Burlingame town square bid OK’d — with some concern

But conversation at the City Council’s Oct. 21 meeting revolved little around design choices and mostly about the scandal that enveloped San Francisco’s Public Works Department in recent years. 

Balmore Hernandez, the former CEO of Azul Works, was sentenced to six months in prison and a $100,000 fine after pleading guilty participating in a scheme to funnel bribes to the city’s ex-public works director. 

Azul Works now has an agreement with the city and county of San Francisco not to bid on any of their contracts, Burlingame Assistant Attorney Scott Spansail said. That is a mutual agreement and not a finding of any wrongdoing, he emphasized. 

The City Council could not take that into consideration when deciding what to do with the contract, Spansail said. Because Azul Works put in the lowest bid by $1.7 million, the City Council would have either had to accept it or reject all bids. 

But beyond their legal obligations, councilmembers expressed a desire not to let the former CEO’s actions speak for the company’s work in totality. 

“I look at the totality of a company. I don’t think because a CEO has done something wrong — and he did do something wrong — that means the whole company and all the employees are somehow bad,” Councilmember Michael Brownrigg said.

He cited positive experiences nearby cities, like San Jose and Palo Alto, have had with Azul Works. Their lower bid was likely because they need to remain competitive in light of their tarnished reputation, Brownrigg said. 

This opinion was not shared by members of Carpenters Local 217, the union representing San Mateo County workers. 

“We are here tonight out of a broad concern for local workers and taxpayers,” Ed Evans, senior field representative for the union, said. “We would not have Azul Works in our union and cannot understand why Burlingame would even consider inviting them into the city and giving them the taxpayer’s money.” 

Julia Jane, a representative from Azul Works, defended the company against accusations of wage theft and worker abuse. While the former CEO had been criminally indicted, she acknowledged, that had nothing to do with the company’s work on contracts or its relationships with the workers they employed. 

“Azul Works has a perfect record. You will not find any cheating on any bids,” she said. 

“There’s been reference to the former CEO, and it’s true he had a criminal indictment. He accepted responsibility for that. He assisted the government. That had nothing to do with Azul Works.” 

Mayor Donna Colson, who emphasized the importance of moving along with the project as it’s behind schedule, assured union members that any instances of wage theft from employees would result in the City Council not approving contractor bills. 

“I will not be approving a bill to pay a contractor if I have evidence [that] sums have not been paid and workers have not been paid,” she said. “That’s not how we operate here. I feel pretty comfortable that we’ll be able to hear that and see that.”