Ebbs’ last day is July 14, will leave City without manager, assistant manager, community development director
Forrest Ebbs. Source: City of Antioch
By Allen D. Payton
Acting Antioch City Manager Forrest Ebbs announced to the city council and staff, on Thursday, June 14, 2023, that he will be leaving for a new position with the City of Modesto as a Deputy City Manager. His last day will be July 14. With the expected departure of City Manager Con Johnson who has been on paid leave since middle of March, following council’s direction to the city attorney during their closed session this past Tuesday night, that will leave Antioch without a city manager, assistant manager and community development director, which Ebbs retained as his official title during the brief time as acting city manager.
It has been “a little over eight years as Community Development Director,” Ebbs said when reached for comment.
Asked about the accomplishments during his time in the position he spoke of the three divisions in the department saying, “the Building Division has grown to be more appropriate for a city of our size. We have gone to an online submittal process for building permits. We just launched it.”
“In Planning, we’ve created many new opportunities for housing and ways to revitalize commercial corridors,” Forbes shared. He oversaw the entitlement process of all projects in the new home Sand Creek Focus Area, except for Kaiser during his tenure.
“In Code Enforcement we’ve grown from four budgeted positions to 18 to better serve the community,” he added.
Asked about how long he’d been considering a new position, Ebbs said, “Throughout my career I’ve looked for opportunities to try out new challenges. But this is something I’ve been pursuing for a couple years.”
Asked if the current acting position helped prepare him for his new one Ebbs replied, “I’ve learned a lot in the last three months and I’m appreciative of the council for having the confidence allowing me to do that.”
He will be one of two deputy city managers for the city with a population of a little over 200,000. Modesto’s official motto, which can be seen on an archway sign at the intersection of 9th and I Streets is “Water, Wealth, Contentment, Health”.
Asked when he started the process with Modesto, Ebbs said, “It’s been a typical recruitment process. I applied to them a couple months ago. It was a competitive national recruitment.”
Asked about his replacement in Antioch he shared, “The city council will make a decision on the acting city manager in the next couple weeks. I will be presenting some names to them and they will ultimately make the decision of how they want to proceed with an acting city manager.”
Asked about an acting Community Development Director he said, “I’ll be looking internally to backfill that position. The reality is the department staff have stepped up so it’s not going to be much of a transition.”
Ebbs is married with three children – the oldest is 19 and a freshman in college, another, age 16 is in high school and a 12-year-old in middle school.
“It was a family decision,” he shared.
They live in Lodi so his commute will be shorter.
“It’s the same distance but it’s a quicker drive,” Ebbs added.
Mayor Thorpe’s post on his official Instagram page showing he was in Mexico on Sunday, May 28, 2023 with the comment in both Spanish and the partially redacted English translation. Herald redaction.
Posts message on his official Instagram account with vulgar translation; claims it was mistranslated, later adds his intended meaning of “Don’t mess around”; but Hispanic college board president says phrase is “almost…intimidation”; 6/1/23 UPDATE: Thorpe says he informed Torres-Walker he would be out of town for Tuesday night’s meeting
By Allen D. Payton
While facing the limiting of his powers by three of his fellow councilmembers, on Sunday, while in Ensenada, Mexico, Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe posted a photo of himself with a vulgar message on his official Instagram account. It reads, “antioch_mayor No chingen” which translated into English means “antioch_mayor Don’t give a f—“. The post comes three days after the agenda was made public for Tuesday night’s special council meeting, called by District 2 Councilman Mike Barbanica at the end of last week’s meeting, and supported by Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker and District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock. The two items would both weaken one of the two powers of the mayor, to set meeting agendas, and completely change the position from being directly elected for four years to an annually rotated position among all five council members. (See related articles here and here)
He was sent questions via email late Monday night asking what he was referring to in his Instagram post on Sunday and specifically, “Why don’t you ‘give a f – – -‘?”
The mayor was asked if he is upset about what the three council members are attempting to do to weaken one of the powers of the mayor regarding setting meeting agendas and switching to an annually rotated instead of a directly elected mayor.
