Appointment of Ward 6 candidate sparks ethics debate
What began as a routine appointment quickly evolved into a debate over ethics, elections and public service.
A routine appointment to the city's Rental Housing Board turned into an unexpected debate Tuesday as councilmembers sparred over whether active candidates for elected office should be appointed to city commissions during an election year.
The Santa Ana City Council voted 5-2 to appoint Giovanni Chavez, a candidate for the Ward 6 City Council seat, to a partial term on the Rental Housing Board. Councilmembers Johnathan Hernandez and Benjamin Vazquez voted against the appointment after raising ethical concerns and questioning the optics of appointing an active candidate to a city commission.
How it went down
Discussion of Item 5 of Tuesday, July 7th's city council meeting. (City of Santa Ana)
Hernandez, who pulled the item from the consent calendar, emphasized that his concerns were not about Chavez personally but about setting a precedent.
"I want to ensure that, you know, anybody who is looking to sit on these commissions, that they don't use our commissions as platforms... as platforms to campaign for themselves, for the special interests that are important to them," Hernandez said.
As Hernandez continued speaking, he remarked that Chavez was laughing from the audience before addressing him directly. The Santanero has reached out to Chavez for comment regarding the exchange.
"I support this individual's right to serve on this commission. I just draw ethical concerns when this individual [Chavez] is laughing in my chamber at these concerns... I want to make sure you don't campaign on my city's back. So out of an abundance of that caution, I wanted to raise awareness to everybody here." — Councilmember Hernandez
Councilmember Phil Bacerra questioned whether the same standard should apply to other commissioners running for office, noting that Chavez's Ward 6 opponent, Isuri Ramos, is also a candidate for the same seat and currently serves on the Planning Commission.
"If we're going to single out Mr. Chavez and we're talking about commissions and whether it's fair that they run for office, then I would hope that you would also advocate for the removal of all the commissioners that are currently running for office," Bacerra said to Hernandez.
Hernandez responded that he would support a consistent policy preventing any active candidate from serving on a city commission while campaigning.
Vazquez echoed Hernandez's concerns but went a step further, questioning Chavez's past involvement in the city's renters' rights efforts before launching his council campaign and arguing the appointment appeared to benefit his candidacy more than the city's renters.
Councilmember Jessie Lopez opposed blocking the appointment, saying she has consistently defended each councilmember's authority to make appointments regardless of political disagreements.
Seeking clarification, Councilmember Thai Viet Phan asked City Attorney Sonia Carvalho whether city law prohibited appointing an active candidate to a commission.
"No, there are no such prohibitions... I did not find any legal or ethical reasons," City Attorney Sonia Carvalho said. "My only other concern would just be that while any individual, whether you're elected or appointed, that while you're serving the city, that you don't use public resources or use that seat to campaign."
Phan said the council could consider adopting a policy in the future if members wished to prohibit candidates from serving on commissions but argued there was no basis to reject Chavez's appointment under current rules. She also noted that several current and former councilmembers previously served on city commissions before seeking elected office.
Mayor Pro Tem David Penaloza, who nominated Chavez for the appointment, pushed back on Hernandez's criticism, calling his remarks "condescending" and reminding the council that "this isn't your chamber, this is the People's Chamber." Penaloza then made a substitute motion to move forward with Chavez's appointment.
Mayor Valerie Amezcua swiftly ended the discussion, calling it part of the "season of politics," before the council approved Chavez's appointment. During the swearing-in, Amezcua invited Penaloza to join Chavez, but he remained at the dais as Chavez took the oath.
Post-meeting clarifications
In a statement to The Santanero following the meeting, Penaloza said he did not believe the appointment presented an ethical issue because the Rental Housing Board is "an administrative body" and does not conflict with the office Chavez is seeking. He also noted that, at the time of his statement, candidate filing had not yet opened and Chavez would still need to qualify through the city's nomination process.
Penaloza said the Rental Housing Board has struggled to maintain a quorum and that recruiting volunteers has been difficult because commissioners receive little to no compensation. He added that his previous appointee resigned shortly after being appointed because of scheduling conflicts. According to Penaloza, Chavez contacted him "about a week or two ago" expressing interest in the vacancy and was the only person who recently reached out seeking the appointment.
"He's a very capable individual and I am thankful for his desire to serve the public. I know many of my colleagues love to hover over their nominees as they take their oaths and watch over them as they sign their oath of office but that's just not my thing. This is the new commissioners moment, not mine. My stamp of approval came when I placed the individual's appointment on the agenda and proudly voted for them." — Mayor Pro Tem Penaloza
Statements from the candidates
In a statement provided to The Santanero, Chavez stated:
"I was disappointed to see two councilmembers personally attack a resident for trying to serve his city. Political candidate or not, I am a resident of the City of Santa Ana, and this is not the first time I have seen councilmembers attack residents with different opinions on the dais. In fact, Councilmember Hernandez has been investigated multiple times for his behavior with city staff. A majority of the candidates this cycle are either city commissioners or elected officials, so my appointment was not out of the ordinary. However, Councilmember Hernandez trying to score cheap political points over a standard appointment was out of the ordinary. I helped Councilmember Vasquez in his campaign in 2016, and I have represented tenants facing eviction through pro bono work as an attorney. Further, commissioners are supposed to be neutral in these proceedings. So I can’t imagine why Councilmember Vasquez would make those comments other than he’s using his position of power to play politics. What last night revealed to me is that we have deep abuse of power and bully tactics at the Santa Ana City Council. Residents deserve better." — Giovanni Chavez
Additionally, Ramos provided this statement to The Santanero:
"I’ve proudly served on the Planning Commission for 5+ years. Over the last 16 years I’ve served on 4 City Commissions, beginning with the Youth Commission when I was in high school. I have also been proud to have organized alongside tenants in Santa Ana over the last ten years and to have been a part of the fight for rent control in our city.
Councilmember David Peñaloza is appointing his handpicked successor to the Rent Board days before the candidate filing window opens. If this was not politically motivated, why didn’t he make this appointment over a year ago when the Rent Stabilization Board was unable to meet due to lack of quorum? He neglected his responsibility.
Peñaloza had no sense of urgency to make an appointment then. What’s his real motive now? Is it an attempt to give his recruit a title to use for the ballot before filing opens on Monday?
We can’t just question Peñaloza’s political motivation, we also have to question if he’s failed Santa Ana renters. David Peñaloza has openly opposed rent stabilization with his vote time and time again. He also opposed letting our community have a say, and has long benefited from political contributions from the CA Apartment Association which opposes these important policies that keep our families housed.
It is so deeply troubling to see an elected rig the system once again for personal political gain." — Isuri Ramos
