Antioch Council hires controversial new city manager on split vote following heated exchange between mayor, councilman
Will be paid $263,880 per year plus benefits
Accusations of racism fly during contentious public comments
“If she was smart, she wouldn’t come because I wouldn’t want to serve none of you all,” Councilwoman Torres-Walker
“What’s wrong with waiting 70 days?” – Councilman Barbanica
“We’ve absolutely done our due diligence.” – Mayor Hernandez-Thorpe
“I basically feel she’s a bright, intelligent woman but I don’t believe she’s qualified for this position.” – Councilwoman Ogorchock
“I was impressed with her knowledge and connections to federal dollars. I’m for all women and all people of color who are pushed to lower positions.” – Mayor Pro Tem Wilson
Also approves $296 per month pay raise for councilmembers, City Treasurer, Clerk after November election
By Allen D. Payton
With just 70 days remaining until the November election during which two new council members will be elected and possibly a new mayor, the Antioch City Council voted 3-2, last night, Tuesday, August 27, 2024, to hire City of Seattle Deputy Director of Deputy Inspector General for Public Safety, Bessie M. Scott as the new city manager with a two-year contract. She will be paid an annual salary of $263,880. (See council meeting video)
Before adjourning to Closed Session to discuss hiring the new city manager, the council, with District 1 Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker absent for the roll call, heard from four members of the public about the appointment. Two spoke in favor and two against the hiring of Scott. They referred to articles and comments about several of her controversial and racially divisive comments on social media over the past several years. (See related article)
As expected, the council majority of Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe, Mayor Pro Tem Monica Wilson and Torres-Walker, who arrived later and in time for the public discussion and vote, approved Scott’s contract, while District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock and District 2 Councilman Mike Barbanica, who are not running for re-election in November, voted against.
Future Council Pay Raise
In addition, the council approved on a 4-1 vote, with Ogorchock opposing, an 18.45% pay raise or $296, from $1,604 to $1,900 per month, for a total of $22,800 per year, which will go into effect after the November election. It will benefit the two current councilwomen, and possibly three new council members. The pay raise also applies to the City Clerk and City Treasurer, as well.
Before the vote Ogorchock said, “There are a lot of cities out there that this is volunteer for them. FYI, it is not a stipend, this is a salary.”
“In this city we’ve gone years and years without a pay raise, even with cost increase, fuel costs,” Barbanica argued. “My recommendation is to go with it each cycle. It had been ignored by council for so many years because they were afraid of giving themselves a pay raise. But we’re not giving ourselves a raise. We’re giving the next council a raise. I’m not here, whoever is here you deserve it.”
“Thank you, again Councilmember Barbanica. I am not independently wealthy or retired, so I appreciate the raise,” Torres-Walker said with a laugh.
Public Comments
The first person to speak before Closed Session was resident Mark Jordan, who read form prepared remarks, which he later provided a copy of to Herald. He said, “Now, in the past we’ve had city managers that were a poor fit for Antioch, or who did a less than stellar job; but once again we have you all proposing another individual for city manager who is totally unqualified for the job.
As you well know, during the past few years Antioch has gone through several interim, acting and full-time city managers. Shouldn’t it be someone who is very well qualified this time? Someone; who has experience? Someone; who knows our community?
Unfortunately, today we find ourselves somewhere between a laugh and a tear. We, all of us in Antioch, need a major step toward healing.
This selection gives our city an opportunity to move past the havoc and divisive battles of the past four years. A chance to start again: with a city manager who can bring a positive way forward and begin to unify our city.
But that is not what you offer our city today. What we need to be discussing tonight is a positive future for Antioch.
We had a perfectly qualified assistant city manager that was overlooked and who left Antioch. Really that was a tragic, great loss for Antioch.
So, as we discuss a new city manager today our city is absent not only the city manager, assistant city manager, economic development director, public works director and police chief; and I could go on and on.
