Patterson council hears options on accused mayor, votes to have staff draft statement
During a three-hour meeting Tuesday night, the Patterson City Council voted to put out a joint public statement addressing the alleged teacher misconduct by Mayor Dennis McCord.
About 90 people attended the Zoom meeting, with around two dozen of them speaking out against McCord and his reported behavior as a Patterson High School math teacher. About 10 others voiced their support for McCord, though most were via one-sentence emails instead of statements to the council.
McCord was accused in October of communicating with an underage student on Snapchat, the Patterson Irrigator first reported. No charges were filed, but a police report found he responded “Wish I was there” to a bikini photo the student sent.
Based on the allegations, the Patterson Joint Unified School District put McCord on unpaid leave as school board members conduct an internal personnel investigation. The Stanislaus County Democrats passed a vote of no confidence for McCord last week and asked him to step down as mayor.
Residents spoke out Tuesday night about their lack of faith in the mayor, noting that his alleged ethical breach with a student raises questions about his integrity and ability to make sound, honest decisions for Patterson.
“Why would I trust a man with the finances and the planning and development of our city?” Jake Ebner said. “Those are lesser matters when he has proven himself to be not trustworthy with a greater matter: our children.”
Eric Langstaff, another Patterson resident, said his family has been close to the McCords for many years, and he expressed his support for the mayor. He said the civilized course of action would be to wait for criminal proceedings before anyone makes a decision.
“I think what we need to do is practice a little patience and to let the court systems work this out,” Langstaff said. ”The truth will come out.”
While the discussion on McCord went on for about 90 minutes, the meeting also included financial updates, redistricting and other city matters.
Council hears its options
Both formal and informal options were presented to the council during the McCord discussion.
Censure, a formal condemnation of an elected official akin to a vote of no confidence, was one of the options city attorney Nubia Goldstein presented to the council Tuesday night. She said it would require a hearing and presentation of evidence, similar to a trial.
“It really is probably the strongest form that a council can (take to) hold each one of its own accountable for violations of some breach of ethics or policy,” Goldstein said.
Similarly, the council could also apply a reprimand. This also would require determining misconduct but would not rise to the same level as censure.
Informal options included the public statement or admonishment, which Goldstein says is more of a warning or reminder about ethical standards.
Council members Shivaugn Alves, Alfred Parham and Cynthia Homen all shared their views on the subject.
Alves, an employee of the school district who was the only council member to speak out publicly against McCord before Tuesday’s meeting, spoke again about how this has eroded public trust.
“There’s much to work on and to spend time improving our city is where our focus needs to be,” Alves said.
Homen said she thinks McCord should listen carefully to the residents’ complaints and noted that city business had been affected by the outcry.
“The council as a body has suffered great ridicule, with some believing the council is covering for the mayor and that we all should be removed,” Homen said. “I need to clarify that my silence in no way is a sign of support in this situation. I take the allegations made against the mayor seriously.”
Not a city matter
Parham disagreed with the other two council members, saying the matter concerned another agency and not the City Council. He believes city work was mostly being affected by the mayor’s absence, and not the impact of the allegations.
“I do not believe we will be judged unfairly by an issue that is not directly related to the governance of the city of Patterson,” Parham said.
He also expressed distrust in the people who have been regularly speaking out against McCord. “It makes me very suspicious as to intent in many cases,” Parham said.
Although McCord led the meeting, he did not speak on his own behalf or make any comment.
The council voted 3-0, with McCord abstaining, in favor of the public statement. Goldstein said staff would be presenting a draft at the next council meeting.
It is unclear whether more official action, such as a censure, can still be taken. The city attorney and clerk present at last night’s meeting did not immediately respond to request for clarification.
Removing McCord from office outright is not an option for the council. As an elected official, he would need to be removed via a recall vote if he did not voluntarily step down.
Kandace Weyhrauch, a Patterson resident and homeschool mom who has been leading efforts against McCord, is working to get this recall off the ground. The petition is under review by a lawyer.
“I’m extremely disappointed that no actual action was taken by the council,” Weyhrauch said. “Drafting a letter of their official statement is not really an action.”
This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 1:54 PM.
