LOS BANOS – As voters were casting their ballots in an election with the potential to dramatically change the course of Los Banos, even more fodder was being thrown onto the political bonfire.
One council candidate appears to have instigated a traffic incident on city streets; the area’s largest housing developer filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against a city councilman and the city; a group of mid-management city employees have formed a sixth union; and city’s fire fighters chastised both Mayor Paul Llanez and city manager Josh Pinheiro for failing to protect residents.
The mayor and all four city councilmembers appeared on the Nov. 5 ballot, with two people running to replace the mayor, two sitting council members facing challengers and two councilmembers being recalled. It could take up to a month before results become final.
The traffic incident involved District 1 challenger Tommy Leyva and an employee of his opponent’s biggest backer – developer Greg Hostetler.
One of Hostetler’s employees was driving a truck with anti-Leyva messaging when Leyva spotted it last week. He followed the truck and then abruptly pulled his vehicle in front of it, blocking the truck. All parties remained in their vehicles, apparently using cellphones to film each other. Leyva drove away before police arrived.
That played into the hands of councilmember Ken Lambert, who is benefiting from a Facebook page detailing Leyva’s domestic disputes from 17 years ago in Santa Clara County. Leyva admitted to committing a misdemeanor in the case, and the couple is now divorced.
Hostetler is also behind what he says is a $100 million lawsuit filed in Merced Superior Court against the city and councilmember Brett Jones on Oct. 10. Hostetler claims Jones defamed and disparaged him during city council meetings and on the city’s social media.
“Brett Jones said I did not complete the entrance to Vineyard Drive, but I know they’ve collected nearly $4 million for that project; there was a surcharge of $700 per house on top of the traffic fee that was paid to build the Vineyard (development),” Hostetler said. “They had all that money, and they’ve not built it. But Jones said on live TV that I dumped it on the city and did not do my job. We sent him a letter to retract the lie, and he has not done so. That’s how he got sued.”
Asked how he arrived at $100 million, Hostetler said the disparaging comments could cost him “at least that much, even more” in lost home sales.
Developers pay city fees of $32,506 for a single-family home, covering road improvements, sewer and water connections, streetlights, parks and more. Additional fees are charged by schools and special districts, often pushing total fees past $40,000 per house.
Jones, Lambert, Doug Begonia Jr., and Llanez do not respond to requests from The Westside Express for comment.
The four have comprised the council’s majority on its most controversial decisions over the past two years.
Former five-term mayor Mike Amabile and former councilmember Refugio Llamas are challenging Llanez for mayor. While Amabile says he is running to return civility and accountability to the council, Llanez and Llamas appear to be dealing with controversy. Llamas is emerging from a restraining order granted after a jostling incident with Jones after a council meeting in June. Llanez, meanwhile, has spent the last two years presiding over the most antagonistic council in memory, including his recent threats to bring “legal action” against Councilwoman Deborah Lewis.
Just as contentious as the mayor’s race is the recall of Jones and Begonia. More than 3,300 voters signed petitions to force them onto the ballot in council districts 2 and 3. If removed, their council seats will be open until filled either by appointment or special election.
In District 4, Lewis — who often stands alone against the majority — was running for a third term, challenged by one of the mayor’s neighbors, Travis Loebig.
At the heart of this election is the performance of city manager Josh Pinheiro. Jones, Begonia, Lambert and Llanez rehired Pinheiro in 2023 after he had been fired as city manager eight months prior. They voted to give him $1.8 million even though an outside law firm recommended against it and the city’s liability insurer refused to pay. The four voted to take the money from the city’s general fund. The majority then voted to require both “cause” and a 5-0 vote to dismiss Pinheiro – an unprecedented level of job security.
In his second tenure, Pinheiro pushed major city spending decisions onto the consent agenda or used change-orders in existing contracts rather than solicit competitive bids. His management of federal COVID-relief grants came under scrutiny by the Merced County Civil Grand Jury. Pinheiro also pushed the council to make 13 of the city’s mid-level management positions “at-will” – meaning those employees can be fired without explanation.
That loss of job security appears to be part of the reason three more city employees have formed a sixth bargaining unit – the Los Banos Police Middle Management Association. The group includes two police commanders and the police services manager; two of those jobs were among those reclassified as at-will.
Meanwhile, the city’s firefighters are calling attention to their “deep frustration and disappointment” in the city manager and council members Llanez, Lambert, Jones and Begonia. “The people of Los Banos deserve leaders who are responsive, accountable and willing to stand behind those who serve them,” wrote the firefighters on Facebook. After complaining to the council about staffing shortages, the union said only councilmember Lewis responded.
The post echoed a letter of “no-confidence” in Pinheiro signed by members of all five city unions last year. Meanwhile, the city’s largest union and its police officers are working under expired contracts.
Since Pinheiro first arrived as city manager in 2021, half of the city’s 180 employees have left their jobs. Such a high separation rate is extremely unusual for public-service jobs.
The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that roughly 1 percent of municipal employees “separate” from a city per month. For a staff of 180, that would be about 65 employees over 36 months. But under Pinheiro’s leadership, the city has lost 90 – or 38 percent more than the federal norm.
California’s Workforce Analysis and Census of Employees says only 10.6 percent of the state’s public-service employees leave their jobs per year. In Los Banos, that would work out to 57 over the past three years. With 90 departures, Los Banos has lost 58 percent more employees than the normal California city.
Among those who have left are six who worked directly with Pinheiro – the fire chief, finance director, police chief, public works director, city treasurer and another finance director, whose exit sparked Llanez’s threats of legal action against councilmember Lewis after she made the departure public. Pinheiro had been trying to keep Vanessa Portillo’s resignation secret until after the election.
As one city hall staffer put it, “they all left because of Josh, and they’re still leaving because of Josh.” The staff member spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation.
