By John Crowder

City business took up only a fraction of the October 14 Antioch city council meeting, as the effort to recall Mayor Wade Harper continued to move forward. Public comments related to the recall, and the violence in the community and schools that appears to be driving it, dominated the session.

Antioch resident Rich Buongiorno, who has been the main force behind the recall movement, once again aired his dissatisfaction with the mayor during public comments. He began his statement by addressing the mayor directly, telling him, “You sir, have not done anything, for your position and for this city.” He went on to compare the election of the mayor to an investment made by the citizens of Antioch, telling Harper there had been “no return” on this investment. Passing forward a set of papers, he told the mayor, “We the voters, have the last word. Remember that. Mr. Mayor, you are being recalled.”

Buongiorno then served Harper with the Notice of Intention to Circulate Recall Petition, which included more than the necessary valid signatures of registered voters in Antioch. See a copy of the form, here: HarperRecallIntention. The papers were filed with the City Clerk’s office on Thursday, October 16, and the County Elections Office verified the signatures. Now the recall supporters must obtain signatures from 20% of the registered voters in Antioch, as of the last election, which is approximately 8,600 voters, over the next 180 days, to send the recall to the ballot.

At the meeting, however, speakers in support of the mayor outnumbered those looking to oust him, or who brought forward concerns about the violence in and around the schools.

Iris Archuleta said that she would support the mayor and the members of the city council. She said that the naysayers were, “never satisfied, no matter how significant the change, and never will be.”

“It does not help to point fingers and lay blame,” she said, “it never has, and it won’t help now.”

She told the city council and the mayor, “I will do everything I can to support your positive efforts.”

Pastor Kirkland Smith, Senior Pastor of Grace Bible Fellowship, said he was speaking as a supporter of Mayor Harper, and referenced others in the audience who were also in support of him. This resulted in loud applause and cheers from the audience, lasting almost half-a-minute, which ceased only when Smith pointed out that he was limited to three minutes in which to speak. He noted that he had two sons who had graduated from Deer Valley High School (DVHS).

“The problems that were at Deer Valley today, were there two and four years ago, the difference was, there was an involved parent,” Smith said. “It seems to me, if there is a problem in our schools, it starts with inactive parents.”

He then continued emphasizing the need for active principals, an active school board, and an active school superintendent. Smith pointed out that the mayor had been active, as he had attended events in the Sycamore area, and more recently been “pitching a tent” at Deer Valley Plaza. Smith concluded by challenging what he termed, “finger pointers,” saying, “If you’re here to cast your stone, I’m leaving some stones right here.” Following his remarks, the room again erupted in cheers and applause.

Most of the other speakers echoed the themes established by Smith.

Velma Wilson, a youth education advisor with the local NAACP, expressed her support for the mayor. She said that she had been with the mayor at Deer Valley Plaza, and that she and Mayor Harper had spoken with “200 plus” students there. Noting that not all of the kids were doing bad, she said, “We need to let these kids know that we stand with them.”

Joseph Adebayo, past president of the NAACP, East County Branch, said that crime has been an issue in Antioch for a long time, but that he wanted to be part of the solution. He said that he believed the mayor was doing a good job, and that, “We are on the very right trajectory.”

Other speakers supporting the mayor included Odessa Lefrancois and Willie Mims, both also of the NAACP, East County Branch, Hiassen Bay, with the Green Jacket organization, Essence Phillips, a summer school principal with the Antioch Unified School District, and more Antioch residents.

Some speakers did bring forward concerns with violent behavior, especially as it relates to local schools. One speaker addressed the problems at Deer Valley Plaza, and expressed frustration with the fights occurring over the past eight weeks, both there and in the schools. She cited the Constitution of the State of California, saying that it provided for the rights of students and staff to attend safe schools.

Gil Murillo said he attended the school board meeting last week, and that he wanted city staff to attend school board meetings as well, as, “students are living in fear.” He continued, “This is about our kids.” “They just want to go to school. They just want to be safe.”

Jeff Belle, a candidate for the Contra Costa County Board of Education said, “I believe that an unsafe community creates unsafe schools, and vice-versa.”

Sandra McKee, who said that she has lived in Antioch for 67 years, expressed her disappointment with the state of the city. She told the council that they could do more, and that it was not the responsibility of teachers, but parents, to raise their kids properly.

She said that maybe parents need to be held accountable for the actions of their children.

Following public comments, Mayor Harper called Scott Bergerhouse, principal of Dozier-Libbey Medical High School (DLMHS) and Lori Cook, also of DLMHS, forward for a presentation of “Good Samaritan” certificates to four DLMHS students. The mayor said that he had created the award, and it was the first time he was giving it out. The two AUSD employees commended the four students for coming to the aid of an elderly woman they had seen fall in the Kaiser parking lot as they walked home from school. The four students, Brandon Rojas, Nnambi Agu, Chinasa Agu, and Ivuoma Umozurike, were honored by the principal, Ms. Cook, the mayor and the city council.

Finally, the agenda item Mayor’s Comments was reached. Mayor Harper spoke for several minutes, answering his critics. He began by mentioning that he teaches two classes for AUSD. “I’ve met some really solid students, that have gone through a lot,” he said.

The mayor went on to detail what he considered the accomplishments of his administration. He talked about the passage of Measure C, a tax measure used for funding public safety, and said that he and his family had worked extensively for its passage. He noted that the measure passed with 70% approval. He also said that he is working for the passage of Measure O.

Harper said that “this council” extended 3% at 50 retirement benefits in order to hire experienced police officers, “despite public criticism,” and, “as a result, we have hired several experienced lateral police officers.” He said, “It has proven to be the right decision that we made, collectively, as a city council.”

With respect to the budget, Harper said, “this council passed a budget to stop deficit spending.”

Harper spoke about his and his colleague’s engagement with the public.

“This city council has attended countless public meetings,” he said.

Regarding the community cafés, he said he had attended almost every one.

“I ran on a platform of zero tolerance for crime,” but, “everyone in this community needs to adopt this mind set,” Harper added. He noted the proliferation of neighborhood watch programs.

Harper said that, while he has a zero tolerance for crime, at the same time he has a lot of tolerance for young people, and that was why he had pitched a tent at Deer Valley Plaza, and had spent time meeting the students who pass through there after school. He also spoke about the meetings regarding the Deer Valley Plaza incidents that he had attended which included the police chief, superintendent of schools, the Deer Valley Plaza landlords, and representatives of the AUSD school board, district attorney’s office, and probation department. He advocated for the removal of the smoke shop there, and said that parents who bring their students to the Plaza to fight, need to be held accountable. He said it was a “small handful of kids” who cause problems.

Harper spoke about his accessibility and the transparency of city and council decisions. He called city manager Steve Duran, “the most transparent manager the city has ever had.” Harper said that, as mayor, he was willing to meet with all constituents, even those that have, “held up the recall papers,” if they have solutions.

Harper challenged the media to not just report the bad things happening in town, but also the good things.

Harper concluded, “I’m not a person that’s constantly pushing myself forward, or tooting my own horn, that’s not usually me. I’m a modest person. But I see that I have to start a campaign to pretty much let people know, these are some of the things I’m doing.” He then emphasized the teamwork that has felt was a hallmark of this city council.

Following Mayor Harper’s comments, the rest of the meeting moved quickly to adjournment.

The next meeting of the city council will take place on Tuesday, October 28, at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers.

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