Antioch cannot continue with the chaos of unfilled positions. We must blend the old with the new in an effort to unify our community. We need a full-time, experienced individual who can help guide us to mend the wounds we have self-inflicted upon our city of Antioch.
Antioch cannot truly prosper unless we join together and make a selection for all of the citizens of Antioch. This hire should not be made some 69 days before the election and potential change in council members; but should be made by the incoming members; whoever they may be.
Even if that requires starting over at step one and beginning fresh.
It is time for everyone to stop being part of Antioch’s self-imposed problems and to become part of Antioch’s next positive chapter. Thank you.”
He was followed by Antioch Police Oversight Commission Member Leslie May saying, “It is time for us to move forward.” She spoke of the police department’s racist text message scandal.
“It’s time we have people in place that can do the job who are well-qualified,” May continued. “She was vetted by an…outside agency. She was chosen as…one of the best of the applicants. To go through this to try to denigrate a woman’s character…you’re really running a thin…legal line.”
“You’ve never laid your eyes on her so, you don’t know what she’s about. You need to get over it,” she added.
She spoke of the “old boys club” and people with “white colored hair, blue eyes…” who opposed the appointment.
The next person to speak, resident Melissa Case, said, “I have reached out to Bessie, respectfully but she did not respond. I don’t care if you hire someone one day before the election if they’re a good fit for our city. The goal is to not further divide.”
“I also reached out to councilmembers to ask about the background check,” she continued. “We’ve had a non-experienced city manager, Con Johnson. How did that work out?”
“It was her Tweet she wrote against mothers,” Case stated. “When you come attacking a certain part of the community…I don’t think that’s right for Antioch. I feel like this is a very significant step backwards…who seems like she’ll perpetuate the division.”
She then spoke of the need to heal the community before concluding her comments.
The final speaker during public comments prior to the Closed Session was resident Devin Williams, who said, “Regardless of the upcoming election, you’ve been elected by the people and have the authority to hire a city manager. You have an opportunity to bring a qualified individual who has gone through a rigorous process. Some past comments made by Ms. Scott should not overshadow her qualifications.”
The meeting began at 5:15 p.m. and the council then adjourned at 5:29 p.m. into the closed-door meeting during which they discussed hiring Scott as city manager for two years and negotiating her salary and benefits, one lawsuit, a possible lawsuit and the performance evaluations for both Acting City Manager Kwame Reed and City Attorney Thomas L. Smith.
There was no reportable action from Closed Session. But the vote to actually hire Scott occurred later during the final item the council dealt with on the meeting agenda.
Public Session Public Comments Get Contentious
During the public session discussion and vote on the city manager appointment, City Human Resources Director Ana Chavez asked the council to “appoint the city manager candidate and discuss the salary and authorize me to sign the agreement or contract.”
During public comments one woman said, “Some of our white counterparts have an issue with her being Black. If you have a problem with African Americans, Blacks being on council, it’s just the beginning. If we have to keep our comments to make you comfortable…I’m standing in the gap for Ms. Bessie…on your white privilege, she is not by herself. To you all thugs, computer thugs. You all want to bring back hanging to Antioch. We’re standing on our principle and we’re not going anywhere. If you’re not comfortable, go somewhere and pray. If all you can see is the color of this lady’s skin, you’re miserable.”
Sandra Wilson said, “I have been a resident of Antioch for over 30 years and…this is the first time I’ve been to the city council meetings. I’m a member of Fellowship Church…which is Black, white, old, young. When I heard you were going to hire someone with the social media posts…It was a red flag for me. If she truly said the things and posted the things she did, there’s racism on her part. There isn’t room in this city for any racism. I would ask if you would vet this more.”
She then mentioned current Acting City Manager Kwame Reed and said, “I would suggest you give it to him.”
Eric Wunderly said, “I’m a longtime resident of Antioch and first time speaking I want to voice my opposition to appoint someone to the city manager position so close to the election an should wait until after the election.”
