LOS BANOS – Three incumbent council members who could be on their way to defeat skipped the Nov. 6 Los Banos City Council meeting, leaving the city without a quorum and unable to conduct any business.
It meant an application for an important state grant was delayed and the council could not review city expenditures. The cancellation came as roughly 170 people packed city hall to recognize FFA national award winners, celebrate those who participated in the annual Veterans Day Parade and honor city employees.
Councilmembers Ken Lambert, Brett Jones and Doug Begonia Jr. were absent from the dais when the meeting was scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
At around 6:06 p.m., Mayor Paul Llanez addressed the packed chamber to say there weren’t enough members to form a quorum and the meeting would be canceled.
The Express called both Jones and Lambert, but the calls went to voice mail and messages were not returned. Begonia does not share his contact information with the public and could not be reached.
Judging from their reactions, the absences appeared to catch councilmember Deborah Lewis, Mayor Paul Llanez and city attorney Bill Vaughn off guard. The missing councilmembers had not informed the city clerk of any planned absence, making them unexcused.
“I spoke to the city attorney, and he seemed to be surprised,” said Lewis. “Certainly, I was. The city manager didn’t convey anything to me, but he never does. And the mayor only spoke to the public. I have no idea why the councilmembers didn’t show up.”
Asked if their absence was an abrogation of duty, Lewis responded: “Absolutely. Even in a position of losing an election or being recalled, you still have a duty to come to the council meetings until you are no longer seated on that council. … You have an obligation to the public who elected to you to finish your term.”
As of Friday afternoon’s vote count, Lambert trailed Tommy Leyva by 52 votes after a vicious campaign that included billboards, online attacks, accusations of violence and even a traffic incident. Lambert has 648 votes, Leyva 700. In 2020, there were 3,139 votes cast in the district, so the results are not yet conclusive.
The votes to recall Begonia in District 2 and Jones in District 3 are overwhelming. Some 80.8 percent of votes cast in Begonia’s district are to remove him from the council. In Jones’ District 4, 72.8 percent of voters – 1,344 of the total 1,845 votes cast – want him removed.
Llanez is the fourth member of the four-member council majority, and he is running third among three candidates for mayor. Former five-term mayor Mike Amabile is leading that race with 44.5 percent of the votes cast followed by former councilmember Refugio Llamas, who has 33.5 percent. Llanez, who has served less than one full term, has 21.2 percent of the vote.
In District 4, Lewis is leading Travis Loebig with 52.9 percent of the vote.
The council has not met since Oct. 2, having skipped the Oct. 16 meeting so members could attend the League of Cities Conference in Long Beach.
“Last night there was $5.6 million in checks to be paid, which was quite overwhelming,” said an incredulous Lewis. “There were trucks to be purchased, grants to be applied for – a myriad of things. But there was no action taken because there wasn’t a quorum.”
Among the agenda items delayed was approval of an application for a state grant for $396,836 to install vehicle-charging stations, acceptance of a grant of $10,000 to purchase medical supplies for the animal shelter and authorization to spend $367,592 on work for the new animal shelter. There was also an authorization to buy new city vehicles from a dealership in Hollister.
Llanez offered no explanation for the absences in canceling the meeting. When he suggested that he might help hand out awards, city attorney Bill Vaughn apparently told him the recognitions were on the agenda, and he could not legally participate. Llanez then said, “He advised me I shouldn’t do that, but hey, what are you going to do? Fire me twice?”
After gaveling the meeting closed, both Lewis and Llanez walked off the dais followed by Pinheiro.
If Lambert, Jones and Begonia skip the next scheduled meeting on Nov. 20, there could be legal consequences.
California government code 36810 says the county sheriff can compel attendance if absences are interfering with city business. After Nov. 20, the next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 4 or 62 days since last council meeting.
By then, Begonia and Jones are likely to be off the hook. Their council terms will end immediately upon certification of the vote by County Registrar of voters Melvin Levey, which is expected by Dec. 3. That would leave only Lambert subject to legal action – especially if he is re-elected.
Such action is unlikely. The new council could be sworn in on Dec. 4.
City council members are paid $300 a month and offered health insurance under the city’s umbrella.