Thorpe was also asked, “as an elected representative, do you think it’s appropriate to use that kind of language in Spanish or English, especially on one of your official social media accounts?”
He was also asked about the trip and it’s timing: “Why are you in Mexico? How long have you had this trip planned? When did you book your flight? Or did you drive there and if so, when did you leave Antioch? If it was planned before last Tuesday night, why didn’t you mention that during the council meeting when Councilman Barbanica called for the special meeting for this Tuesday night, May 30 and it received the support from two other council members? Or will you be back from Mexico in time to attend the meeting?”
Finally, he was asked if he has anything else to share about the Instagram post or the two items on the special council meeting agenda.
Barbanica Didn’t Know Thorpe Would Miss Meeting
When asked about Thorpe being in Mexico, Barbanica said, “Had I known at the time when I called for the meeting that he was going to be out of town I would have moved it to another time. I would have loved to have everybody there. But at the time I didn’t know he was going to be out of town.”
Thorpe Claims Mistranslation by Instagram But Won’t See What He Meant
In response to the questions, Thorpe wrote the following via email Tuesday morning:
“So that I’m clear, if I had a public statement to make I’d make it. Right now, I have no statement regarding an issue that’s a non starter. I don’t send subliminal messages. You’re suggesting I’m on vacation not because it’s Memorial Day weekend (one of the busiest travel weekends in the nation) but instead because of a special meeting…after 6 years in elected office, I’ve never sent a ‘subliminal message’ as you’re suggesting.”
Thorpe then made the same claim of mistranslation about another post on his official Instagram page showing him standing in front of a painting of multi-colored wings.
“In case you wanted more examples of Meta broken translator: ‘Pintate de colores y buela como superman’ is also translated incorrectly,” he wrote.
That translated on his Instagram account to “Paint colors and grumble like Superman”.
He later provided his own translation of “Get outta here”.
More Questions Go Unanswered
Thorpe was pressed further asking him to explain what he meant since he claims it’s not intended to be a subliminal message and it’s been mistranslated. He was also asked, “if, as you claim, the Meta translator is broken and it’s an incorrect translation, what is the correct translation of ‘no chingen’?”
He was informed that the word in Spanish appears to be misspelled as the word found on SpeakLatino.com is “chinguen” which is conjugated from the word chingar meaning either: 1. to importune, disturb; 2. to have sex (offensive); or 3. to frequently have wine or drinks (colloquial)
Thorpe was then asked, if “no chinguen” is what he meant to write and if so, which of those meanings did he intend by his post. “Did you mean you don’t want to be disturbed? Or that you’re not drinking? Since that’s supposedly colloquial, and if the latter meaning is what you intended, wouldn’t a better word to use be ‘no beben’?”
He was also asked, “If ‘don’t give a f—-‘ is not what you intended to write, but is translated that way, why haven’t you yet corrected or deleted the comment or post?”
The mayor was asked what “Pintate de colores y buela como superman” translates to in English. Google Translator shows the meaning to be, “Paint yourself colors and ox like superman”.
Thorpe was asked again, if he will return in time for tonight’s council meeting and if not, when did he plan his trip and if planned before last Tuesday night’s meeting, why didn’t he mention it when Councilman Barbanica called for the special meeting to be scheduled for tonight.
Because of a concern that Thorpe intentionally misses certain meetings and the Public Comments portion of meetings he was reminded of being an hour late to the May 9th council meeting for which he missed the Public Comments period. Thorpe was asked if it was true that he was in the mayor’s office upstairs inside City Hall taking his online DUI class at the time.
Thorpe Continues to Refuse to Say What He Meant
The mayor replied, “Again, the issue is a none starter [sic]. So, I can’t ‘send’ a message, directly or indirectly, about something that does not impact the role of the elected mayor.”
One Last Attempt to Get Answers
Thorpe was then sent additional and some of the same questions once more asking, “since what you wrote in Spanish is clearly not understood by most of your constituents and you claim it was mistranslated how can they know it has nothing to do with your role as the elected mayor? What did you intend to write in Spanish that you claim was mistranslated into English? Did you check the translation before finalizing your post?”