Eileen Bethany said, “The City of Antioch has had five city managers in the past three years. We have 39 million people in California. Why can’t we find someone here? Why are we paying relocation fees? Something went wrong
It would seem prudent, since there needs to be synergy between the mayor, the council and city manager. Wouldn’t it be more pragmatic to wait until a new mayor or Mr. Thorpe is renewed, in place?”
“The different posts that I’ve seen printed that this particular candidate has made are explosive. I think you should wait,” she said.
Leslie May spoke again, “Why don’t we wait until a white mayor is elected? Ron Bernal is going to get elected. We see what you write. Let’s just call this what it is. This is a race race. We do not want a Black mayor. We want old Antioch back. They’re going to get rid of Bessie Marie Scott. So, you guys talk too much. You give out your game plan.”
Mary Lutz spoke next defending the social media comments by Scott saying she should be “free from unjust scrutiny and bias.”
Resident Dr. Jeffrey Klinginger was one of the few who spoke against hiring Scott saying, “Since 2022…Antioch has seen a parade of city managers. 969 days. Now with only 70 days until the next election and the inevitable change in the city council you want to handicap the city council, now? The future city council might have issues with Ms. Scott’s qualifications who is without even assistant city manager experience. I’m sure she will in time reach the level of expertise. But not today. Antioch has serious challenges ahead. This is no place for a rookie city manager and on the job training. I fear you’re setting her up for failure…and let the new city council select the new city manager. I’m sure Mr. Reed can manage for a few more months.”
During his comments Gavin Payton, a youth leader for the NAACP East County Branch, asked for members of the NAACP to stand up and several people did.
Dr. Kimberly Payton followed her son’s comments saying, “In reflection upon what other people have said…whenever this council tries to get progressive and move the city forward…there’s always a threat of the white cloud riding in. What difference does it make if this person went through the process is white or Black and is qualified? She has more than enough experience. She has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree. It’s time out for white privilege.”
An argument among audience members had to be gaveled down by the mayor.
Another woman said, “I just came here to speak on this because of all the people on keyboards, because she said something about Karens and Larrys. But it’s our truth. Yes, I’m going to call you a Karen, because you treated me like that. Yes, I’m going to call you a Larry. When she wrote her comments on her blog that’s her truth. You cannot just put everyone in a box. I mean get a grip. It’s 2024.”
Gigi Crowder spoke next saying, “I didn’t expect for any Christians to come up here and not understand people should belong. African Americans are not given the power…to be racists. I will never go and read anything on Next Door.”
“We’re going to call it what it is. Speaking truth doesn’t make you racist,” said another woman. “Like you tell us all the time, get over it.”
“Don’t listen to the nonsense,” she said to the council members.
Resident Andrew Becker spoke next saying, “People come up and say, ‘you’re not experienced, you’re experienced, I don’t think you have enough experience, you need more experience.’ But has anyone talked to people this person has helped in her community. If you can find success in another region like Seattle, I think you need to bring that success to you.”
“I do not support racism. I do support growth and welcome to Antioch,” he concluded
Lynette Hart spoke last during public comments saying, “From a Human Resource standpoint I want to talk about best practices. The job description has not been updated since 2014. I suggest you have a community panel when you have interviews…to make it a more fair and transparent process.”
Council Discussion Gets Heated
Barbanica was the first to speak during council discussion of the hiring. He said, “I have participated in all of the interviews during this process, and I’ve worked with Acting City Manager Reed for the past year and a half and he’s done everything I’ve asked of him.”
“I think it’s a bad business decision when we know we have three positions…in 70 days this vote goes down,” the councilman continued. “A month and a half ago, I called the mayor…and I asked that he keep City Manager Reed in the position, and we wait until the new council is seated. Then if this person is the best for the position, then fine.”
“If we continue on with the process and bring someone in and 70 days and the direction or personnel on this council change, then as they’re seated, we may look at a change in the city manager position. Nobody wants that. It could be costly. We would be paying a severance,” Barbanica stated. “What is wrong with waiting 70 days? It’s a smart business decision. Leave City Manager Reed in his current position. It’s a very bad business decision this close to an election. If they decide to make a change it will cost taxpayer money…all of us.”
