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Community Corner

Luia Alejo Assembly Bill 1795 is a bad bill

Watsonville voters put the power back into the hands of the people on Tuesday by eliminating the City Council's powers to pick a mayor, fill vacancies by appointment and name public places, passing Measures H, I and J by margins of almost 2-1.  The vote is a strong message of distrust towards the City Council and a resounding rejection of AB 1795 (Alejo) which attempts to control local Watsonville City politics.  

 

"Let the People Vote" gathered thousands of signatures for the ballot measures, well over the required amount needed to get the measures on the ballot.  With broad community support, many door-to-door walkers and non-monetary support by the California Senior Alliance, Measure H requires that City Council vacancies in Watsonville, a charter city with seven council districts, be filled by election insuring district representation and diversity on the council.       

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"We're very happy with the results," said Rhea De Hart, a leader in the "Let the People Vote" campaign. "The people have spoken. They have not only spoken, they have shouted."

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Assemblyman Luis Alejo introduced AB 1795 on February 18, 2014. The Bill’s intent is to amend Government Code (Sections) 1770 and 36512; specifically, “If the city council of a city that elects city council members by or from districts elect to fill a vacancy on the city council as a result of a city council member resigning from office by appointment, the resigning city council member may vote on the appointment if the resignation will go into effect upon the appointment of a successor.”

AB 1795 would create a state law that would allow a City Council to decide whether or not a particular resigning official can vote for his or her replacement.  It allows City Council majorities to manipulate the system. 

 

Assemblyman Alejo voted for his replacement when he left the Watsonville City Council for the Assembly and created the dynamic for his wife to be appointed mayor. This action triggered a lawsuit against him and the City, costing taxpayers over $100,000 to date in legal fees and staff time. AB 1795 was introduced while the State’s Sixth District Appellate Court is in the process of hearing the case on this issue. AB 1795 appears to be a major conflict of interest since the issue personally involves the author.  At minimum, it provides the appearance that the public’s interests are not in the forefront.

 

Now that Watsonville has spoken by passing the "Let the People Vote" ballot measures so resoundingly in Tuesday’s election, we call on the Legislature to cease deliberations on AB 1795 and allow the vote for local control in Watsonville to prevail.  The voters’ voice has been heard, and their decision should not be undermined by this state legislation.

 

 AB 1795 is an attempt to pre-empt the appellate court and certainly is not an improvement on current law. All this does is to create more chaos for the citizens and disenfranchises them from their local government.

 

The Senate is being watched closely on this bill as a result of the strong election results, the pending court case involving the author, and whether “good governance” is just rhetoric or real ethics reform. This bill is headed to the Senate Governance and Finance Committee in June.

 

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