The Laguna Niguel City Council mayor can no longer add items to council agendas without at least one other council member tagging on.
On Tuesday, city council members unanimously voted to strip the mayor’s ability to single handedly put items on the agenda — a power given to mayors throughout many cities in Orange County.
The move to take away agenda-setting powers was in response to recent actions from Councilmember Sandy Rains, who abruptly stepped down as mayor late last month after concerns surfaced that she improperly tried to fire the city manager.
The council also removed Rains from all regional boards and ad hoc committees, including the Orange County Fire Authority, Capistrano Unified School District, Grants Ad Hoc Committee, Historic Preservation Ad Hoc Committee and the Sea Country Festival Ad Hoc Committee.
Councilmember Ray Gennaway said he lost his trust in Rains’ ability to represent the city on the regional level.
“We have four other people up here who will better represent our city and our residents,” Gennaway said at Tuesday’s meeting.
He added that her removal from the ad hoc committees will lessen her interactions with city staff since Rains’ relationship with staff has been damaged.
Rains wasn’t at Tuesday’s public city council meeting, citing health concerns for her absence.
The embattled councilmember first came under fire for her actions at the council’s Feb. 21 meeting, when she added a closed session item to discuss an evaluation and potential dismissal of City Manager Tamara Letourneau — a move other council members said came with “no legitimate reason.”
The same agenda had already featured a discussion for an evaluation and potential dismissal for the City Attorney Chris Neumeyer. At last month’s meeting, other council members claimed Rains was attempting to use the city manager’s position as a bargaining chip to keep the city attorney from dismissal.
“[Rains said] she would like to add the review and dismissal of the city manager [to the agenda],” Councilmember Stephanie Oddo said at that meeting. “But she’d be willing to take off the word ‘dismissal’ from the city manager agenda item if we took off the word ‘dismissal’ from the city attorney review.”
Neumeyer ultimately resigned from the position two days before the meeting.
Councilmembers Gennawey and Oddo also pointed out that Letourneau’s contract prevents the council from initiating her termination within 90 days of a change in council, claiming the agenda item could breach her contract.
Rains apologized at the Feb. 21 meeting, saying she got bad legal advice. She also resigned as mayor on Feb. 27, but will stay on the dais as a council member.
“Unfortunately the advice that I was given was poor,” Rains said at the Feb. 21 meeting. “I’m going to take personal responsibility for that.”
[Read: Laguna Niguel’s Mayor Abruptly Resigns]
In a statement to Voice of OC March 3, Rains said her public apology isn’t an admission of wrongdoing.
“I want to make it clear that my apology at the last meeting was not to be taken as me admitting any wrongdoing,” Rains wrote in the statement. “At the moment in the meeting, I felt the angst and tension in the room and felt that the only way for us to move forward was to apologize.”
“Unfortunately, it seems like I misunderstood the information that was given to me which caused the spiral of unfortunate events.”
The city previously had two methods for council members to get items on the agenda.
The city requires at least two council members to sign off on adding an agenda item, but the mayor was able to add items independently.
The council also voted to appoint Jennings as the new mayor to replace Rains.
Unlike larger OC cities — Anaheim, Santa Ana and Irvine — Laguna Niguel’s mayor isn’t a separate position directly elected by voters but is a council member appointed by a majority of their colleagues for a one-year term.
Residents were divided on the issue during the public comment period of the March 7 meeting.
Some speakers encouraged the council to punish Rains for her behavior, saying it’s important to uphold Laguna Niguel’s reputation of positive leadership.
“I appreciate the items the council has agendized to address the stunning errors in judgment articulated during the most recent city council meeting,” Laguna Niguel resident Patty Mouton said at the meeting. “It’s my observation that the changes suggested on today’s agenda are a thoughtful and appropriate response and will benefit our city.
Other speakers thought the actions were an overreaction.
“I’m so tired of the mess and the drama on this city council,” Laguna Niguel resident Melissa Crew said at the meeting. “Hearing council members speaking to other council members on the dias, basically scolding behavior, I think it’s ridiculous. I feel like this was a political opportunity for you guys to get rid of Mayor Rains.”
Angelina Hicks is a Voice of OC Reporting Fellow. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.
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