He was informed that the SpanishDictionary.com shows the phrase he posted means “don’t f—” with a related phrase of “No chinguen conmigo o se van a arrepentir. – Don’t f— with me, or you’ll regret it.”
Thorpe was also informed that someone whose family is from Mexico and spends a lot of time there said it could mean, “I don’t care” or it’s a warning meaning “don’t mess with me”, “don’t say anything on this” or “you better let this go”.
He was then asked if one of those were the meaning he intended to send.
Thorpe was also asked to support his claim of mistranslation to provide the correct translation of his other post of him standing in front of a painting of angel wings and mentioning Superman. He was also asked now that he’s aware of the vulgar “mistranslation”, as he claims, why he hadn’t deleted the comment.
Again, the mayor was asked, “when did you plan your trip to Mexico? Did you just go for the weekend? Will you be back in town in time for tonight’s meeting? If not, is the trip to avoid attending tonight’s council meeting? Finally, again, if you planned the trip before last Tuesday night, why didn’t you mention it during the council meeting?”
He was also asked again about his hour-long absence at the beginning of the May 9th meeting, where he was, what he was doing and why.
Screenshot of the edit and redacted English translation of Thorpe’s Instagram post on Wed., May 20, 2023 at about 4:45 p.m. Herald redaction
Translation of Thorpe’s Post Changed, Finally Provides His Intended Meaning
Redacted change in translation to Thorpe’s Instagram post on Wed., May 30, 2023 at about 2:00 p.m. Herald redaction
At about 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, the translation to English of Thorpe’s post was changed to read simply, “Don’t f—.”
Thorpe was asked if he had changed the translation or if the system had done that.
He responded, “I changed ‘chingen’ to ‘chinguen’. You said I misspelled it so I changed it. How it translates I don’t control.” Then Thorpe wrote, “Let me see if I can manually fix it.”
He was then asked once more what he meant by his post.
As of about 4:45 p.m. his post had been edited but still read, “No chingen” and translated to “Don’t give a f—-”.
Thorpe then wrote, “Looks like there’s a translate area in settings but can’t figure out how to turn off. I already told you the meaning in a previous email— don’t mess around.”
“Can’t fix but added my translation at the bottom on both posts,” he added.
The final version of his post now includes the words, “Don’t mess around.”
Thorpe was asked again when he had planned his trip, if he is back in town and if he will be attending the meeting. The mayor did not respond.
Screenshot of Thorpe’s translation to his Instagram post on Wednesday afternoon, May 30, 2023.
Hispanic College Board President Says Phrase is “Almost…Intimidation”
Asked the meaning of the phrase Thorpe posted, Contra Costa Community College Board President Fernando Sandoval, who represents Antioch, said the meaning of the phrase is “don’t f— with me”.
“It’s almost a level of intimidation, especially being posted on there,” he added.
Thorpe Said He Informed Torres-Walker He Would be Out of Town During Special Meeting
6/1/23 UPDATE: After returning from Mexico, Thorpe said he had informed Torres-Walker after the meeting on Tuesday, May 23 that he would be out of town, this week and would not be attending this past Tuesday night’s meeting, and asked her to inform Barbanica.
Change in how mayor is chosen requires vote of people, would result in redistricting to five council districts
First ever special meeting called by three council members not the mayorset for Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.
By Allen D. Payton
At the request of District 2 Councilman Mike Barbanica, with the support of Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker and District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock at the end of Tuesday night’s meeting, the Antioch City Council will have an unprecedented special meeting next Tuesday, May 30 at 7:00 p.m. to discuss two matters. It will be the first not called by the mayor. (See related article and May 30th agenda)
The first item, specifically requested by Barbanica at the end of the Tuesday, May 23rd council meeting, is a discussion on a proposed agenda setting process for future city council meetings. Currently the mayor sets the agenda with input from the city manager, and placing requests by other council members when he chooses. That is supposed to be done within six months of the request based on the council policy adopted during former Mayor Wade Harper’s term. However, it hasn’t always been followed.
