Selma Mayor Scott Robertson is under fire from the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office for allegedly violating state law regarding how he ran a city council meeting last week.
The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office’s Public Integrity Unit sent a letter to Robertson and the city council calling on them to follow state law by passing a resolution declaring the November election results before swearing in the new councilmembers.
Driving the news: The letter stems from a special meeting held at Selma City Hall on Dec. 12.
- In the meeting, Robertsons acknowledged that a quorum was not present before adjourning the meeting to swear the new councilmembers in. The new councilmembers that were elected in November are Jim Avalos and Santiago Oceguera.
- The problem lied in that only Robertson and Councilmember Sarah Guerra were present. Councilmembers Beverly Cho, Blanca Mendoza-Navarro and John Trujillo were not present.
- Even though there was not a quorum, Robertson said he would put the meeting in recess so they could swear in Avalos and Oceguera. Selma City Attorney Megan Crouch objected, saying state law requires the city council to pass a resolution ratifying the election results.
- Robertson moved ahead anyways with installing the new councilmembers as Crouch, Deputy City Manager Jerome Keene and City Clerk Reyna Rivera exited the council chambers.
Go deeper: According to a report from the Mid Valley Times, after Robertson said the council was moving into closed session, Selma police came into the chambers and told all councilmembers and the public to leave City Hall.
- Robertson reportedly said everyone was being wrongfully evicted, and officers allowed the council five minutes to finish the closed session meeting.
- Robertson reportedly went outside of City Hall after the closed session meeting to report that the city council voted 4-0 to terminate the city’s contract with the law firm that employs Crouch. The council also voted to appoint Neil Costanzo as the city attorney. He has already been the Selma City Attorney twice before.
- Costanzo told the Times that
The big picture: Per the letter from the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, which was sent on Tuesday, Elections Code Section 10263 requires a governing body to ratify election results before installing new officers.
- “A resolution is a piece of city business which requires a quorum to pass,” the letter reads. “Lacking a quorum, the city could not pass the required resolution prior to installing new members.
- The letter stated that outgoing councilmembers are legally not allowed to decline to pass the required resolution to ratify the election results.
- Since Elections Code SEction 10263 was not followed, the District Attorney’s Office said the installation of the new councilmembers was defective and opens the city to potential liability since there was not a quorum.
- The District Attorney’s Office said it sees the problem as a procedural issue that can be remedied with a quorum of the city council ratifying the election results, followed by the new members being sworn in.
- “Civil government is a public good, with the safe and orderly transfer of power a bedrock principle upon which our nation was founded,” the letter reads. “When the procedures laid out by the State of California for the operation of local government are followed, it inures to the public benefit.
What we’re watching: The City Council has a special meeting scheduled for Thursday at 6 p.m.
- The only item on the agenda in open session is to ratify the results of the November election. The council will also hold a performance evaluation for City Manager Fernando Santillan.
