An emailed threat against councilwoman Deborah Lewis from the mayor, the rise of a vibrant grassroots campaign to remake the city council, a rambling internet defense of the council’s decision to pay its beleaguered city manager $1.8 million, and even the petty theft of campaign signs have all become important issues as Los Banos heads toward the Nov. 5 election.
Mayor Paul Llanez sent three-term city councilmember Deborah Lewis a letter threatening legal action following her revelation during the Oct. 2 council meeting that the city’s financial director, Vanessa Portillo, had resigned. In last week’s Express, Lewis described in detail what happened after the council adjourned into a closed session late that evening.
Llanez – who is being challenged by former Mayor Mike Amabile and former councilmember Refugio Llanez in the Nov. 5 election – accused Lewis of providing “confidential information related to closed session council meetings as well as confidential employee personnel matters to the public.” He called his accusations “extremely serious.”
Lewis sees it differently – an attempt at intimidation.
“I hope our city attorney will not waste any taxpayer money going after something that is bogus,” said Lewis. “I have no idea what he thinks he has the authority to do. … But the mayor and none of the council members have subpoena authority. Since our mayor has been a police officer in the past, he should know the difference.”
During the portion of the Oct. 2 meeting reserved for councilmember comments, Lewis explained she had only recently learned that Portillo had resigned. Lewis thanked Portillo for her eight months of service but also pointed out that her departure marks the fifth director-level employee – and fourth finance-department staff member – to quit during city manager Josh Pinheiro’s tenure.
A few moments later, the council adjourned to closed session. The only items on the agenda were the status of labor negotiations and any anticipated litigation. Before the meeting could start, Pinheiro ordered city clerk Lucy Mallonee out of the room and turned off a computer link to the city’s labor attorney. Then he began berating Lewis, calling her names, then telling her: “You will pay.”
Sources tell the Express that Portillo gave Pinheiro 30-days’ notice on Sept. 18, but the city manager ordered her not to make it public or turn in paperwork to Human Resources until after the Oct. 16 council meeting – likely the last meeting before the Nov. 5 election. An anonymous city employee speculated Pinheiro wanted Portillo’s departure kept secret to avoid additional embarrassment over having lost yet another high-ranking employee. Since Pinheiro first became city manager, the city has lost nearly half of its employees.
The Brown Act, on page 21, says only items that are listed on the meeting’s agenda 72 hours in advance can be discussed secretly in closed session. The closed-session agenda for the Oct. 2 meeting did not mention Portillo’s resignation. So any discussion of that topic – including Pinheiro’s outrage — would not be considered secret or privileged.
Portillo’s departure from the city’s executive team follows that of fire chief Mason Hurley, finance director Sonya Williams, police chief Gary Brizzee, and public works director Nirorn Than.
For several months, Pinheiro, Mayor Llanez and councilmembers Brett Jones, Doug Begonia Jr. and Kenneth Lambert have not responded to requests for comment from the Westside Express.
Pinheiro’s performance – including outbursts like the one directed at Lewis on Oct. 2 — is at the heart of an unprecedented election in which all five city council seats are on the ballot. The terms of Llanez, Lewis and Lambert end in December, with all three being challenged for re-election. Councilmembers Jones and Begonia have been recalled by voters angry over the council’s decision to rehire Pinheiro in 2023, then give him $1.8 million to “settle” his complaint of mistreatment, though he never filed a lawsuit. Later, the council voted 3-1 to give him a contract that could not be terminated without a 5-0 council vote – meaning a single councilmember could block his termination.
On the recall, a “yes” vote is to remove Jones and Begonia from office. If removed, their replacements will be either chosen in a special election or temporarily appointed.
At least two websites and three Facebook pages dedicated to the removal of Llanez, Lambert, Jones and Begonia are organizing voters in advance of the election.
On Step Forward Los Banos, one resident wants the NAACP to protest the treatment of Lewis. Others are organizing a protest for Oct. 16 outside city hall or volunteering to walk with candidates Tommy Leyva, Lewis, Llamas and Amabile.
Meanwhile, a city employee contacted the Express to report that “the tension” and working conditions at city hall are “horrible,” adding, “it’s getting worse and worse every day.”
Fearing retaliation, the employee did not want to be named but said city staff members often endure outbursts similar to those directed at Lewis. “It’s like that every day. And it’s always something new. I don’t know how much more anyone can take.”
Another employee described an incident last week in which Pinheiro confiscated the Westside Express from employees who were reading it in the office.
On a Facebook page dedicated to defending the council, Jones posted a lengthy defense of the council’s decision to pay Pinheiro $1.8 million. Jones recalled attending a seminar during which some PowerPoint slides convinced him that Pinheiro’s demand was justified – even though two different attorneys trained in employment liability law and paid by the city disagreed.
Finally, both the Amabile and Lewis campaigns report that signs have been stolen from the lawns of supporters and public property. One incident was relayed to the Westside Express at least four times, saying a teen-ager admitted to removing certain signs at the behest of an adult.
It is illegal to steal signs from in front of residences, and a First Amendment violation to remove them from most public places.
