Council Votes 8-0 to Censure Pearce
Stephen Downing
An initiative to censure Councilwoman Jeannine Pearce filed by Councilpersons Price, Supernaw, Austin and Andrews passed by an 8-0 vote at a meeting of the council on May 22.
The request for censure was grounded on questions related to “potential sexual harassment, conflict of interest and failure to adhere to the city’s Code of Ethics” insinuating the potential for lawsuits against the city stating, “The action by Councilmember Pearce to hire an employee with whom she was in an active relationship, exposed the city to significant risk for potential sexual harassment and conflict of interest.”
Mayor Robert Garcia moved the censure item (#19) up on the calendar and when the clerk read the title he quickly gave the floor to Councilwoman Pearce who read a prepared statement that began with an apology and attributed her problems to “My traumatic childhood (which) laid the foundation for me to fall prey to narcissistic abuse.”
Pearce made no reference to the movement currently working to recall her from office and indicated that she would not resign stating, “I accept and acknowledge this censure as a call to do better.” Pearce also asked her supporters in the audience to “keep things civil.”
The day prior to the council meeting 3rd District Councilwoman Suzie Price, a sponsor of the censure, received a hostile text from Chris Robson, a Mayor Robert Garcia appointee to the Health and Human Services Commission. Robson, wrote: “Shame on you. This is both a #Me Too and union busting campaign. Probably time you dump your DINO cover and re-register.”
When Robson was asked by the Beachcomber why he believed the initiative was anti #MeToo or aimed at destroying labor unions he responded, “That was a private message to a council member and not a public document. I have no comment at all.”
Councilwoman Price was perplexed by the city commissioner’s invective and questioned why a person of his values would “ever be appointed to chair the Health and Human Services Commission.” Price added, “How is sleeping with your chief of staff and illegal activities at City Hall a union busting and #MeToo issue?
Following public testimony councilmembers made no comments. Mayor Garcia quickly called for the vote, which passed 8-0. Pearce did not vote. The mayor does not vote unless to break a tie.
The censure initiative was placed on the agenda just two weeks following the Recall Pearce Movement’s filing of 9,462 signatures with the city clerk. 6,363 signatures are needed to qualify for a recall election. Certification by the city clerk is pending.
The Recall Pearce Movement stems from an incident first exposed by the Beachcomber on June 3, 2017 when Pearce was detained by the California Highway Patrol on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and committing felony domestic battery upon her former chief of staff, Devin Cotter.
The district attorney ultimately declined to file criminal charges citing investigative failures by the LBPD which were outlined in the their evaluation sheet stating, “LBPD officers smelled alcohol on suspect Pearce,” but didn’t conduct a field sobriety test (FST) until more than three hours after initial contact, that “Officers did not obtain a second PAS (breathalyzer) sample and that “Suspect Pearce was never taken from the scene to the station for additional testing.”
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Comments
Great article!!! Councilwoman Price hit the nail on the head and kudos to Suzie for her response to Robson's immature and inappropriate text message... "How is sleeping with your chief of staff and illegal activities at City Hall a union busting and #MeToo issue"? Let it be known Robson, the vast majority of us happen to be smart enough to know the three are not related. Pearce used the #MeToo movement as a convenient cop out. Shame on her!!!
She was perfectly fine in her inappropriate/illegal relationship with the Chief of Staff she hired until she got caught on the side of the 710 freeway. Heck, she hired him after they had been in an romantic relationship for some time and she blames it on her childhood trauma and the abusive relationship??? This could only make sense to a narcissist and is insulting to true victims. In her "apology" she stated she wants the city to fund sexual harassment training??? It's Jeannine that needs the additional training, which was abundantly clear when she winked at me three times the night she was censured.
Her apology wasn't 5 minutes old when she did that to me and I wasn't shy about calling her out on it when it was my turn at the podium. She should count her blessings that I am not litigious by nature or I might file sexual harassment claims against her. #TimesUpJeannine
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