“If the council passes this tonight when will the new city manager start? Two weeks, a month? 30 days before the election?” he asked. “Leave Manager Reed in place.”
“I prefer to do the job I was just re-elected to do,” Torres-Walker stated, speaking next. “There was a…process. There were multiple candidates.”
Then directing her comments at Barbanica she said, “It would be a violation of conversations that happened in a Closed Session.”
“Anything talked about was anything talked about outside of Closed Session,” he responded.
“There was a process. There was only one person who dropped out,” Torres-walker continued. “It was a public, transparent process because we pushed out a community survey and nobody said they don’t want a Black person. You just didn’t engage.”
However, this reporter never knew of or saw any community survey about hiring a new city manager, nor was any announcement about one provided by the City to promote to the Herald’s readers.
“To say this individual is not qualified because you don’t like their opinion…This didn’t have to be divisive,” the councilwoman said.
“If she was smart, she wouldn’t come because I wouldn’t want to serve none of you all,” Torres-Walker exclaimed raising her voice. “Black people and other people of color can be anti-Black.”
She then claimed former city manager, and current candidate for mayor, Ron Bernal said at his campaign kick-off event, “We are at war, and we need to infiltrate the community…that means armed conflict.”
The councilwoman was later asked if she had a copy of a video of Bernal’s speech or if someone told her he said that. Bernal was asked if he said that and, if so, what he meant by it.
Torres-Walker the claimed some people who opposed the hiring of Scott believed, “If you’re not the respectable negro…then we don’t need you, here.”
“There aren’t a lot of Black people nationally who are city managers. There aren’t a lot of women city managers,” she continued. “If you’re going to bring someone who is not from the internal, entrenched corruption of city hall…Do you know what Kwame Reed was told his job was? To keep the boat afloat?”
“I’m not saying everyone here is saying that. No, I don’t think every white person is racist. But I know a racist when I see one,” Torres-Walker concluded.
“I’m sorry. You all look alike,” Hernandez-Thorpe then said jokingly after calling on Wilson while Ogorchock had requested to speak next, at which Torres-Walker laughed.
“It has been a long tedious process,” Ogorchock stated. “I basically feel she’s a bright, intelligent woman but I don’t believe she’s qualified for this position. Could she be an assistant city manager? Absolutely. But I don’t think going straight to a city manager position is right.”
Wilson spoke next about, “The lack of women and women of color who are city managers. I hear constantly, ‘you’ll make a great assistant city manager.’ I had the opportunity to have a follow up conversation with Bessie and I was impressed with her knowledge and connections to federal dollars. That’s what impressed upon me something that has never happened. I’m for all women and all people of color who are pushed to lower positions.”
However, when she and the council had the opportunity to promote then-Assistant City Manager Rosanna Bayon Moore, Hernandez-Thorpe, Torres-Walker and Wilson, instead chose to hire Con Johnson as city manager.
“Thank you everybody for your comments and I’m not going to look at these comments and I never will,” the mayor said.
He then spoke of his opponent in the mayor’s race saying, “The last conversation I had with Ron Bernal was with Monica Wilson…we decided to part ways…because we could not rein in the police department. As we moved on, we hired an interim city manager, Con Johnson who was qualified.”
“I can’t get into the reasons why he’s no longer the city manager, it’s because of some of the nonsense in City Hall and the nonsense in the police department,” the mayor continued. “Forrest Ebbs never wanted to be the city manager. That’s the same conversation I had with Kwame Reed.”
However, Reed was one of the applicants for the permanent city manager position.
