In an election that could dramatically change the direction of the city, four people have taken steps to run for Los Banos City Council – three for mayor.
Former six-term Mayor Michael Amabile and former councilmember Refugio Llamas confirmed they will challenge one-term incumbent Paul Llanez for mayor on the Nov. 5 ballot. Llamas announced his candidacy months ago and Amabile requested the papers Wednesday promising to file them by Monday. Llanez was issued nomination papers on Friday.
In council District 4, three-term incumbent Deborah Lewis was also issued papers Friday.
Council District 1 is also on the ballot, but as of July 21, no one has yet filed to run – including incumbent Kenneth Lambert. The filing period closes Aug. 9, or Aug. 17 if Lambert declines.
Both Amabile and Llamas said one of their top priorities is a thorough audit of the city’s finances.
“Absolutely,” said Amabile when asked if such a review is needed. “I did that every year when I was mayor. We went far beyond what was required by law. … We even had to change the audit company a couple of times because I didn’t feel we were getting enough information.”
Said Llamas, “We’re in a lot of trouble here,” pointing to the number of contracts and expenditures approved by the council without discussion. “They’re throwing so much through (the consent agenda), it’s hard to catch. … They’re not following the rules and taxpayers are going to have to ultimately pay for these decisions.”
Llanez, 45, said he is running on a record of accomplishments: “We’ve definitely gotten a lot done. We resurfaced more roads than we had in the last 10 years combined and we’ve renovated more parks. … We’ve done more improvements to our wastewater treatment plant than we had in the past 19 years. My focus is getting things done.”
This election will be unprecedented in Los Banos history as voters will be asked to consider all five city council seats. Along with the mayor’s seat and council seats in districts 1 and 4, voters are being asked to either reject or retain District 2 councilmember Doug Begonia Jr. and District 3’s Brett Jones.
If voters recall Jones and Begonia on Nov. 5, the new city council will either appoint interim replacements or schedule a special election to fill their seats.
“I really think Los Banos needs a fresh start,” said Amabile, 69. “I think I’m the person who can do that due to my 12 years’ experience as mayor. The city needs transparency, and the council needs to listen to its residents.”
For the past two years, council meetings have often been fractious with Lewis on one side and the four-member majority on the other.
That acrimony boiled over on June 5. Jones and Llamas squared off after the chamber’s video cameras were turned off with Jones later claiming Llamas made threatening gestures. A preliminary restraining order was issued against Llamas and was served July 17.
Llamas said he will contest the order, calling it politically motivated “retaliation” for speaking up.
“This is an attempt to reduce my viability, my candidacy and my ability to speak and attend events,” said Llamas. “It’s using the court against me.”
In trying to move around Jones and out of the council chamber, Llamas said he “very lightly touched” Jones’ elbow. “He started telling me how wrong I am and that I need to watch what I say,” recalled Llamas. “Then he abruptly stops … and I’m trying to walk around him. He wouldn’t let me.”
At 57, Llamas stands 5-foot-6 and weighs 158 pounds, not counting the braces he wears on both knees. “I may appear physically fit, but I’m far from it,” said the former Marine.
Jones, who did not respond to a request for comment, is roughly 6-foot-1 and appears to weigh over 200 pounds.
Much of the rancor at council meetings centers on city manager Josh Pinheiro. Though he had no experience in government, he was originally hired in October 2022 then fired eight months later after complaints of harassment from some city staff.
In December 2023, Begonia and Llanez joined the council and two months later the new council majority rehired Pinheiro on a 4-1 vote. Then they voted 4-1 to give Pinheiro $1.8 million, even after the city’s liability insurer rejected the claim.
Over the last 19 months of Pinheiro’s leadership there have been irregularities in contracting, budgets passed with little or no public input, staff gag orders, the departure of 80-plus city employees, a vote of no-confidence from the city’s five unions and a lack of transparency in disbursing federal American Rescue Plan Act grants to small businesses — which drew a rebuke from the Merced County Civil Grand Jury.
It was Lewis’ questioning during council meetings that exposed the city’s reliance on “change orders” to extend projects beyond their original parameters and projected cost – a practice prohibited by state laws.
Pinheiro refuses to answer her questions or acknowledge she has even asked them.
“There has been absolutely zero conversation about business in the city from the day he came back from the second hiring,” said Lewis, who is running unopposed so far. “I’ve approached him in front of the city attorney as my witness and he told me he works with the other four. He’s told me he will not work with me or communicate with me.”
Double-recalls are rare, but is considered necessary after the council voted 3-1 to require a unanimous vote to fire Pinheiro. That means the only way to remove Pinheiro is to first remove all four councilmembers who support him.
