This editorial expresses the opinion of The Westside Express editorial board.
The longer Los Banos endures the mismanagement of the city, the more its residents will suffer. And everyone in town knows it.
The Westside Express is taking the unprecedented step of publishing a front-page editorial as the Dec. 18 application deadline for two vacant city council seats arrives. We are offering the three current council members a litmus test for any new appointees.
They must truly value accountability, transparency and competency. But mainly accountability.
City Manager Josh Pinheiro must be held accountable. He is exposing the city to legal action from mistreated employees, has provided preferential treatment to friends, has sidestepped state-mandated bidding practices, abandoned projects and driven away crucial city staff members – all of which have been detailed in previous Westside Express reporting.
Anyone unwilling to demand that Pinheiro answer for these disqualifying actions cannot be given a say in the city’s future. The four main reasons.
First, Bad Attitude:
Pinheiro has been demeaning of one councilmember and downright abusive of staff, creating a work environment many call “hostile.” Pinheiro usually ignores councilmember Deborah Lewis during meetings and never responds to her emails or calls. He has ordered staff not to talk to her or to reporters from the Westside Express – though many have ignored his orders. When required to respond to Lewis, he is rude, dismissive or antagonistic.
Last week, in his first meeting since returning to the Council, Mayor Michael Amabile felt compelled to admonish Pinheiro for whispering each time Lewis spoke.
Second, Bad Performance:
Pinheiro brags about his accomplishments, but repainting buildings, trimming trees and paving streets is merely maintenance. The opening of a new police station is the biggest accomplishment during Pinheiro’s tenure, but work on it began years before his arrival and was initiated and overseen by former police chief Gary Brizzee, finance director Sonya Williams and public works director Nirorn Than. It is alarming that all three quit rather continue working with Pinheiro.
Meanwhile, the process for issuing federal grants to local businesses was so badly bungled that the Merced County Grand Jury chastised the city and Pinheiro. Long-promised projects such as the bike path to Merced College and street improvements were abandoned. The public budgeting process was discarded.
Third, Staff Rebellion:
Five department heads – the finance director, fire chief, police chief, public works director and another finance director – have quit since Pinheiro’s arrival. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Over half of the city staff of 180 have quit or retired during Pinheiro’s tenure.
Working conditions are so bad that all five city unions signed a statement of “no confidence” in Pinheiro last October. Two unions are on the verge of taking work actions now as others openly question his motives.
Instead of trying to address their concerns, Pinheiro has doubled down. His four backers on the city council made 13 mid-management positions “at-will,” meaning anyone hired after Sept. 1 could be fired at Pinheiro’s whim – a means of silencing criticism. It was an incredibly hypocritical move considering the council removed “at-will” language from Pinheiro’s contract.
It gets worse. By interfering in promotions in four different departments, Pinheiro has exposed the city to legal action by employees.
Emergency services managers are required to make life-and-death decisions in their jobs. Reaching lower into the ranks to promote less-qualified or less-experienced individuals is dangerous in the eyes of many. Yet, Pinheiro – who has no experience in police or fire services — overruled his own chiefs to promote people he preferred.
In two other departments, Pinheiro made promotion decisions that bypassed senior employees. In another instance, after an employee criticized him in an open letter, he had her desk moved next to the restrooms – an action described as “straight-up retaliation.”
One city employee member called Pinheiro’s actions “asinine,” another “dangerous.” But others see a more sinister pattern. According to sources within the city, all those passed over or penalized have been active in their unions. Taking action against public employees based on union activities is illegal under California law.
Now, it appears some employees are considering legal action. Our bet is that any lawsuit will have $1.8 million as a starting point – the standard Pinheiro set after his threat to sue the city over his 2022 firing.
Because Pinheiro has retaliated against staff in the past, the Express has agreed not to divulge the identities of sources.
Fourth, Voters Have Spoken:
In the Nov. 5 election, Mayor Paul Llanez was “fired,” in his words, by nearly 80% of voters. More than 80% recalled Doug Begonia Jr., and 3-of-4 voters dismissed Brett Jones – a sweep of Pinheiro’s most fervent council backers.
Unfortunately, these three, with re-elected councilmember Ken Lambert, made it extremely difficult to remove Pinheiro. In a contract unlike any other in the Valley, they required a 5-0 vote and “cause” to fire Pinheiro.
For these reasons and many more, it is essential the city have a strong majority willing to hold Pinheiro accountable. If he cannot be fired outright, there can be no hesitation in reassigning him to roles where he can no longer retaliate against employees or further harm the city and its residents.
Los Banos must chart a new path, away from anger, retaliation and incompetence. Doing what is necessary to put the city on that path is the real litmus test.
