‘Zero faith’: Patterson residents urge mayor to resign over harassment allegations
During the Patterson City Council meeting on Tuesday, several residents urged Mayor Dennis McCord to resign, arguing he should not hold political power because of allegations he acted inappropriately with high school students.
McCord, a 58-year-old math teacher at Patterson High School, chaired the meeting and did not respond to any of the public comments besides thanking community members and calling for the next speaker.
Some residents have called for the mayor’s resignation since the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department closed an investigation into his communications with a student on Snapchat, as first reported by The Patterson Irrigator. The department did not bring criminal charges against McCord, but the Patterson Joint Unified School District is investigating whether he violated district policy, board president Ryan Segoviano said.
Patterson resident Melissa Hamilton, who has a kindergartner in the district, said she wants her children to be able to respect city leaders. If McCord does not voluntarily resign as requested, Hamilton said she would support further efforts to remove him from office.
“I want my kids to take the same pride in this community as I do,” Hamilton said during the meeting. “I have a hard time encouraging them to do so when I know the person who holds the highest honor in this town has acted far less than honorable — horribly, in fact. I want my kids to feel safe in this place we love so much and call home.”
Voters elected McCord as mayor in 2020 with 52.6% of the vote in a three-way race after electing him as a councilman in 2014 and 2018. As of Wednesday, roughly 450 people have signed a petition asking McCord to resign from both his mayoral office and his teaching job.
Kandace Weyhrauch, who started the petition and has led calls for McCord’s resignation, criticized him for responding “wish I was there” to a bikini photo a student sent him on Snapchat. The Sheriff’s Department obtained the Snapchat exchange through a search warrant, according to the police report. McCord allegedly told the Patterson High School principal he immediately deleted the photo and blocked the student, per the report.
“Based on the public opinion of those on Facebook within the community, Patterson has zero faith in your discernment and integrity,” Weyhrauch told McCord during the meeting. “You cannot properly lead Patterson without the faith of the community behind you.”
Patterson mayor says he cannot comment
The school district directed him to not comment on anything related to the ongoing investigation, McCord said in a text to The Bee on Wednesday. City Manager Ken Irwin likewise declined to comment on requests for McCord’s resignation. The subject is a personnel issue for the school district, Irwin said in an email.
No city official responded to concerns raised during the council meeting, either. Allegations against McCord were not on the meeting agenda, so officials could not take action Tuesday other than referring the issue to staff.
Roughly 20 people attended the meeting, with some listening outside the council chambers because the room reached its capacity per city COVID-19 rules. Eight of those people spoke on the misconduct allegations, including a woman who identified herself as a 2021 graduate of Patterson High School.
“I’ve had my own altercations with (McCord), I’ve made my own statements, and when I did, I felt that as though the school district brushed it under the rug,” the woman said.
She added people do not feel confident in McCord serving as mayor because of the allegations. Weyhrauch gave the city clerk statements from other current and former students who said McCord made them feel uncomfortable. Another woman read a couple statements in her public comments, including one saying he held a student’s hand and talked about his sex life.
Stewart Walker said his children attend Patterson High School and he would consider pulling them out of the district if McCord does not resign. Given the allegations, Walker said it is not right for McCord to hold the power of Patterson’s highest elected office.
“If we cannot trust our mayor to be a teacher and to provide security, safety and wellness to our children, then how is he able to sit in that chair?” Walker said during the meeting. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”
Parents speak on motivations
Weyhrauch previously told The Bee only one parent who called for McCord’s resignation at the school board meeting Monday had children enrolled in the district. The rest homeschool their children like she does, Weyhrauch said.
While Walker said he told his children he would homeschool them if a COVID-19 vaccine mandate goes into effect, he said the number of homeschooling parents calling for McCord’s resignation is coincidental. More people may be homeschooling because of COVID-19, Walker said.
Walker added he does not believe there is a relationship between homeschooling families calling for McCord’s resignation and his support of vaccines. McCord has supported COVID-19 safety measures, including a since-canceled requirement that people show proof of vaccination or a recent negative test result to attend council meetings in person. (Current rules require people sign a COVID-19 liability waiver and attest they do not have symptoms or participate remotely via Zoom).
“I know that his political views are different than mine, but I don’t hate people because of their political views,” Walker said after the meeting. “I can’t speak for anybody else (because) we all got a free mind (and) we live in America. But this was about his contact with children outside of school.”
Hamilton, who also called for McCord’s resignation and has a child in the school district, said other parents may be afraid to speak out against him. Others might not know what to say, Hamilton said. She added she is considering homeschooling her children, but not because of McCord.
The next Patterson City Council meeting is scheduled for Dec. 21 at 7 p.m.
Bee reporter Lydia Gerike contributed to this article.
