In August 1920 a woman’s right to vote was ratified and became public law, and later women were guaranteed the right to serve in elective positions in local, state, and federal governments. Since then, many have been elected and served as council members and as mayor in Lompoc.
I have worked with and for women in the military, in private industry, and in local governments since 1975; I have always found that they have positive and thoughtful contributions to make to whatever issue is being discussed. In each case their ideas were included in the end-product of the discussion.
At least one Lompoc City Council member and his two enablers apparently haven’t gotten the message that women have an equal voice in city government. Some recent examples demonstrate how disrespectful Councilman Jim Mosby is to the women who serve with him on the City Council.
One such example was on June 3 when the city manager was discussing COVID-19 improvements needed in order to reopen the City Hall lobby for business. He was soliciting ideas from council members so that staff could prepare a plan for their approval.
Councilman Mosby wanted a bilingual employee to “guide traffic,” an additional plastic barrier at the front door, removal of the furniture in the lobby area to preclude people from sitting down to wait (using the space for queuing), and to maintain the current reception area for use when the social-distancing requirements are terminated.
Mayor Jenelle Osborne agreed with most of Mosby’s ideas and suggested repurposing the small conference room in the lobby and turning it into the reception area.
Councilman Mosby pressured his two male accomplices to support only his ideas and rejected the mayor’s suggestions out of hand. But this time he failed—only Councilman Victor Vega, who seconded the motion, supported his motion and it died for lack of a third vote.
Later in the same meeting, the council members were discussing how to spend some projected new sales tax revenue; even after numerous concerns were expressed by Councilwoman Gilda Cordova, Councilman Mosby, ignoring her input, made a motion to adopt a resolution binding the City Council to the proposed new retirement payment schedules.
Councilwoman Cordova once again expressed caution. She said, “I don’t feel comfortable with these projections and that we weren’t really assessing the aftermath of COVID-19” because the city was “already on a downward path before it happened.” She was also concerned that the “unemployment rate would be there for some time to come” and that could adversely impact the sales tax revenue prediction.
She further cautioned that if the projected revenue gains were wrong, that locking in a new payment schedule at this time would be premature.
She then offered a substitute motion to instead adopt an internal policy and see how it worked out during the next two-year budget discussions, which will occur early next year, before making a commitment concerning the retirement fund that the city couldn’t back out of; it was quickly seconded by Mayor Osborne.
Councilman Mosby strenuously objected to this motion citing budgeting actions by previous councils that occurred decades ago as his justification. Predictably, Cordova’s motion failed on a 3-2 vote with Councilmen Mosby, Vega, and Dirk Starbuck voting no. And equally predictable Councilman Mosby’s motion passed 3-2.
This is Mosby’s style; his bullying tactics are well known, and if you watched the entire council meeting on June 3 his disdain for the two female members of the council was palpable. There have been numerous times when the female council members have waited their turn to speak, sharing ideas, and Councilman Mosby is seen whispering to another council member or looking at papers with an outward appearance of disinterest and disrespect.
On one occasion, Mayor Osborne had to ask Mosby to stop talking to the councilman beside him so she could be heard; on another, the mayor asked for a time extension of the meeting so that she and Councilwoman Cordova could have a chance to speak—initially she couldn’t get a third vote but finally one of the men conceded.
All this got me to wondering: If Mosby marginalizes women during public meetings, what happens during closed sessions?
The specifics of issues discussed during these meetings are sensitive, and the participants are forbidden to discuss what happens. But how the meetings are conducted and the mood in the room aren’t sensitive. So, I asked former attendees about the decorum in the room.
Sources told me that the antics of the three councilmen are more like those you would find in a locker room; their ringleader is Councilman Mosby. When a consensus is needed for almost all topics, the ideas of Councilwoman Cordova and Mayor Osborne are dismissed out of hand as Mosby pushes his agenda and the other two follow him blindly.
These are just the most recent occurrences; he has been doing this during council meetings for several years.
Mosby’s character flaw is discouraging to see in an elected official; he needs some social grooming if he wishes to continue public service, but it may be hard to teach him a new way of thinking and acting.
With the current unrest in the country and people getting tired of how they and others are being treated, this should be the season when voters demand respect from their elected leaders. Councilman Mosby can’t seem to grasp this concept, and his treatment of the women on the council dais and out of public view is deplorable.
Ron Fink writes to the Sun from Lompoc. Send your thoughts, comments, and opinionated letters to letters@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 16-23, 2020.