This is an excerpt from a disturbing letter I recently received from a concerned Lompoc city employee:
"To whom it may concern, I am writing this as a concerned citizen of Lompoc. I work in the city offices and am concerned about something that I have noted over the last couple of months. Councilman [Jim] Mosby frequently comes into our offices (two to three times a week and is often joined by Councilman [Dirk] Starbuck) and makes disparaging remarks about [Lompoc Police] Chief [Pat] Walsh to anyone who will listen. I have recently found out that the purpose of several of these visits was to 'encourage' the city manager to fire Chief Walsh.
"This concerns me as I feel Chief Walsh is doing more for our city than many of his predecessors. I believe that these councilmen want Chief Walsh 'out' because he is not their 'yes man' and does what is right for the citizens of Lompoc.
"I am frustrated that a good man like Chief Walsh can be treated this way."
This person has a right to feel frustrated. What empowers a council member to stroll through City Hall, trap employees at their work stations, interrupt them from their work, and engage them in this sort conversation?
Mosby is known for his bullying tactics, but these episodes are a serious breach of ethical protocol. Personnel matters must be discussed either in closed sessions of the council or privately with the city manager; any responsible person knows this, and surely Mosby and Starbuck know it because other personnel matters have come up during their tenure as councilmen.
If they read the City Council handbook, they would have come across this: "The City Council agrees any criticism of a city staff member shall be done privately through the city manager." Oh, I forgot, they are in denial that there are any rules that apply to them concerning proper decorum.
Perhaps what bothers Mosby most is that Chief Pat Walsh isn't bashful when it comes to matters that involve the police department. Mosby and Starbuck have led efforts to cut police staffing and along with Councilman Victor Vega voted to keep a public safety sales tax measure off the last ballot. This will result in some drastic general fund budget cuts in the next budget cycle, many of which will come from the police/fire staff budgets.
All three councilmen are home grown and raised in Lompoc; all have publicly stated that they feel that police officers and firefighters are "overpaid," and they advocate reductions in city staff. It's hard to believe that any of the three understands what it takes to keep the citizens of this city safe or what sort of skills are required for the task.
Chief Walsh is an outstanding, community-oriented police chief who personally conducts community walks to connect with people and service organizations; he is personally involved to help resolve our homelessness issues.
He is well respected in our county and our state and has done all he can to lead our police department well, even amid a radically reduced budget and frozen police positions. With the increase in gang-related crimes, emboldened young men who shoot at their rivals in congested neighborhoods filled with children, and the growing homeless population of thieves and mentally challenged individuals, you need a strong law enforcement leader.
In short, Chief Walsh is exactly the type of police chief this city needs to keep people informed and respond to their complaints.
Another sticking point concerns Mosby's free market approach to cannabis sales and processing in Lompoc. Walsh has had significant experience with this industry in Portland, Oregon, and has advocated a limit on the number of licenses in the city and that probably didn't please Mosby.
Recently, Walsh asked if the Public Safety Commission could be done away with. This commission meets quarterly, and by the members' own admission, this commission really does not make a meaningful contribution to public safety. They are supposed to act as a conduit for communication to citizens but have held no outreach meetings with the public to hear their concerns and so it's clearly a waste of city staff time.
To put this in perspective, Mosby's appointee, who has used commission meetings as a platform to bash police officers, wants to keep the commission going.
On the other hand, irresponsible council members who feel free to intimidate the staff, violate rules they agreed to follow by discussing personnel issues with staff members, and make disparaging remarks about the police chief have no business serving the public in any capacity.
Maybe it's time for the staffer to file a grievance with human resources based on the unprofessional actions of Councilmen Mosby and Starbuck.
Ron Fink is a resident of Lompoc. Send your thoughts to [email protected].
