that could be explored versus going down that route
and building in some optionality.
To the whole Sheila Young thing,
I think she went on record.
She was in the San Leandro Times.
If she had any issue with what was being said,
she would have, I'm assuming, made an issue
about her wording being misconstrued in a public setting.
So I've gotta believe her at her word
in her exact statement that she said.
I did not say that at all.
It's in bold text, San Leandro Times, from February 5th.
And again, timing of this, the investigative report,
I think it was just accepted
without necessarily going through a full due diligence cycle.
So lessons learned in the future.
I'm glad that we got to section 1A through C being eliminated.
Again, it's just repetitive to what's already there
in the whereas section.
Thank you.
The next speakers are Lacey Vong, Lawrence Abbott,
and Tondaleo Smith.
My name's Lacey Vong, and I walk this world as a woman.
and tonight I am deeply disappointed in the comments
around what we are calling gender bias.
I'm disappointed that we are questioning
an independent professional investigation that was adopted
and introducing things that are outside of the process.
The second item regarding Councilmember Simon
is equally distressing to those of us who believe
in the dignity of office.
Public officials are entrusted to act truthfully
to provide accurate information in all communications.
When that conduct falls below reproach,
especially involving retaliation against a colleague
in their vote, it undermines public trust.
It erodes the integrity of our local government on here.
And we all have the right to come to work
and be free of harassment.
Failing to execute the discipline already approved
creates a precedent where adopted findings,
including confirmed instances of retaliation and gender bias,
remain unresolved despite the completion
of the formal investigation.
By following through to the disciplinary action
that you've already discussed previously in January,
you provide clarity and closure to the community,
but also city staff on this.
Please take action.
Thank you.
The next speakers are Lawrence Abbott,
Tonda Lejosmith and Deborah Acosta.
Yes, I disagree with the previous speaker
because I feel like we should question independent reports
when new information comes out and when witnesses step forward
in the newspaper and explain that they were misquoted.
And I think that's good enough reason
to do exactly what is happening here.
The process is amazing and is really heartwarming.
And one other thing that really upsets me,
though, is that the process, it just seems really wrong
that the accuser gets a vote.
but the person being accused has to remain silent.
I mean, in what court of law does that happen?
That's just, so hopefully you guys will correct that
in the future and this kind of injustice,
unjust system won't go on in the future.
But moving forward, I really believe that there is
room for improvement for everyone and for communication
and that I really hope we move from, you know,
being united against hate and being a city where kindness matters, to a city council
where we all try our best to make life wonderful for each other, because if we really care
that much about each other, the whole process will always run way better and people will
apologize more to each other.
Thank you.
The next three speakers are Tom DeLeho Smith,
Deborah Acosta, and Cat Whelman.
Not seeing Tom, I guess Deborah Acosta will step to the dais.
Two things can be true at the same time.
A council member can feel wronged.
He can disagree with the findings.
And he can have supporters who believe
he has been treated unfairly.
And we've heard many of those tonight.
And yet this council can still have a duty to enforce
its adopted decisions and move forward.
An independent investigation was conducted.
The report was publicly released.
The council voted to adopt its findings.
That is process.
A following item on tonight's agenda,
item 10D makes clear that at least one member
wishes to continue revisiting the legal
and procedural aspects of this matter,
both privately and publicly.
At some point, this cycle must end.
Disagreement does not require re-litigation.
Dissatisfaction does not require repetition.
When a completed investigation and adopted findings
are continually pulled back into debate,
the council remains tethered to grievance
instead of governance.
That affects everyone.
Staff time is diverted.
Policy work is delayed.
Public confidence erodes.
This resolution is about closure.
Approve it.
Affirm that standards apply and make it clear
that once due process is complete,
this council moves forward.
This cycle must stop.
Govern.
Thank you.
The next speaker is Kat Willman.
Thank you.
Sorry to speak because I know it's very late.
One of the most important things that I think was said
was by Council Member Bowen when she said,
if you don't walk this world as a woman,
you may not understand it or know it.
And she also wants the behavior to stop
and is very interested in training.
But here's the thing, especially for Council Member Simon,
All of the accusations were made about what happened
during public meetings.
It is so important for this entire council
to be involved in this education and training
so that they can learn how to advocate
for what they believe in in a respectful way
so that people do not feel harassed or retaliated against.
And we certainly don't want to chill the advocacy of any
of the members of the city council.
they should be able to speak on behalf of the constituents,
but it can't be solo training.
This is something that we need.
Relationships and effective councils
are built on reciprocity and respect.
We urge you to prioritize the path forward
that fosters collaboration, accountability,
and mutual respect.
Our community deserves a council
that works together to solve problems,
not one that becomes divided.
So I really hope that you will think about next steps
and how to move forward in a very positive way.
And I think it involves the entire council
and I urge you to consider hiring
a professional communications specialist.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
That concludes all of the comment cards from in the room.