Barbanica said he and Torres-Walker held two meetings on the matter and developed a seven-point plan which they will present during the meeting.
Proposed Switch to Rotated Mayor
The second matter for discussion, also proposed by Barbanica, is the consideration of a process to transition the city from four to five election districts and to change the process from designating the mayor from being elected directly, citywide for a four-year term to a mayor serving a one-year term on a rotating basis, as is currently done for the position of mayor pro tem.
Asked if the second proposal was his, Barbanica said, “I called for the special meeting on the one item. Afterwards, I was thinking about it and I added the second item about switching to a rotated mayor.”
“I called Tamisha to ask her thoughts about it and she said, ‘yes, let’s add it,’” he continued. “I called (City Attorney) Thomas (Smith). He got a third person to agree, and I spoke to him later in the afternoon so, he said we’re going to place it on the agenda.”
“We just agreed to place it on the agenda. No one has approved anything at this point,” Barbanica stated. “It would have to go to the voters, of course.”
“I initially brought this to her (Torres-Walker) on Saturday afternoon when I was sharing with her about the need for the EOC,” the councilman shared. “We came to an agreement on that. We also spoke about the MRAP. What I proposed is, we need to replace it, anyways, let’s get rid of it, but not now. Then why don’t we bring in a police department-based vehicle. The police department wanted it anyway. I reached out to the department, and they said we’re 100 percent on board.”
“I’m very appreciative of the time she and I spent discussing ideas. This was hours that we spent going over things,” Barbanica continued. “We came up with the seven-point plan together. We bounced ideas off each other.”
“She initially reached out to me to talk about the agenda. That turned into conversations about the EOC, the MRAP and how the agenda was put together,” he explained. “I was appreciative that we spent hours on this, together.”
“I don’t want to take full credit for this. It’s something we worked together on. She was very receptive to my ideas. It was a back-and-forth thing,” Barbanica wanted to make clear.
“This was very much a collaborative effort with both of us being willing to compromise,” he added.
If approved at a future council meeting switching to a rotated mayor would require a vote by the public and the city undergoing another redistricting process for future council elections with three seats up one year and the other two seats two years later. That’s how the process is handled in most of the 19 cities in Contra Costa County. Besides Antioch, only Richmond, San Ramon, Martinez and Brentwood have directly elected mayors.
“We’re consulting an elections attorney, right now to make sure we understand the process and determine the next steps if the council majority agrees we want to look into it further,” Barbanica added.
Powers and Duties of the Mayor
The mayor has only two powers that the other city council members don’t, which are to set council meeting agendas and nominate council members and residents to committees, commissions and boards. The appointments still require the support of at least two other council members. The mayor also gets to sign ordinances, resolutions and proclamations and represent the City at the monthly county Mayor’s Conference.
Attempts to reach Torres-Walker for comment on this were unsuccessful prior to publication time. Please check later for any updates to this report.
Comment below a post on the Antioch Police Department’s Facebook page on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 announcing comments have been disabled.
“We want citizens to use the forums and city council meetings during public comment” – Acting City Manager Forrest Ebbs. Says Circuit Court decision doesn’t apply
By Allen D. Payton
In response to comments from people outside the community following the recent racist text scandal involving several officers, the Antioch Police Department has shut off the ability for the public to post comments on their Facebook page as of today, Wednesday, May 3, 2023. In a comment below a post of a video of Corporal Price Kendall “showing off his dance moves at the Multi-Cultural Event hosted at Park Middle School”, the APD wrote, “Notice: The Antioch Police Department has been directed to disable public comments on Facebook social media posts. If you would like to provide your feedback, please contact us at (925) 779-6801 or email us at APDCommunityFeedback@antiochca.gov.”
Asked who gave the direction, APD PIO Ashley Crandell responded, “The City.” Pressed further asking if it was Acting City Manager Forrest Ebbs or City Attorney Thomas L. Smith, she did not respond.
When asked about it Ebbs responded, “Directed by me in collaboration with the Chief” Steve Ford.
