After putting a vote to censure a fellow council member, the Cypress city council on Monday instead decided to scold the council member and refused to allow her to place another controversial item on the Feb. 14 agenda.
The City Council did manage to take care of routine business, setting rates for the soon to be opened Lexington Park, voting to make budget amendments, and learned that AT&T will be bringing fiber optics to several city neighborhoods.
Most of the meeting, however, was again engulfed by public comments and continued friction among council members, especially those upset with Council member Frances Marquez.
Council member Jon Peat had placed an item on the agenda to discuss a censure of Marquez for disclosing information from an executive session to the public. The information, cited Peat, was merely the Council member complaining about why they met without her, but still, should not have been disclosed.
“Since making the request, three weeks ago, I have had a chance to speak with members of the community,” said Peat. “Given the input I’ve received, my goal is to use this as an opportunity to discuss the importance of maintaining confidential information discussed in closed session meetings. I do not wish to request the resolution of censure brought against councilmember Marquez at this time,” he added.
Marquez said confidential should be kept confidential at all levels, complaining the city manager Peter Grant used confidential information to hold a meeting about something she said, without her.
“What’s pretty difficult is, you know, having a confidential conversation with someone, and having the city manager run with my confidential conversation and you guys holding a special meeting, and not informing me,” Marquez said.
“The City Manager works on behalf of me as well. And that is very, very upsetting,” she said.
During the meeting, which at times sounded like a legal deposition, Peat asked Marquez if, before she made assertions about the way the city handled the new agreement with Valley Vista, she took the time to ask city attorney Fred Galante about it first.
“I have a question,” he continued, turning to Galante. “I’d like to ask our city attorney: Mr. City Attorney did councilmember Marquez bring any of the concerns that she expressed at the meeting referenced by the city manager to you, for your consideration, before making the allegation that we are violating our charter and how we were processing the adjustments to the wage franchise agreement?” asked Peat.
“Mr. Mayor and council members,” said Galante, “in response to Councilmember Peat? No, I did not receive any [communications] from councilmember Marquez before she made a statement about the charter violation.”
“It’s one thing to not have the information,” said Mayor Paulo Morales. “It’s another thing to not inquire about the information. But it is clearly … another thing to allege that people are in cahoots,” said Morales.
According to Marquez, however, the city manager had told her, in writing, not to speak to anyone but him, thereby preventing her from getting more details about the dealings with Valley Vista.
“Mayor Morales, I just want to say, two and a half weeks ago, I received a letter on my doorstep telling me that from the city manager that I could not communicate with any city staff or ask them any questions,” she said.
“And then, I’m only to go through the city manager,” said Marquez. “That is, that is silencing me; that is stopping me from being able to represent the people that voted for me. And that, that’s an issue,” said Marquez.
Marquez said the “effective immediately” letter was hand delivered to her home on January 25 and instructed her to act “exclusively” through the city manager.
Morales tacitly admitted he knew about that letter, advising Marquez “that was done because of allegations that you made against myself against another council member,” he said.
“Those are allegations that, when you comment to someone, and your response to that is, ‘well, I didn’t file an official complaint,’ that’s a problem for us. The laws are written in a particular way when it comes to certain issues, just mentioning somebody, that other person that received that information has a responsibility to report it,” said Morales.
“And we are trying to work through all of that,” he said. “We’re not here trying to silence you, ask all the questions you want, just do it properly…appropriately,” the mayor said. “I just don’t get some of the questions you’re asking,” said Morales.
“Again, it’s not an issue of covering up,” he stressed.
Morales also complained that earlier in the meeting, Marquez thought the Council was voting on a budget, but it was merely a budget calendar. “All of that information was provided to you.”
“In my own defense, I’d like to disagree with the facts as stated,” said Marquez. “I certainly disagree with the way those facts are interpreted in a way that leads to conclusions of law,” she said.
Marquez, who holds a Ph.D. said she is not a lawyer, but has consulted attorneys with the proper expertise and complained the council has no due process protections in place, no opportunity to appeal.
The outspoken council member said while she was thankful for not being censured, she will wear the process as a “badge of honor.”
“I will not let it stop me from my obligation and the oath I made when I was elected to serve the best interest of the residents in Cypress,” said Marquez.
“Whether that means objecting to large trash contracts that were not vetted in any way and resulted in a rate increase of 32% for Cypress residents or how we respond by a demand letter from a voting rights lawyer threatening to sue the city of Cypress if it continues to drag its feet,” she said.
On this night, Peat held his most pointed barbs not for Marquez but for a community activist.
George Pardon, the founder of the Citizens for the Responsible Development of Cypress, has called the Valley Vista no bid contract extension “unconscionable.” Pardon asked Peat and Mayor Pro-Tem Anne Hertz-Mallari to recuse themselves from voting on the Valley Vista proposal, citing a conflict of interest.
Hertz-Mallari is the CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Anaheim Cypress and Jon Peat is the Chairman of the Board. Pardon claims the free service provided to the Boys & Girls Club, and donations from Valley Vista executives to various programs, should compel them to remove themselves from the voting.
Hertz-Mallari, under protest, did recuse herself at the last meeting but Peat refused.
Peat read from a letter received by the Fair Political Practices Commission regarding a complaint filed by Pardon against Peat and Hertz-Mallari. It was dismissed by the Commission, according to a Feb. 2 letter from the FPPC.
“A public official has a disqualifying conflict of interest in a government decision if it is reasonably foreseeable that that decision will have a financial impact on their personal finances or other financial interests,” Peat read from the letter.
“The facts and information in your complaint failed to establish that either Hertz-Mallari or Peat had financial interests that would have been affected when they made or participated in making decisions,” he added.
Pardon had no such complaint when he presented a donation to the Boys and Girls Club from the Los Alamitos Racecourse. “Mr. Pardon made no mention of any concern or possible conflict of interest between the Los Alamitos Race Course, the city of Cypress, Mayor Pro Tem Hertz-Mallari, or Council member Peat. Nothing. Not a word,” said Peat.
“The City Council voted to approve a park development fee deferral agreement with the Los Alamitos Race Course valued at over $1 million at its meeting on April 26, 2020, when Pardon was a member of the Board. And Mr. Pardon never raised any concern about a possible conflict of interest,” said Peat.
“Rather than debate the merits of the proposed changes to the waste franchise agreement, Mr. Pardon preferred to attack the members of the City Council of false accusations of conflict of interest and meaningless comparisons of the waste collection rates for residents in Cypress,” said Peat.
Pardon, who did not attend the meeting, said the park deferral fee mentioned by Peat had no relevance to the waste contract.
Citizens were again lined up to speak to the council, including Bob Youngsma, who told the Council if they spoke to his wife the way they speak to Marquez, “God help you.” In addition, he said it was frustrating watching the council doing proverbial back flips to muzzle the outspoken council member.
“She has a right to ask questions,” said Youngsma.
“The common complaint is that you’re not listening,” Marie Krekos told the Council. “Now you’re promoting secrecy. The constant harassment of councilmember Marquez is escalating to a point that you now want to shut her up because she doesn’t align with your club. Do you at all realize how terrible this all looks on your behalf?” said Krekos.