After a previous stretch of contention on the City Council, San Mateo may start revoking some privileges for councilmembers and commissioners who fail to adhere to the city’s code of conduct.
The move is largely in response to several previous years of tense council relations over mayoral rotation and also housing and infrastructure policy. An initiative to update the city’s code of conduct followed.
The current council has proven less adversarial, which Councilmember Nicole Fernandez said is the perfect time to implement more guardrails for the future.
“We have a functioning council now, so it’s the time to do it,” Fernandez said. “The interpersonal politics have been distracting in the past, but we don’t have that right now.”
The update includes more enforcement provisions for councilmembers and commissioners who don’t follow the city’s code, which mostly states that elected and appointed officials must engage in respectful dialogue, including to “agree to disagree in a respectful manner” and “give each other a chance to speak.” It also outlines etiquette about when to speak and following council agendas on schedule.
According to the drafted revisions, councilmembers and commissioners are first encouraged to informally resolve the matter and only file a complaint if the issue still isn’t addressed. A formal hearing would be scheduled to consider a formal censure. If adopted, a majority of the council could also issue a reprimand, which may include revoking travel and expense privileges or the ability to serve on subcommittees or other boards.
“We had a code of ethics, but what we were lacking was enforcing a code of ethics. There were no consequences before,” Newsom said. “Taking this action makes it less likely that it would happen again. If there are no guardrails to stop you, then people will do whatever they want.”
Fernandez added that it was also important to reinforce a part of the code that states elected and appointed officials should guard “against implicit bias in our actions and decisions.” While they are largely advisory-only in their capacity, she said it’s a good opportunity to reiterate what commissioners’ roles are and what they’re not.
“I come to politics after being a Democratic party activist for 20 years, but I have a new hat, and I … have to learn to look into all sides of an issue. I have to get past my own base values and judgments,” she said. “When commissioners are advising the council on very important matters, they have to set aside their own political goals and stances in order to evaluate policies, memos and practices.”
The council will likely adopt the new provisions in June.
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(3) comments
Folks, is this issue what our city council is wasting time on - figuring out how far to go down an already slippery slope? Who decides what “respectful” means? For instance, you can insult me and I wouldn’t consider it unrespectful until you insult my dog or my family. And who decides whether bias is implicit? Does this mean explicit bias is okay? And who pays for the lawyers when one who feels aggrieved or bullied decides to file lawsuits against others? I’d recommend the city council get it together and instead of wasting time on this issue, solve some real issues, such as crime and housing and traffic and the homeless, etc.
From Michaelangelo ...""I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free."
The vision: Consider carving away and discarding all that does not belong to the perfection of leadership of our city..
Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them,
“Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and no city or house divided against itself will stand.”
Matthew 12:25
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