Asked why and if it’s legal due to the 9th Circuit Court decision which held that official use of a social media platform created a public forum, and blocking members of the public violated the First Amendment (recognizing that case and a separate 6th Circuit Court case with the opposite decision being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court) Ebbs said, “The court case doesn’t apply. That was for being selective and it must be all or nothing. The reason for the decision is we’re really trying to encourage people to use the community forums to discuss policing. We want to have a civil conversation there. Facebook doesn’t give that ability. Some of the comments were disturbing and weren’t regarding the posts. We weren’t able to comment back and address things. So, we made the decision to not use Facebook as the community forum.”
There had been no posts on the page since April 25, including nothing about the eight shootings since last Thursday including the shooting death on Monday night. Information about that incident was shared via press release. (See related article)
However, Crandell said she would work with the department’s crime analyst to provide details on the other shootings.
Comments on APD Facebook page below a post on April 24, 2023 were by three men not from Antioch.
Comments below a post on the APD Facebook page on April 24 included videos critical of Antioch Police Officer Tom Lenderman, shared by a man who lives in Santa Clarita, California and another by a man who lives in Huntsville, Alabama and another video shared by a third man who lives in Ovid, Michigan according to their own Facebook page profiles.
“We want citizens to use the forums and city council meetings during public comment. That Facebook page wasn’t set up as the forum for such an important issue as this one,” Ebbs added. “The forums are tailored to the local folks, here, in the community and Facebook allows anyone to comment.”
Note: Corporal Kendall’s impressive dance moves are worth the watch, here.
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors will discuss the $5.515 billion Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Recommended Budget at 9 a.m. on Monday, April 24.
New this year is an updated online version, which increases accessibility through easier navigation, interactive content, additional performance measures, and customizable PDF printing options.
“This structurally balanced budget continues to reflect years of careful, comprehensive, and continuing review and refinement of our operations to cope with economic challenges.” said County Administrator Monica Nino. “At every opportunity, we continue to make changes to deliver services that residents need and expect from County government in ways that are more efficient and less costly.”
According to Nino’s report to the Board, “It is anticipated this year will be one of status quo in the delivery of services besides those program enhancements that are in the startup phase from the benefit of the Board-allocated Measure X funds for specific purposes. The increase in salaries and benefits totals $126.3 million, largely due to the second year of a 5% cost of living increase for over 80% of the County workforce received as part of a four-year labor agreement.
The Recommended Budget includes funding for 11,127.6 full-time equivalent positions (FTE), of which 6,836.4 are in the General Fund. The recommendation includes 85.4 new (60.0 General Fund) positions to be added for the fiscal year 2023-2024 (FY23-24). To structurally balance the budget, a number of our General Fund departments continue to have vacancy factors built into their recommended budget allocations. A vacancy factor accounts for cost savings related to personnel vacancies occurring within departments during the fiscal year. During the development of the Recommended Budget, there were approximately 2,013 vacant FTE positions, totaling $305.0 million, of which 1,395 FTE totaling $204.9 million are General Fund supported. Due to difficulties in recruitments, retention, and normal turnover, the following nine departments are maintaining vacancy factors totaling $101.5 million: Health Services, Sheriff-Coroner, Employment and Human Services, District Attorney, County Clerk-Recorder, Probation, Public Defender, Animal Services, and Assessor. We have continued the process of eliminating vacant/unfunded positions with the goal of more easily identifying funded vacant positions requiring recruitment during the fiscal year.
Source: Contra Costa County
General Purpose Revenue for FY23-24 totals $725.1 million, an increase of 9.3% over the prior year budget of $663.6 million. Of the major revenue sources, property taxes are the largest category and total $496.9 million, based on an assumed 4% growth over current year projected collections. The next largest sources are Measure X sales tax at $118.2 million, interest income at $30 million, and sales and use taxes at $22.2 million. Interest income is projected to be received close to double in FY22-23 of what is budgeted for FY23-24; this is as a result of increases in interest rates. This economic benefit is projected not to last and actual interest earnings will be monitored during the new fiscal year in the event an adjustment is necessary.
