Evan Adams
Foster City Planning Commissioner Evan Adams has resigned in the wake of the City Council passing policy calling for his removal for a controversial tweet he posted.
Adams sent a letter to City Manager Stefan Chatwin announcing he would step down following a March 27 council meeting when the council unanimously passed a motion instructing city staff to craft a resolution that removes Adams from the Planning Commission.
“While this chapter for me now ends, it will not define me,” Adams said in the March 27 letter. “I will grow from this experience. I will continue to work towards and champion progressive values and positive, inclusive change.”
His resignation comes due to a post on his private Twitter account that has now been deleted that said, “Time for the USA to start monitoring Indians in the USA and connections to Indian Defence Contractors working with Russia. Shut down the $$$.” Adams has apologized for the tweet that came to light in early March and condemned his words.
However, the council remained worried about the divisiveness and hurt the tweet caused in the community, noting the perception of bias hurt the public trust in the Planning Commission and the city as a whole, necessitating a discussion and vote. Mayor Jon Froomin said the public’s belief in city government was at stake and not taking appropriate action could erode that trust, promoting his vote for Adam’s removal.
“I believe we need to take action based on ensuring that the public, who doesn’t know Mr. Adams personally, feels as though they are getting fair, impartial and unbiased treatment when they approach our Planning Commission,” Froomin said at the meeting.
The council had options of taking action to remove Adams, censuring him, or taking no formal action. The council discussed having a censure instead of removal but decided against it, given the divisiveness in the community and the need to send a strong message. Councilmember Stacy Jimenez said people in the future could claim the city looked the other way and applications from any minority applicant before the Planning Commission could be called into question. She didn’t believe censure was enough under the circumstances.
“I owe a duty to the community to do what I believe is right tonight, which unfortunately means the removal of Mr. Adams from the position,” Jimenez said at the meeting.
Most public speakers at the March 27 meeting spoke in favor of his removal, arguing the tweet was not acceptable for a public official. Other residents worried about lawsuits filed by former applicants to the Planning Commission claiming bias. Former Councilmember Richa Awasthi supported removing Adams from the commission because it was an unacceptable action from someone in a position of authority.
“Adam’s recent tweet, in which he called for the monitoring of Indians in the USA and their connection to the Indian defense contractors working with Russia, is a blatant display of racism and bias,” Awasthi said during the March 27 meeting.
Former Councilmember Sanjay Gehani also agreed with the statements of those calling for removal.
“I appreciate the leadership of council in listening to the community and preserving the integrity at City Hall,” Gehani said.
Adams was appointed to the Planning Commission in 2019, and his term was set to expire in May. He served as the chair of the Planning Commission. Adams spoke at the meeting and called for his censure rather than removal. He offered his resignation from the Traffic Review Committee, Parks and Recreation Design Task Force and chair as the planning commissioner.
Councilmember Sam Hindi voted for his removal but expressed concern about what he called the culture of canceling people. Hindi called for more diversity, equity and inclusion training for all Foster City staff and appointed officials to reduce the chance of incidents like this happening again, along with some city policies on the issue. He noted he and everyone had made, and would continue to make, mistakes.
Councilmember Art Kiesel said the council was not responsible for determining if Adams was a racist and instead had to take action on his comments to address community concerns. He agreed with Hindi on the need to look at inclusion policies and whether they are current. Vice Mayor Patrick Sullivan spoke at the meeting and noted the comment was racist and asked what lessons could be learned. He suggested censoring Adams by letting him finish his term without any authority on the Planning Commission except to listen.
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LittleFoot said:
If your are dumb enough to think voting still matters - I have a big orange bridge in SF to sell you. Only $20
LittleFoot said:
LittleFoot said:
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(10) comments
was gehani's comment to council members to vote for his purchase of toritos breaking the roberts rules of order preserving his break the law policy of his city hall? t
and was gehani's comment to council members it would behoove them to vote for his purchase of toritos preserving the integrity of city hall was he removed from the council or just let his law broken just ignored to hie entitlement he feels he deserves toward others? best to keep quiet and pass judgment of any city he feels entitled to.
and yes the council did look the other way against one of your most valuable leaders had working and honest to citizens more than likely with no participation except complaining good luck with that.
terence i agree...thank you!
the comment awashti uses woman of clor to me is a recist comment i was raised in the suth licving through a riot of the high school i taught . of color would have been a form when theadms met with the facultuy about using black as a term during desgregation and integration awashti incites her of color comment woud produce rage in the south. think who you listen to.
i mentioned to my vietnam vet purple heart husband jane fonda and how people seem to have forgotten her vietnam role he said the vets won't forget same with a councilmember breaking the law they seem to act as if nothing was broken and act entitled to any behavior commnn toward others. i am a 50 year fc vet i will remember your behavior plus this council's treatment of well deserivng praise citizens.
I was perusing my past articles realestate foster city magazines i pass to evan adams who uses them so well in covering this town i ran into around 5 city thank you awards of participation i was awarded . i wonder if this council ever considered thanking him for all his hard work ? why not ? chastising like a child when their time comes they will be judged with a resolution? eliminating them? a resolution? you removed a contributing citizen in favor of what kind of participation by 25 speakers have they contributed to this town I think not just by condemning words complainig about being mentioned somewhat negatively ? where are th white people why so much attention to 25 ? the thank you my serving on the education brought me from thecity where ate evan's thank yous? you owe him much morw all you do is act like a parent and chastise . your turn will come. and i will smile!
So let me get this straight, Hanoi Jane Fonda calls for the murder of pro-life activists and politicians, Twitter is found to muzzle conservatives and facts about COVID and the jab along with other inconvenient facts, Stanford law students shout down a speaker because they’re afraid of something called free speech and this poor guy, on his personal Twitter account is demonized for his free speech? Has Mr. Adams actually done anything to promote his tweet thoughts? Now that this “standard” for unacceptable free speech is set, does this mean we should monitor social media accounts and hold government “leaders” responsible for their free speech? Or are they only held responsible if don’t follow an undefined and arbitrary acceptable speech narrative?
Interesting! There’s always a back story. Thanks for sharing!
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