Modesto mayor refuses to hold meeting over disciplining, dismissing city clerk
UPDATE: Councilman Tony Madrigal said he did not support holding a special meeting to discuss City Clerk Stephanie Lopez but said he provided dates that he would be available for such a meeting as a courtesy.
The Modesto City Council did not consider disciplining or dismissing its city clerk as expected Monday after Mayor Ted Brandvold refused to convene Monday’s special meeting, saying the council member who called for it did not follow the rules for holding the meeting.
Brandvold cited the city charter provision that states special meetings can be called by the mayor or by written request of four council members. He said Councilwoman Jenny Kenoyer did not do that by making her request by email stating she had the support of councilmen Mani Grewal, Tony Madrigal, Doug Ridenour and Bill Zoslocki.
The City Council has seven members, including the mayor.
“I assume there is no written request as required by the (charter),” Brandvold said just before leaving the meeting, adding a special meeting could be rescheduled if there were a written request with four signatures.
“Crazy, crazy,” Kenoyer said in response in an interview after the meeting. “I sent an email to him with everyone’s name on it. But he didn’t accept that.”
Kenoyer’s email to Brandvold notifying him that she was requesting a special meeting is dated Oct. 22. She said that gave him more than a week to raise any concerns before Monday’s meeting. She said Brandvold and Councilwoman Kristi Ah You, who joined the mayor in opposition, did not want the meeting because of the potential outcome for City Clerk Stephanie Lopez.
Councilwoman: Mayor is ‘playing games’
“They are playing games; he is playing games,” Kenoyer said. “He doesn’t like what he thinks the decision will be. He and Ah You think we are not treating the city clerk fairly, but we are.”
Brandvold and Ah You have said they do not believe Lopez is being treated fairly. This is the second time they have left a council meeting to discuss Lopez. They both left a Sept. 1 closed session meeting regarding the city clerk.
“Whatever the action that would have been taken,” the mayor said in an interview after Monday’s attempted meeting, “this is a serious issue and is going to affect an employee, and we need to make sure we do it right if we are going to be calling special meetings.”
Lopez is facing discipline or dismissal from her job because of an investigation over her city emails. The investigation identified about a half-dozen emails Lopez sent to three people that included public documents and-or comments critical of city officials, primarily then-City Attorney Adam Lindgren.
The investigation stated the city clerk sent documents before having them vetted by the city attorney’s office. But Lopez stated she was sending documents that clearly were public and in response to requests under the California Public Records Act.
Stockton attorney Mike Dyer, who represents Lopez, has said the critical comments were an expression of the frustration Lopez felt in being hindered from doing her job because Lindgren was not always at City Hall. He commuted from the Sacramento area.
City clerk claims retaliation
This is not the only investigation involving the city clerk.
The city brought in attorneys last year for an investigation of Lopez’s allegations that she had been mistreated by Ridenour, City Manager Joe Lopez (who is not related to the city clerk) and Lindgren, including that Ridenour made crude sexual gestures.
The investigation found no wrongdoing except that Ridenour had called Lopez, 60, and two other female employees the “mayor’s girls.”
Lopez has said she never wanted the investigation (Ridenour called for it) and it was retaliation by the city manager and Lindgren who saw her as a whistle-blower for sharing concerns and information with the mayor regarding “questionable expenditures, overspending/extension of contracts, purchasing practices, costly legal services, etc.”
Those allegations were restated in a claim Lopez and her attorney, Mike Dyer, filed Monday against the city seeking $1.5 million. A claim can be the precursor to a lawsuit.
Monday’s special meeting was scheduled to be held in closed session. But Lopez and Dyer requested that it be held in public, which is what public employees facing discipline or dismissal can request.
The outside attorney representing the City Council in this matter, Phil Wright, and Dyer had been engaged in settlement talks in an attempt to resolve this matter. Dyer said Monday those talks have resumed.
Brandvold also said in his interview that some council members were trying to rush this through because it was their last chance before Tuesday’s election. The election will result in three to five new council members because they are not seeking re-election or are running for another office.
Job is safe for 90 days after election
Ridenour and Ah You are among those not seeking re-election. They are among the six candidates challenging Brandvold for mayor.
Brandvold said the city charter states the council cannot dismiss a charter officer, which includes the city clerk, for 90 days after the election of a council member. But Kenoyer said she believes that means after the council member is sworn into office, which typically takes about a month after the election and the results have been certified as official.
Kenoyer said she believes the current council still has time to meet again regarding Lopez. She said this matter has been going on for too long and at too much expense, and it’s time to conclude it.
The investigation is approaching nearly a year. Modesto reported in early September that it had spend about $96,000 on last year’s investigation and this investigation and expected more spending.
“We need to get this finished for the city’s sake, for her sake,” Kenoyer said. “She’s done something wrong, and we need to decide what needs to be done. It needs to come to some sort of closure for the sake of the city and for her.”
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 8:44 AM.