The following items are potential pressures to the recommended spending plan.
Persistent high inflation and economic uncertainty;
Unanticipated impacts from the Governor’s May Revised Budget proposal and shortfalls in Federal allocations;
Decreasing County revenue growth;
Disallowed FEMA reimbursement related to COVID-19;
Labor contract negotiations for agreements expiring June 30, 2023; and
Limited qualified workforce to fill job vacancies
The majority of the budget ($2.876 billion) is funded from State and Federal revenues. This means that for the majority of the programs funded, a program cut would also result in a loss of the revenue associated with the program. Salary and Benefit costs are broken out to show the growth, which consumes 37% of the County budget.”
Among the recommended budget highlights provided by Supervisor Diane Burgis’ office are:
Adds 26 positions in the Employment and Human Services Department to improve children and family services; youth programming and workforce development; In-Home Supportive Services case management; senior nutrition programs; CalAIM implementation; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and associated programs.
Adds three full-time Animal Services Officers to increase beat coverage and improve response times to dangerous animal cases and an additional two full-time positions focused on transfer partner and adoption programs and lost and found programs.
A $10 million allocation toward developing a new Bay Point Library branch. The branch is a new 10,000-20,000 square-foot space constructed in partnership with an affordable housing project.
$10 million in capital funding to provide a local match for grants that would allow the County to leverage state and federal funds for large infrastructure projects, such as roads and bridges, as part of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The Board discussion is tentatively scheduled to continue at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 25, if additional time is needed. The Board is scheduled to adopt the final budget on Tuesday, May 23.
How the City’s organizational structure would be if the council decides to directly hire the police. chief.
City has 83 vacancies; will restructure Police Crime Prevention Commission; Thorpe claims Barbanica, Ogorchock, others are siding with racism for opposing direct hire of police chief
By Allen D. Payton
During their meeting on Tuesday night, April 11, 2023, the Antioch City Council discussed the budget for Fiscal Years 2023-25 and the majority of members agreed to pursue a new ordinance for directly hiring the police chief. The council also decided to “reframe” the Police Crime Prevention Commission rather than disbanding it.
Budget Workshop
During the Budget Workshop before the regular meeting, Acting City Manager Forrest Ebbs reminded the council “the City is facing a $6 million deficit in the coming fiscal year.”
Finance Director Dawn Merchant said that there were “83 vacancies citywide” in staff, providing savings for the budget.
The council directed staff to return with three options for using Budget Stabilization Funds of zero, $3 million and $4 million to balance the budget.
Police Crime Prevention Commission to Be Reframed
Rather than disband it the council decided to “reframe” the Police Crime Prevention Commission. Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker volunteered to help lead the discussion. The matter will be brought back to the council for future decision.
Moves Forward With Directly Hiring Police Chief
During public comments on the matter of the council directly hiring the police chief, one resident spoke in favor, another, Melissa Case, said she was torn since the mayor has “a tendency to micromanage”.
Sandy Hartrick said she was concerned about the “checks and balances” if the council hires the police chief. “With that, no one group has all the power. If you take over the hiring and management of the police department you will have all the power.” She also shared concern that the council is moving away toward a Charter City form of government.
“Chief Ford is doing a great job. He’s working hard to change the culture,” Hartrick continued.
Another resident, Ron Mohammed said, “I’m not quite clear…in terms of the authority and how that would look. Communication between the council and the chief would be great. But I think it’s wrong Chief Ford has to fall on the sword for all the things that happened before. The micromanaging is not said when they talk about…the city manager.”
Resident Ralph Hernandez spoke next saying, “definitely, no. I do not agree with the change that is proposed. Unfortunately, tonight, you have a lot of people that have a misunderstanding of law enforcement. In fact, the council majority are too busy in their lives…they voted to take on secretaries. Now, they want to take on hiring the chief. You need to be very specific with the city manager when hiring the police chief comes up, and what you’re looking for.”
“Taking it away from the city manager. What’s next, taking away the Public Works Director, the Recreation manager?” he asked.
