Ceres City Council appoints new member. Why past ‘belittling’ behavior was discussed
After Mayor Javier Lopez compromised on his first choice, the Ceres City Council on Tuesday voted 3-1 to appoint John Osgood to fill the vacancy left by Couper Condit’s resignation.
Osgood will represent District 4 until after the November 2022 election.
Though saying Osgood shows passion for the community, Councilwoman Linda Ryno said she doesn’t agree with how he has spoken to some city staff and the council.
“I understand that he gets emotionally charged, but I still think that we have to respect people,” Ryno said. “We can get our point across without belittling or yelling at people. But with all of those comments, I’m going to say that my choice is Mr. Osgood because he demonstrated his interest in the city (and) his commitment by being at meetings either in person or Zooming.”
Osgood defended his behavior in past meetings, telling The Bee the United States was founded on challenging the government.
During the Sept. 27 meeting, Lopez told Osgood to “stop disrespecting the council by screaming at us” after he criticized the appointment process for commissions. In public comments June 28, Osgood also said Public Works Director Jeremy Damas disrespected him in discussions about incinerating trash and wasn’t “honorable enough to stand up and say, ‘He’s right.’”
“As an ordinary citizen, I’m allowed to chastise,” Osgood told The Bee. “I’m allowed to use words they don’t prefer. I’m allowed to use volume they don’t prefer.”
But as a council member representing southeast Ceres, Osgood said he does not need to act boisterously. The five-minute limit for public comment will not apply to him, Osgood said, and he can make council member referrals to request agenda items.
Changing the municipal code is one of his priorities, and Osgood said he wants to require planning commission members to be chosen per council district. He also expressed interest in adding specific procedures for appointing people to fill council vacancies.
Osgood, a 45-year-old truck driver and vice president of a company that recycles food-grade waste, added that he plans to run in the November 2022 election.
“My goal is (to be) the voice of the people,” Osgood said. “That seat does not belong to the person that’s sitting in it; it belongs to the people of the district.”
Ceres council passes on other candidates
Two other residents, recycling manager Daniel Martinez and business owner Mohinder Kanda, applied for the council vacancy. Both ran for Ceres Council in November 2020: Martinez ran to represent District 4, while Kanda ran to represent District 3. They respectively lost to Condit, who resigned in October, and Councilman Bret Silveira.
Lopez and Silveira voted to appoint Daniel Martinez, but their effort failed 2-2. Given how the council recently appointed Martinez to serve on the planning commission, Ryno said he should finish that commitment instead of moving to the council. Ryno did not make the same argument when she repeatedly voted to appoint planning commission chair Laurie Smith to fill the council vacancy left by Channce Condit earlier this year.
Meanwhile, a couple of residents raised concerns over how Kanda applied for the District 4 seat after running for District 3 a year ago. Kanda changed his voter registration address Nov. 2, per his application, and said he has lived in District 4 for 10 months.
Ryno and Councilman Jim Casey’s first attempt to appoint Osgood failed 2-2. But Lopez changed his vote after saying he wanted to avoid the council’s reputation of 2-2 split votes.
“I don’t want to go to a special election,” Lopez said. “I’m not going to waste the City Council’s time.”
Osgood could take the oath of office as soon as next week, per a staff report.