Okay, so we'll close public comment.
We currently have a motion on the floor.
I'm gonna find my notes on who made the motion.
was councilmember bolt and the second came from councilmember Aguilar thank
you so I have a motion by councilmember bolt also councilmember Aguilar so is
there further discussion at this time councilmember Simon yeah I just want to
make one more comment here we've had a lot of good input from the public from
my colleagues so we can get better going in the future but just the process we
heard about this investigation report in independence and I don't agree that
it's independent but one thing I want to talk about is we have to carefully
choose our witnesses and I'm just going to read something from the 2024 report
on this matter carefully choose the witnesses and this is cutter who was
referenced and a number of times tonight and it's it says right here under
credibility. Cutter is a reliable witness, but is given little weight in
the findings. She showed hostility towards Simon. So I just want to hold
on. You're out of order. So I'm a little concerned because that investigator had
a certain experience, a certain duration, a certain time frame, and that's not
issue here we do not you need to talk to the investigator in this particular
report and the amount of time and whatever was involved so I'm not quite
sure why we're talking about a different investigation and you're
characterizing a witness can I actually come to legal counsel on this because
this seems out of order I'm gonna get the parliamentarian's perspective on
this so first of all I just want to be clear that the selection of witnesses is
completely up to the investigator and I don't want there to be any suggestion
because there isn't and it's not true that there was any selection by the
council who commissioned the investigation who the witnesses should be
the investigator chooses who the witnesses are and determines the
relevance of the investigator the relevance of the witness's statements.
Okay my question hold on my question is what we have agendized before us is a
resolution right with respect to discipline based on the report that was
issued in October of 2025. Councilmember is addressing a report of different
allegations involving a different complainant that's not the reported
issue so I'm just asking is that appropriate given our agenda item if it
is we can proceed but I just want to make sure no it's got to be it should be
on this particular report and this resolution that's before the council
all right I'll wrap it up just to clarify that 2024 report is referenced
in this current report. It is referenced in the very beginning. So I'll let the rest of
it go. But I have concerns about witnesses. That's all my comments.
I believe, but I will look while this continues. I believe that she said that she did not rely
on that report. So the fact that it's referenced, I'm not quite quite sure what the relevance
of that is to our discussion here. I'm going to go to Councilmember Bowen.
Thank you, Mayor.
I have I appreciate that at certain points of the discourse tonight, whether it was the
last item or this item, I think I heard Councilmember Simon acknowledge that some actions were
taken that could have caused harm.
I would ask, in an effort to be able to really pass this resolution with any meat, there
has to be, to me, and something that's incredibly important, a certain level of honesty.
And one of the things I really want to address is this notion of half-truths and innuendos
and statements that could be purposefully,
that are misconstrued in a purposeful way.
I believe that Council Member Simon can,
and I want to make sure I can stick to this.
And if I can, and let me know if I need to stop.
But again, many of these things happened in public
and many of us have tried to acknowledge
and I have emails and text messages
and plenty of information that I can share
to refute many of the things
that Council Member Simon has said.
So if tonight he truly means when he says
that he wants to work towards resolution to move forward,
if he could refrain from continuing to disparage
or share things that are untrue,
if it would be better to just not share anything at all.
I also do want to acknowledge
that if there are efforts to relitigate,
whether it's in comments
that have to be taken off the table,
that as somebody that has been going through this
for the last year is a difficult thing to have to hear
because it asserts that what I experience
and what I say to be true is not true.
And I just would ask for Council Member Simon
to stop doing that.
Okay, I don't see any other comments.
I do want to make just a couple of quick comments of my own
then we can move to a vote.
I am disturbed by references to
side conversations that sound like an investigation of the investigation. I'm
disturbed primarily because there's lots of information that I think is not
wasn't considered by the investigator. An investigator inherently has to limit the
amount of time that they spend subject to getting a report done and the like. I
think this investigation was very thorough from my perspective and so I
have no problem accepting the findings of the investigation.
The second thought that I'd have is that I do believe
that on this council,
because this has been such a difficult time,
we need to find a way to dial back
our own personal sensitivities.
That not everything is intended to carry malintent.
Sometimes we're just doing things to try to keep things
moving along, keep things in order.
Sometimes we're just trying to be nice to each other,
and it feels like somehow there's some hidden message
in the words.
So I want to come back to we individually own that.
It's going to be upon each of us to just try
to see the best intentions in what people are doing.
And the last thing that I'll end with
is it does not help when there are apologies
that are not really apologies.
You can apologize, you apologize for your own actions.
You don't wanna apologize for how someone else feels.
You don't say I'm sorry that you felt that way.
Then you say you're sorry.
I would say I'm sorry, Council Member Bowen,
that I did something so that you felt that way.
You don't want to apologize for her feelings.
