More elected officials in Orange County have been formally reprimanded at a public meeting, through what’s known as a censure. 

This time it’s two school board trustees.

It comes after a spate of elected officials have been censured for various reasons throughout Orange County — mostly city council members for things like allegedly sharing sensitive information or berating residents. 

In the Anaheim Elementary School District, board members voted to censure board member Mark Lopez on Jan. 15 after he was elected to the North Orange County Community College District in November while still holding his current seat.

Then on Jan. 21, the South Orange County Community College District censured board member Terri Rydell for allegedly sharing confidential, closed session information.

South OC Community College: Censured for Sharing Confidential Information

The South OC Community College District board voted unanimously to censure Rydell after she was asked to leave the room due to a “personal conflict,” barring her from discussing or voting on the censure.

According to the staff report, Rydell allegedly violated the Brown Act – the state’s transparency law – by sharing confidential, closed session information and reports with an unnamed former administrator during an investigation into that administrator’s conduct.

The staff report also claims Rydell has shown a pattern of disclosing closed session information to unauthorized individuals. 

The board voted 6-0 to censure Rydell, exclude her from future closed sessions and remove her from all committee assignments.

Matthew Wang, legal representation for the district, said Rydell wasn’t permitted to discuss or deliberate during the censure item due to a personal conflict, and she was asked to leave the room before discussion.

But at the beginning of the meeting, Rydell made a few comments in her defense before she was cut off by the board president.

“I feel that it’s very inconsiderate of this college to come forth in this manner,” Rydell said at the meeting. “I do want to tell you that, and really I’d like to speak to the board members, that these allegations against me are false and any evidence presented is flawed.” 

“I believe that these proposed penalties are very severe,” she said. “To suggest that I have a pattern of disclosing confidential, closed session information — a pattern — is baseless and slander.” 

The staff report lays out some of the main findings of an investigation into Rydell’s alleged misconduct, which was conducted by Alyssa Jarvis of Nicole Miller & Associates. 

Investigators allege she provided a former administrator with a copy of confidential reports, and the staff report describes an “unauthorized viewing” from Rydell’s device that was “a catalyst for the copying and dissemination” of confidential reports.

The alleged incidents happened during 2022, according to the staff report.

Investigators also deemed Rydell demonstrated “a lack of professional ethics” and that she was “dishonest” during the investigation.

Rydell did not respond to requests from Voice of OC for additional comment.

Board member Ryan Dack — who served on the ad hoc committee that reviewed the investigative report — said he was very confident in the evidence presented.

“There are various instances where you kind of connect the dots and IP address that is linked to Trustee Rydell’s home computer,” Dack said. “[It] was accessed while she was here, and shortly after that, massive amounts of emails were sent from said administrator.”

Board member T.J. Prendergast, who also served on the committee, agreed.

“I think the word preponderance is too light,” Prendergast said. “It was overwhelming, the amount of evidence.”

Anaheim Elementary: Censured for Holding Two Positions At Once

In Anaheim, an elementary school board member was censured earlier this month for holding multiple offices as a school board member in Orange County.

Mark Lopez — an Anaheim Elementary School board member since 2018 — was elected last November as a board member for the North Orange County Community College District.

At the last Anaheim Elementary board meeting, board members approved on a 3-2 vote that Lopez holding elected positions for separate school districts was unethical.

Board members Ryan Ruelas and Lopez opposed the censure motion.

“I thought it appropriate and transparent for us to do this because, in my opinion, there is misconduct,” Anaheim Elementary school board president Juan Alvarez said during the Jan. 15 meeting.

Similarly, other board members like Julie Diep said it’s expected for public officials to step down from their current position if elected to another county agency, or in this case, a school district.

“Any of us who are going to a higher office, that when you get to that higher office, oftentimes that lower seat is forfeited,” she said.

But Lopez pushed back against his school board members on the notion that he should resign.

“I think it’s putting the cart before the horse a little bit,” Lopez said at the Jan. 15 meeting, adding that since there has yet to be a legal filing calling for his removal, he shouldn’t have to give up his spot because he holds another office.

Board member Jackie Filbeck said that Lopez holding a seat at a community college board while maintaining duties for the elementary school district “through legal counsel has determined that the offices are incompatible.”

“For me, it comes down to — what do I need to do that’s in the best interest of this district?” Filbeck said.

“Going forward, that is not to operate or to govern under a cloud, which I feel there could be.”

OC Officials Censured in Recent Years

Many OC officials have been censured over the past five years — mostly city council members embroiled in controversy for allegedly sharing secret information from closed-door meetings.

Last year, Westminster City Councilmember Amy Phan West was censured for a laundry list of allegations including lying, disclosing confidential information and disparaging residents and staff.

Last week, West was charged by OC District Attorney Todd Spitzer for allegedly trying to bribe a parking enforcement officer – allegations she denied in a brief interview with Voice of OC. 

[Read: Westminster City Councilwoman Charged With Attempting to Bribe Parking Officer]

In 2022, former Cypress City Councilmember Frances Marquez was censured for the second time in the same year for allegedly violating sections of the city’s conduct code. She was previously censured for allegedly violating the state’s public records act and disclosing closed session information.

In 2021, Laguna Beach officials separately censured two former city council members in the same year — George Weiss and Peter Blake. Weiss was censured for allegedly sharing confidential information and Blake was condemned for disparaging comments he made about city employees, council colleagues and residents. 

In 2020, San Clemente officials censured former Councilmember Laura Ferguson for publicly criticizing city government and allegedly releasing confidential records to the public.

Angelina Hicks is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.

Hugo Rios is a Voice of OC reporting fellow. Contact him at hugo.toni.rios@gmail.com or on Twitter @hugoriosss.