The mayor was later asked what he meant by the first sentence of that latter paragraph regarding “nonsense” and if he was referring to Bernal or Johnson. He was also asked if his and Wilson’s meeting with Bernal to discuss his employment violate the Brown Act as it was not done in Closed Session with the other councilmembers present. Hernandez-Thorpe was also asked if what he said publicly about the two former city manager violate their rights as city employees. City Attorney Smith was also asked the same questions. However, he is out of the office until Tuesday, Sept. 3, so the questions were sent to the department’s assistant city attorneys. Bernal and Johnson were also asked similar questions.
Speaking of Barbanica’s position on opposing the hiring of Scott, Hernandez-Thorpe said, “It was in the context of, ‘I have these concerns, Mr. Mayor, about this candidate. I went to Seattle and met with a host of representatives and most of them were white women. Everything I’ve heard in this room doesn’t even come close to who this woman is. She brings people together…that was what recommendations said.”
“Councilman Barbanica had the opportunity to come with me, but he decided not to,” the mayor said.
“I went above and beyond to make sure we’re picking the right person,” he continued. “We’ve absolutely done our due diligence. If you’ve heard it any other way, you’ve got it wrong.”
“Let’s clear some things. Mr. Mayor you asked me to go with you and I said, ‘I’ll try to arrange my schedule’ and I asked you to call me to tell me when you planned to go. I’m still waiting for that call. But none of this stuff had even come up. So, what I did instead, I got on the phone with Bessie and the city attorney on the phone and did a second interview.”
“You absolutely had other concerns, Mike,” the mayor stated.
Barbanica interrupted him.
“Let me speak. I heard you, you’ll hear me,” Hernandez-Thorpe said.
“First off, don’t talk to me that way,” Barbanica shot back.
City Attorney Smith then interjected and warned them not to share what was said in Closed Session in violation of the Brown Act state open meeting law.
“You then said we should all resign,” Hernandez-Thorpe stated.
“After the Grand Jury report came out, yes, I did,” Barbanica responded.
Torres-Walker then moved approval of appointing Bessie M. Scott as city manager with a Step B salary of $263,880 annually and moving expenses of up to $20,000, seconded by Wilson. The motion passed 3-2.
The council then voted to table the remaining items on the agenda until a future meeting, including responding to the Civil Grand Jury report and to adjourn the meeting shortly after 11:00 p.m.
All five council members were later asked if they had seen the questions in the survey and the responses and to provide a copy of each. They were also asked why Scott wasn’t in attendance at the meeting for the public to meet her before their vote and informed that the city manager hiring process in the late 1990’s included a public interview session with the candidate during a council meeting. City Attorney Smith and HR Director Cortez were asked how many candidates applied, how many were interviewed by the council and how many had withdrawn from the process, and how many responses did the survey receive and how did it guarantee only Antioch residents participated. They were all also asked for Scott’s start date.
UPDATE 1: Regarding her comment about Bernal Torres-Walker responded, “A concerned citizen sent me a link from Ron’s Facebook page so you should find it there. I was surprised to hear this kind of rhetoric because it doesn’t scream unity to say this election is going to be a war given the definition. My question is what did he mean?”
She also said, “As for the survey, it was published months ago on the city’s website and over social media, and the results were viewed by the council.”
UPDATE 2: The councilwoman, known for her own long-winded, bombastic diatribes from the dais, including during last night’s meeting, was referring to and ironically twisting the battle-themed campaign rhetoric stated in a video posted on Bernal’s campaign Facebook page on March 9th of his speech during the kick-off event earlier this year. In greater context he said, “Our campaign motto was chosen carefully which is ‘Change Starts Today’ and I want people to know that as we go out into this community, because it’s going to be a war and we’re going to infiltrate Antioch, I want people, I want to first of all, I want to listen to what people have to say. I want to hear their concerns, I want to hear their problems and want to see what we can do to help, immediately. But then before we tell them what we’re going to do about changing this city, but I want people to know they’re going to have hope. That’s the main thing that I think is missing in Antioch right now, is people cannot hope for a better tomorrow. I want to see our city be a place that can be safe. I want us to hold our heads high and be proud that we’re from Antioch.”
Please check back later for any additional updates to this report.
