Westminster Asks a Judge to Help Rein in Unruly City Council Meetings

Some Westminster residents have long raised concerns about what they consider to be a dysfunctional city council that spends more time on infighting and politics than they do on conducting city business. 

Now, city officials are suing Councilwoman Amy Phan West and Councilman NamQuan Nguyen in an effort to rein in unruly city council meetings and get city business done through a judge imposing fines if they violate the council’s decorum rules. 

“Plaintiff alleges that Defendants have repeatedly disrupted City Council meetings, by failing to comply with the Mayor’s recognition of who has the floor,” reads the lawsuit filed Nov. 27. “Plaintiff believes that Defendants’ misconduct will continue absent the relief sought here.” 

To read the lawsuit filing, click here. 

Phan West and NamQuan did not respond to requests for comment Monday afternoon.

In a Monday email, Councilman Carlos Manzo, who was just reelected to another term, said the lawsuit was brought forth due to Phan West and Namquan’s “continued and relentless lack of unprofessional behavior and their continued violation of decorum and Robert’s Rules of Order.”

“The hope is that they cease their behavior and conduct themselves appropriately and  professionally,” he wrote.

The rest of the city council did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

Mike Moodian, a public policy professor at Chapman University, said in a Monday phone interview that he has never seen a lawsuit like this locally, but that it reminded him of Steve Rocco’s tenure on the Orange Unified School Board two decades ago.

“He spent every single meeting disrupting the meetings, and going on and on about conspiracy theories about people trying to kill him, and they couldn’t even recall him,” Moodian said about Rocco.

Referring to the situation in Westminster, Moodian said “It’s an absolute circus.”

He also said he was curious what the courts will do about it.

“At the end of the day, these are two democratically elected council members, and it’s also very hard to enforce respectful engagement,” he said.

Manzo, along with Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen and Councilwoman Kimberly Ho authorized the lawsuit – handled by an outside law firm – during the closed session portion of the Oct. 23 meeting.

In his public report, City Attorney Christian Bettenhausen said West and Nguyen were aware of the lawsuit against them proposed by Ho and backed by Manzo, but didn’t attend. 

“The injunction would seek to require the following: That they defer to the mayor’s role as chair during the meeting, require them to follow Robert’s Rules of Order, don’t speak unless you have been given the floor to speak, stop speaking when your time is up, don’t interrupt when someone else has the floor, don’t take phone calls and speak during to livestream during council meetings,” Bettenhausen said at the Oct. 23 meeting. 

He also said the council majority authorized the hired attorneys to “seek fines if they violate the court order,” which would be paid for out of their own pockets. 

Mayor Nguyen, Ho and Manzo voted to not have the city pay for the legal bills of Nguyen and West. 

West lambasted the move at the start of the Oct. 23 meeting, calling it a politically motivated attack against her and Nguyen. 

“What the mayor requests is unconstitutional, violating my First Amendment and it’s illegal,” West said. “I did not attend for that reason.” 

Nguyen stayed silent on the matter. 

“Unfortunately we have to proceed this way,” Mayor Nguyen said. 

Elected officials have been grappling with running city council meetings in an effective time frame since West and NamQuan Nguyen took office two years ago. 

Meetings often stretch into the early morning hours due to arguing amongst city council members. 

At the Oct. 23 meeting, West repeatedly interrupted Mayor Nguyen following the lawsuit’s announcement – sparking multiple arguments on the dais.  

In the lawsuit, city officials are asking for a “temporary restraining order and preliminary and permanent injunctions enjoining Defendants from speaking at any City Council meeting when they have not been recognized as having the floor by the Mayor after the Mayor issues a request or warning that they respect the rights to speak of those who do have the floor.” 

In August, city council members censured West for a host of allegations – including lying, disclosing confidential information, disparaging staff and publicly berating residents. 

[Read: Westminster City Council Censures Amy Phan West Over Laundry List of Allegations]

Since then, a majority of council members have also instituted a host of rules – like limiting council member speaking times – in an effort to better conduct city business.

Officials are asking an OC Superior Court Judge to back the mayor’s parliamentary powers in running city council meetings.

“The Mayor has been unable to manage their unruly behavior, and repeated efforts to obtain their compliance have failed. As a result, the City Council has ended meetings without accomplishing its business, met late into the night, and generally frustrated those interested in responsible, effective conduct of City meetings,” reads the lawsuit. 

“If court-assisted mediation cannot resolve this dispute, the City will seek declaratory relief and an injunction against Council Members West and Nguyen to restrain their disruptive behavior.” 

Spencer Custodio is the civic editor. You can reach him at scustodio@voiceofoc.org. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerCustodio.

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.