A new group involved in the Measure C renewal efforts in Fresno County could be in violation of the Brown Act.
According to a letter from Fresno County Supervisor and Fresno County Transportation Authority (FCTA) Chairman Buddy Mendes, a so-called Facilitation/Synthesis Team has been meeting to provide support to the Measure C steering committee.
Driving the news: The Measure C steering committee now consists of 38 members, including 12 representatives from the social justice-backed Transportation For All group.
- Transportation For All received 12 seats on the committee after exploring the creation of its own ballot measure to potentially compete with Fresno County’s half-cent transportation tax.
The big picture: Mendes sent a letter to Parlier Mayor Alma Beltran, Clovis City Council member Lynne Ashbeck and Mendota Mayor Victor Martinez on Wednesday telling them that their participation in the Facilitation/Synthesis Team cannot be in an official capacity with their positions on the FCTA.
- Beltran, Ashbeck and Martinez have been vocal advocates for the inclusion of the 12 Transportation For All representatives on the steering committee, with Beltran and Martinez sponsoring the plan last month to expand the steering committee from 26 to 38 members.
- Mendes stated in the letter that the Fresno Council of Governments has been involved in forming and scheduling meetings for the team.
Zoom in: There are some concerns that the Facilitation/Synthesis Team violates the Brown Act – California’s open meetings law – by not providing a public agenda or access to its meetings.
- Further, the FCTA never formed an ad-hoc committee to provide such support to the steering committee.
- “If you choose to sit on the Facilitation/Synthesis Team, you will sit as either a representative of FCOG or as a private citizen and not the Transportation Authority,” Mendes wrote in the letter.
- It is unclear who else sits on the Facilitation/Synthesis Team, or how large the team is. A spokesperson for the Fresno Council of Governments did not respond to questions from The Sun before publication.
What he’s saying: Mendes told The Sun on Wednesday that the FCTA does not have any official involvement with the Facilitation/Synthesis Team, adding that there could be potential Brown Act violations.
- When asked for his thoughts on Transportation For All getting 12 members on the Measure C steering committee, Mendes said it “was a huge mistake.”
- “Why do they have 12 seats when the county only has one, the City of Fresno has three and all fifteen cities have one? It’s kind of a WTF moment,” Mendes said.
