Turlock residents start petition about councilwoman’s residency. What’s their goal?
Roughly 140 people as of Wednesday have signed a petition calling on Turlock City Councilwoman Rebecka Monez to prove she lives in the district she represents, as required by law.
A nonpartisan group of Turlock residents started the online petition in early December, co-writer Catherine Doo said, and are calling on the city attorney to thoroughly investigate Monez’s residency, rental agreement and rent payment receipts.
The petition comes after more than a year of allegations that Monez does not live in District 2. Turlock resident Timm LaVelle filed a formal inquiry into whether Monez lived in the southwest district she sought to represent in October 2020, The Bee previously reported. Since then, some residents have alleged Monez lives outside the district at a house that property records show she purchased in December 2020.
Milt Trieweiler, who co-wrote the petition, said he plans to knock on doors to present the petition to his fellow District 2 residents after the holidays. Turlock municipal code, as well as state law, requires council members reside and be registered to vote in the district they represent.
“I’m working together with these citizens to see that an investigation of this matter is initiated so we get answers to the issues of whether or not the council member resides in their district,” Trieweiler said in a voicemail message to The Bee. “I’m just a Turlock citizen exercising my civic responsibility.”
Monez told The Bee in a Wednesday email the city attorney has verified her residency twice: once before and after the 2020 election. She did not immediately respond to a follow-up question regarding when specifically the city attorney reviewed her residency for the second time.
In early November 2020 after LaVelle filed the inquiry, Monez gave the city a notarized affidavit of residence and her rental agreement for a District 2 house, The Bee previously reported. The city attorney and city clerk’s offices determined no further investigation was warranted based on the provided information, said then-City Clerk Jennifer Land.
“My own elections attorney has also reviewed my residency and there is no issue,” Monez said in an email. “This information has been made available to those that continue to raise the issue, however they won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”
Turlock city attorney gives comments
City Attorney George Petrulakis, whom the council first appointed to fill the role on an interim basis in February, said he has not investigated Monez’s residency. But he has reviewed the applicable laws, Petrulakis said in a phone interview, and did not find anything that would justify spending more time on the issue.
Moreover, Petrulakis said a quo warranto application to the state attorney general is the appropriate process for questioning whether an official meets residency requirements. The Attorney General’s Office determines if there’s enough evidence to file lawsuits in superior courts to remove elected officials from office, The Bee previously reported. If the attorney general grants leave to sue, the court decides whether the politician unlawfully took elected office and can impose a fine up to $5,000.
The city also has not instructed him to investigate Monez’s residency, Petrulakis added. He begins major projects only at the city’s—usually the City Council’s — direction.
But Petrulakis said he does support people’s right to petition the government as outlined in the state and U.S. constitutions. The Change.org petition does not require people to publicly post their reasons for signing it or identify themselves as District 2 residents, however.
“It’s a little hard to evaluate the petition in terms of the local interest of the citizens of Turlock and most especially the people in the council member’s district that voted for her,” Petrulakis said in a phone interview. “I think that what is kind of forgotten sometimes in these situations is that the voters who voted for a particular person to represent them, their interests have to be considered, too.”
Monez won the 2020 election with 49.8% of the vote, beating incumbent Gil Esquer and fellow challenger Ruben Wegner who received 28.1% and 22.2% of the vote respectively.
Turlock residents and District 2 residents specifically are welcome to sign the petition, Doo said. Doo herself lives in District 3, but said she believes in the rule of law and Monez’s residency qualifications need to be investigated.
“Citizens have the right to ask for her to prove this beyond a shadow of a doubt,” Doo said in a phone interview.
The Committee for Fair Representation listed on the petition is a small group of concerned Turlock residents, Doo added. They have shared the petition by word of mouth and on social media so far. Besides going door-to-door in the future, Doo said, they will consider any outreach methods after the holidays.
The online petition also states people who signed will demand Monez’s resignation from the council if she does not sufficiently prove she meets the residency requirement. The most recent attempt to oust a Turlock elected official from office was a failed recall effort against Councilman Andrew Nosrati last year.
This story was originally published December 23, 2021 at 7:41 AM.