When I make mistakes, I go in and say,
hey, that was my mistake, I own it.
And that I think is a critical part of this
is for whatever it is that we're willing to accept
when we make mistakes and that we adjust
and we keep growing.
Seeing no further discussions, I'd like a vote on Councilmember Bolt's motion that was
seconded by Councilmember Aguilar to take the resolution as it's currently drafted,
but on page two of that resolution, to put a period at the end of the second line of
paragraph one, member Simon in the investigation report, colon becomes a period.
The letters A, B and C are struck from the resolution.
Please vote.
All votes are in.
And the motion carries unanimously.
I believe councilmember Simon is excluded.
So five yeses.
So at this point in time I'm looking at that clock.
We have approximately eight minutes left.
I'm not sure there's a willingness on the council to extend but here is my proposition.
decision. Let's see if we can build consensus. I believe that 10D will be a quick one insofar
as we have existing legal advice. And so the question on the table for 10D is yes, no.
Do we accept existing legal advice? So I think that that can quickly go to a vote. I'm assuming
not have a lot of comment. I do believe that 10C will take a while, but council are you
willing to take 10D first? Is there any opposition to that? Okay council member Simon.
10D if I can, I will remove that request if I'm able to do that.
I'm sorry 10. 10D.
So I'm saying I'd like to address 10D. So when you say you move it, you say we're going
We're gonna take it now. I'm trying to remove it. I'm saying what I don't know the term for eliminate
You're withdrawing your request drawing it. Yes, and it's just done. We're not gonna ever ever talk about this again. Yes, okay
So then we will strike item 10 D from the agendas having been a withdrawn by councilmember Simon
so
Shall we start the discussion before we extend the time or how would people like to proceed?
councilmember Aveda's Walton
Vice mayor my apologies
So I
Do have a short I don't have any questions, but I do have just on what has happened
I do have kind of a position on the restorative justice on Tennessee
So I guess my point is again
Do we want to extend this meeting because I think that?
I'm just getting no
So there's not going to be the votes to extend the meeting just by the head nods
I'm willing to do it, but it doesn't sound like we have good. Yeah. No, it's good. I think it's definitely
It's we're gonna run out of time
so as a matter of
Procedure again, just kind of running through this I think that we can just
Hold on to second
so part of what we're trying to do is figure out what this does for our agendas that come next to just so not have any
kind of
Confusion or misrepresentation about how things will be handled given our other obligations one moment, please
So again, just so you guys understand a little bit of what the chitchat is up here
We're working through we have procedures for how we handle regular meetings as opposed to special meetings
This is an agendized item at a regular meeting. It's just a moment, please
Okay, so what we've determined at this point in time. This will be handled at our next regularly scheduled meeting
Which is which is April 6th?
Because we have a special meeting and
Then the subsequent meeting is NLC
March 16th, and so that meeting has been removed from the agenda
Okay, so we are adjourning and then we will be adjourning and in the adjournment this item would then go
to our next regularly scheduled meeting
Is there any?
Hold on
Please
So it'll be an adjourned regular meeting which will be then taken up at your next regular meeting. You will then
finish this adjourned regular meeting on
April 6th, and then you will
start
your April 6th regular meeting. That makes sense, it'll finish this. That does make sense.
So it will take place at our next on the date of our next regularly scheduled meeting
But not as part of that meeting. Yes. Okay councilmember. Oh, you were in there Simon
Just a clarification. Yes, please. Why can't we have it next week? I
Know it's not a regular meeting. But why not?
Why does it have to be a regular meeting?
adjourned regular meetings
Need to go at the beginning of the next regular meeting
It's an adjourned regular meeting. It's because you haven't finished the business of a regular meeting and
and so it precedes the next regular meeting date.
Does that make sense?
Because you have your regular meetings
on first and third Mondays.
The next week is a special meeting,
so the expectation is that for members of the public,
you're going to have a regular, it's a regular meeting day.
So a question, I think, from city managers,
can we just say we're putting this item on the agenda
of that day. Do we have to start with an item 10, then go to an item 1 with a new meeting?
That would be the adjourn regular meeting procedure. If you wanted to do that, you would
continue this item and then adjourn this meeting, but then you haven't finished. You're essentially
saying we're not going to finish the meeting on this. So I'm going to come to city manager.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor. City attorney, is it possible for the council themselves to make
a motion today to move 10C to the agenda of April 6th. Yes. That way we don't have
to repeat all of the items at the end. And so to do that we would move to continue
this item to the April 6th meeting. Okay. So Council Member Gallego? A motion to move
item 10C to April 6th. Thank you. To be a part of the regular scheduled agenda. Action
items. So I will second that motion. Any discussion? Discontinuation of public comment? Okay. Please
vote to continue this to that meeting in a regularly scheduled time slot. All votes are
in and the motion carries unanimously. Thank you. With that, it is 11 45 and we are
adjourned.