Some of those on the dais during the League of Women Voters’ candidate forum in Los Banos Sept. 24 wanted to talk about “accountability” and “transparency.” Others wanted to talk about fresh paint, trimmed trees and pickleball courts.
“The big, pink elephant in the room was the city-manager issue,” said Erasmo Viveros, a former member of the planning commission and the parks and recreation commission. “That’s where we heard a lot about transparency and accountability. The current city council doesn’t want to answer questions or open up about why they paid out that money.”
When former Mayor Michael Amabile was asked about his vision for a responsible city government, he said: “It’s all about transparency and accountability.”
Amabile served six terms as mayor nearly two decades ago, and is running again, he says, to get the city back on track. He spoke of bringing back public workshops, more citizen involvement and rebuilding “trust in your council.”
Over the past 20 months, the city council has endured bitter internal turmoil, labor unrest, accusations of budgetary obfuscation, a grand jury probe, allegations of harassment and favoritism, and the departure of more than 80 employees including the police chief, public works director and finance director.
As councilwoman Deborah Lewis put it, “When you have management that is heavy-handed, management that creates a hostile environment, management that micro-manages, people leave.”
That laundry-list of issues has resulted in an unprecedented election in which all five council seats will be on the Nov. 5 ballot, which will be sent to voters starting Oct. 7.
Amabile, Refugio Llamas and incumbent Paul Llanez are running for mayor. Incumbent Ken Lambert and Tommy Leyva are facing off in District 1, and Deborah Lewis is being challenged by newcomer Travis Loebig, one of Llanez’s neighbors, in District 4.
After hundreds of residents in their districts signed petitions, councilmembers Brett Jones and Doug Begonia Jr. have been recalled and are on the ballot in districts 2 and 3. A “yes” vote removes them, leaving their seats to be filled by appointment or special election.
More than 60 people attended the forum with others watching on livestream. Jones attended; Begonia did not.
Problems began in October 2021, when the council hired Josh Pinheiro as city manager despite his lack of management or government experience. Eight months later, in June 2022, the council fired him following accusations of harassment. Seven months after that, with two new members on the council, Pinheiro was rehired and given $1.8 million to settle a complaint that never went to court. The council ignored outside legal advice not to pay. Then, when the city’s liability insurer refused to pay, the council voted 4-1 to take the money from the general fund.
“That’s $1.8 million that they took away from our kids,” said Leyva. “It was a waste of money. And we still don’t know what the reason was for the city manager being dismissed.”
Llanez, Lambert, Jones and Begonia voted as a block to rehire Pinheiro and then give him an unprecedented contract requiring a 5-0 council vote to fire him.
“It’s all about accountability, transparency and how you achieve that,” said Llamas. “We just heard about accountability, yet the only person the city council has oversight over is the city manager … by having a 5-0 vote (to dismiss), the city council has abdicated its role, and this further reduces the ability of the public to have any input.”
Llamas, a former councilmember who is under a restraining order after a bumping incident with Jones after a meeting, was the council’s harshest critic.
Amabile agreed that requiring a 5-0 vote to dismiss takes away the council’s leverage. If the city manager fails, “you have no power as a council.”
Llanez and Lambert both defended the 5-0 vote requirement, Llanez most fervently.
“I wholeheartedly supported the 5-0 vote. I’m getting exactly what I asked for,” he said, referencing fresh paint, some repaved streets and a pickleball court.
Lambert appeared less certain: “I believed in the 5-0 vote at the time, but it could be different from here on out.”
When asked about accountability, Mayor Llanez said he doesn’t want to be held accountable “just two Wednesdays a month.” He prefers to engage residents outside of public settings and “way before the council meeting. People can contact me anytime.”
That comment baffled resident Cammi Avellar, who was in the audience.
“If we have questions we can come to his office or call?” she repeated incredulously. “I don’t know what he’s talking about. You can call staff, I guess, but they don’t pick up. The mayor doesn’t pick up. So, the comment that if we have questions before council meetings, we can get answers, that’s bogus.”
Even Councilmember Lewis often feels ignored by other members of the council and the city manager. Without communication from staff, she resorts to pulling items off the consent agenda.
She does that, Lewis explained, “so the public knows what is happening in our city.”
Other questions centered on homelessness, the city’s animal shelter, strengthening downtown, and attracting new business.
Though running against Amabile and Llamas, Mayor Llanez twice brought up developer Greg Hostetler, who did not attend the forum. He portrayed Hostetler as someone who controls both of the city’s weekly newspapers and is trying to control the council.
The Westside Express is owned by the Dos Palos Publishing Co. and operated by Publisher Gene Lieb, a 23-year resident of the city and school board member. The Express and Los Banos Enterprise are competitors. During Llanez’s first run for mayor in 2020, official city documents show Hostetler gave him over $20,000 in a race Llanez lost to Tom Faria.
