A brewing controversy over city redactions to a legal claim by a long time, well known, experienced former city manager in Santa Ana is shedding new light on the grip the police union – which routinely spends big on local elections – has on elected officials in the heart of OC.
Former City Manager Kristine Ridge’s claim alleges a hostile workplace created by Mayor Valerie Amezcua and paints a general picture of a pressure campaign by elected officials on behalf of the police union to get her to boost former union president Gerry Serrano’s pay and pension.
A campaign that was apparently so intense it led her to file a claim against the city threatening a lawsuit.
Santa Ana City Council members opted to pay ridge over $600,000 and settle that claim quietly in October rather than fight it in court amid an increasing leadership vacuum, a looming budget cliff and public safety concerns.
[Read: Why Did Santa Ana Pay Out Over $600K to Settle a Claim Alleging the Police Union Runs City Hall?]
Amezcua has resisted calls for public comment on the issue, repeatedly ignoring press calls, once again not returning requests for comment on Friday or Monday.
Voice of OC reached out to the Santa Ana Police Officer Association on Friday and a representative told a reporter that they would have someone return his call but they never did as of publication.
The city tried hard for about six months to keep the details and explosive allegations inside the claim a secret from the public – ignoring public record requests from outlets like Voice of OC and Knock LA. This month, after legal threats from Knock LA, the city released a redacted version of the claim.
Officials have since released the 3-page claim with sections of it heavily redacted – raising questions as to what exactly was blacked out.
A majority of council members are staying quiet including David Penaloza, Phil Bacerra and Thai Viet Phan who also did not return requests for comment this week.
Meanwhile, one councilman says the city is investigating Ridge’s allegations and the County’s District Attorney’s office has launched investigations into his own allegations that Amezcua violated the state’s open meeting law – the Brown Act.
Keeping Quiet: What Was Blacked Out?
City Councilman Johnathan Hernandez told the Voice of OC Thursday that the redactions have to do with a complaint he filed last April — months before the city manager made her claim — alleging Mayor Valerie Amezcua violated the Brown Act amid efforts to fire Ridge and former Police Chief David Valentin.
In his complaint – which he shared with Voice of OC and also features redactions – Hernandez accuses Amezcua of having improper discussions with himself, Councilmembers Penaloza and Bacerra in an effort to remove both Ridge and Valentin.
To read Hernandez’s complaint, click here.
Hernandez said the redactions in his complaint are to protect non-related city employees and details of a closed session meeting that he shared with the DA’s office.
The Brown Act forbids a city council member from having serial meetings where an individual meets one on one with a majority of the council to discuss the same issue and build a consensus on an official action outside of the public view.
David Snyder, Executive Director of the First Amendment Coalition, said he doesn’t see why allegations of a Brown Act violation would be a valid reason for redactions unless there was a lawsuit.
“If what they’re redacting is mere allegations of violations of the Brown Act, It’s hard for me to see why that would be legitimately redacted,” he said.
City Spokesman Paul Eakins in a Tuesday email pointed to exemptions in the state’s Public Records Act regarding labor negotiations and personnel matters for the redactions in Ridge’s claim.
Snyder said labor negotiations are exempt by the Brown Act but just because words on a document discuss a closed session meeting doesn’t mean it’s exempt from the public records act.
“They may be over-applying the rule that applies in the Brown Act context,” he said.
“It’s not necessarily the case that just because something can be discussed in closed session, that any mention of that closed session or its substances, is redacted under the Public Records Act.”
Councilwoman Jessie Lopez said in a Monday phone interview that every city council member has read the unredacted version and that it was a policy choice by council members to black out parts of the claim.
“It’s seven people making this decision – so what gets shared and what doesn’t get shared and in what format,” she said. “I don’t have any legal concerns about the redactions, it was a policy choice to make those reductions.”
Councilman Ben Vazquez said he was unsure if he had seen an unredacted version of the claim in a Monday phone interview.
“I forget if I saw it or not, it was a while back,” he said. “I don’t know who the city or the city attorney is protecting from the redactions.”
Hernandez said he supports an unredacted version of the claim being published on the city’s website and that Amezcua is trying to keep the truth from coming out.
The Mysterious Investigations into City Hall?
Hernandez said members of the District Attorney’s office have met with city staff and former members of the city’s executive management.
“I can’t go into detail as to who those individuals are but we do know that the district attorney has reached out to the city of Santa Ana, and has formally begun their investigation,” he said.
Kimberly Edds, a spokeswoman for the District Attorney, said Friday that the DA’s office does not confirm whether investigations are ongoing.
Orange County DA Todd Spitzer rarely takes any public action on Brown Act violations.
[Read: OC District Attorney Rarely Prosecutes Political Crimes]
Meanwhile, the city has launched its own investigation into Ridge’s claim after officials decided to pay her over $600,000 and settle it.
Hernandez said that Eakins and City Attorney Sonia Carvalho have advised the council not to speak about the city’s investigation other than it’s underway and funded by the council.
In a Q&A with the Voice of OC in 2012, Carvalho said that all levels of government in Santa Ana are focusing on transparency.
“I would love to see the day when Santa Ana is looked to as an example of a city who can demonstrate that, you know what, transparency is the best way to always do work with the citizens and the community,” she said at the time.
Carvalho on Monday directed questions about an investigation and redactions to the public information officer, Eakins.
Lopez also directed questions about the city’s investigation to the city’s public information office.
Eakins refused on Tuesday to answer questions about who is conducting the investigation into Ridge’s claim and how much money is being spent on it.
The OC Register reported this week that Santa Ana officials agreed to expand a contract by up to $175,000 with Hanson Bridgett LLP, a law firm, to investigate working conditions at city hall.
The results are expected in the middle of 2025 – long after the upcoming November elections where Amezcua, Hernandez, Phan and Lopez are up for election.
Who is Really in Charge in Santa Ana?
On Tuesday, Santa Ana officials held their first public meeting since the claim surfaced and not once brought up the allegations made in it.
That night they appointed Alvaro Nunez as acting city manager – the second temporary city manager to fill the role since Ridge’s departure.
Prior to Nunez, Tom Hatch, a former Costa Mesa city manager, served as interim city manager since November.
Eakins said that Hatch was a retiree and that he was reaching his limit of hours he could work in the position under state law.
Under California Public Employees’ Retirement System rules, Hatch can only work 960 hours in a fiscal year.
Regardless of who is at the helm of the city’s top executive position, Hernandez said the Santa Ana Police officer’s Association grip on city hall is undeniable and points to Voice of OC coverage for shedding light on the issue over the years.
“The POA isn’t just endorsing these elected officials and paying for their campaigns, the POA is very much looking like organized crime and they’re spending taxpayers’ money to do their bidding when things don’t work out to their favor,” he said.
“What we’re seeing is corruption unfold in front of our eyes at the highest level.”
Correction: A previous version of the article said Councilmembers Phil Bacerra, David Penaloza and Ben Vazquez were up for reelection in November. Councilmembers Johnathan Hernandez, Thai Viet Phan and Jessie Lopez are the ones up for reelection this year. Voice of OC regrets the error.
Julie Leopo contributed to this article.
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.
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