Almaden Resident

News

Ordinance could oust SJ mayor from office

By Monica Heger

San Jose City Council members upped the ante for holding political office in the city by moving forward with an ordinance that would remove one of their own from office for willful misconduct.

The issue emerged during a June 28 special council meeting, where council members discussed possible action they could take against the mayor following his indictment in the Norcal Waste trash scandal. City Attorney Rick Doyle advised the council the city charter did not grant it the power to remove him from office, but it did allow it to establish a procedure by which it could remove an elected official from office.

In a 10-1 vote on Aug. 8 only San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales dissented from moving forward with establishing such an ordinance, saying only voters should have the right to select public officials.

"This is a work in progress I cannot support," Gonzales said. "It takes away the most important right the city charter provides to the people of San Jose--the opportunity to elect and unelect officials. It is an action that would overturn the votes of thousands of people by a handful of elected officials on this council and on future councils."

Under the draft ordinance, council members could call for another member's removal, and the rules committee would then determine if an investigation was warranted. Following a hearing, if 75 percent of the council, not including the involved parties, concluded the council member was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, that council member would be removed from office. The council further directed Doyle to clearly define willful misconduct, as well as set a specific timeline for the process.

"This will give us the opportunity to respond to a crisis without putting the council at risk," Chavez said.

Several council members, including Linda LeZotte, Ken Yeager and Judy Chirco, expressed their hesitancy about moving forward with the ordinance, saying if not done right, it could allow for frivolous and politically motivated accusations.

"We don't want to get rid of somebody just because politically, they're not the flavor of the month," LeZotte said.

"It's very important that we get this as right as we can," Yeager said.

Chirco was concerned by the big jump from censure to removal from office. Currently censure, an official statement of reprimand, is the most stringent punishment a council can inflict upon one of its members.

Other cities give the council the right to suspend a public official; however, Doyle said San Jose's city charter does not allow for a suspension.