Three San Clemente City Council members voted to censure their colleague, Mayor Pro Tem Laura Ferguson, after a nearly six-hour meeting on Monday, Nov. 23.
They accused her of disrupting city processes on the dais by disparaging city employees, violating the Brown Act and leaking confidential city business – such as a recently completed city survey – to the public via the press and social media platforms.
The censure, described as a first-time event in the city, puts the City Council’s disapproval of Ferguson on the record, but there is no official punishment, discipline or sanction involved.
“It’s undemocratic that the council members would convict me without finding of facts,” Ferguson said on Tuesday. “Their resolution of censure is riddled with inaccuracies about me, and did not even have to substantiate the charges by citing any violation of laws, rules or standards.
“We have a City Council that dislikes dissenting views,” she said, “and just because I don’t agree with them on policy, they want to cancel me out.”
The council meeting, conducted online via Zoom, was run by Councilman Gene James and attended by outgoing Councilman Chris Hamm and Councilwoman Kathy Ward, along with Ferguson. The council is down a member after Dan Bane, who had been serving as mayor, moved out of town. A replacement was voted on in the November election and will be seated next month.
Each side had 75 minutes to make their presentations and 15 minutes to close.
Ward said her complaints regarding Ferguson transpired over a two-year period and focused on her criticism of city staff. She cited 10 grievances that ranged from “harassment and retaliation against the city manager, interference with city employees, disrespect and public criticism of the city manager, Brown Act violations and distribution of confidential city information on social media and to the press.”
“We have to do this, so there is no hostile work environment,” Ward said. “Not doing this makes the city liable. She thinks it’s all about transparency, but it’s not.”
James and Hamm also chimed in.
“I do want to control the release of confidential information out of closed session,” James said. “We cannot ignore this. Transparency is great, but it does not outweigh the constitutional rights of employees.”
Hamm said, “When she disagrees, she uses everything in her power. She has alienated each and every person since day one. It’s super disappointing for everyone involved that it’s come down to this.”
The council majority was given guidance on how a censure would work by City Attorney Scott Smith, who reminded them during the meeting that personal attacks against Ferguson were not part of the censure resolution and eventually narrowed the 10 accusations to six, after informing the City Council that criticism of the city manager and city attorney were not valid offenses under the censure proceedings.
Ferguson, who once worked as the city’s public information officer, has repeatedly clashed with her colleagues, wanting to ensure transparency with the public and often posts information for residents on her Facebook page.
Ferguson spoke briefly during the meeting, but let two San Clemente residents, Brad Malamud, a frequent council-watcher, and Mike Winsten, both attorneys, speak on her behalf. Ferguson, who has been serving as the council’s leader since Bane stepped down, initially led the meeting, but was replaced with James after a council vote removing her. Ferguson balked at that change, saying the vote was illegal.
Before the meeting, Ferguson, with the two attorneys, submitted a written request to have the meeting canceled saying the city doesn’t have a censure hearing in its laws.
Malamud said in the meeting the majority of the City Council could not demonstrate how Ferguson broke any laws and a censure was not valid.
“This is trial by sabotage, the mayor pro tem has had her due process rights violated left and right,” he said. “There is no crime; there is nothing illegal.
“This hearing is pay-back and a sham,” Malamud said. “Criticism is not illegal, and there’s nothing in the San Clemente municipal code that outlaws criticism.”
A majority of the 44 public comments emailed in – and read into the record – were in favor of Ferguson, with a few former San Clemente city employees speaking on her behalf and commending her character as ethical and moral. Others called the special meeting an embarrassment to the city of San Clemente and a waste of time and taxpayer money.
A person, who identified themselves only as a 25-year resident, supported the council majority’s censure effort, writing: “This has been a two-year attack of current and former city employees. It time for the rest of the council to distance themselves.”
Following the comments from the public, Ward said her purpose was not a persecution of Ferguson, nor was it a political tactic.
“There are clear instances that have undermined the work of the council and constituted a hostile work environment,” she said. “It’s very telling that Mayor Pro Tem Ferguson did not address us. It indicates that she is not working with the council.”
Before voting for the censure, James asked Ferguson to agree not to publicly criticize staff and not to release information expected to be confidential. Ferguson said she would not apologize for using her First Amendment right.
On Tuesday, Ferguson said she planned to consult with her two attorneys on possible further action, but had not yet made any decisions.
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