“I’m here to celebrate democracy. We the people elected you,” Patricia Granados said. “I would feel confident and trusting in our city council making decisions like this. Maybe even some federal oversight to put in their two cents in what is the reasoning for getting hired and getting fired.”
“I do want to clarify…in 2020, we agreed to changing the hiring process for the chief of police,” Mayor Lamar Thorpe said. “I was a huge advocate that the contract was ratified by the city council. The City Attorney said we can’t do that. It’s either one or the other.”
“Every decision made in this room is made by three. Quit believing what the blogs are telling you. It’s trash,” Thorpe said, while raising his voice. “This is not about Chief Ford, it’s about a process that started back in 2020. So, stop personalizing it.”
“OK. Bring it down a notch,” Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker said with a laugh.
“I do remember discussing this in detail,” she said. “It’s just been my experience working in public policy for the past 14 years, city managers are not the check and balance…which is their job. The chief of police runs a department that is to be managed and sometime micromanaged by the city manager. And when the city manager fails for over a decade…is what got us here. It is within the authority of this body to make this change. We won’t be running the police department because we hire the police chief. We will be managing directly the individual who is supposed to be running the police department for transparency and accountability sake which has not happened for over a decade.”
“When we hired Cornelius Johnson, I didn’t want to give him the authority to hire and fire. But we have to give each person a chance. We gave Chief Ford a chance,” Torres-Walker said. “This isn’t the only move in light of transparency we need to make. I hope that Chief Steven Ford agrees to stay because this is necessary.”
“I think this is a mistake…because the police department is not an extension of a political arm,” said District 2 Councilman Mike Barbanica. “The city manager needs to be a buffer between politicians and enforcing law. This won’t be just this council it will set policy for years and years to come. It’s not about Chief Ford it’s about the office of the Chief of Police. I think this is a mistake and I do not support it.”
“Yeah, and it’s that buffer that got us to where we are, today,” District 4 Councilwoman Monica Wilson shot back to applause from the audience. “A couple weeks ago I was on the fence about this. But in light of events over weeks…and today with the texts, it’s obvious there needs to be that line with the Chief of Police. Because that buffer didn’t work.”
“I’ve been through five city managers and the buffer is not working,” she added.
“If this is the will of the council majority how will this affect Chief Ford,” District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock asked City Attorney Thomas L. Smith.
“If you want to give direction to change the structure, we would come back with an ordinance,” Smith responded. “Once the ordinance is passed…the impact it has on an individual police chief…if there is a contract in place, we would have to look at how that would interact with the ordinance.”
“I am not for this,” Ogorchock said. “We’ve never had the accountability with the police chief, before. I’m for that type of vision before anything else.”
“Even if you got a report every six months you wouldn’t have any authority,” Torres-Walker responded.
Thorpe spoke last saying, “I’m for this. I’ve always been for this. The choice is really simple. Either we do this or stay on the side of racism. Come back with an ordinance please.”
Offering grants from $500 to $10,000; Mandatory Virtual Bidder’s Conference May 2
The Office of Supervisor Federal Glover is pleased to announce that the 2022–23 grant cycle for the Keller Canyon Mitigation Fund is now open. Grant applications ranging from $500 to $10,000 will be accepted via the online application portal beginning May 2, 2023, following a mandatory bidder’s conference. The link for the application portal will be accessible and publicly announced on May 2. Applications for services must fall within one of the broad categories previously approved by the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors:
Code Enforcement
Community Beautification
Community Services
Public Safety (Including Public Health)
Youth Services
Additionally, services funded by the Keller Canyon Mitigation Fund must be offered in the mitigation area, which includes the unincorporated community of Bay Point, the City of Pittsburg, and the City of Antioch. The target area is divided into a primary area (Bay Point and Pittsburg from its western border to Harbor Street) and a secondary area (Pittsburg from Harbor Street east to the entire City of Antioch). Services may also be provided to organizations outside the mitigation area only when the beneficiaries reside within the mitigation area.
To apply for Keller Canyon Mitigation grant funds, organizations must be designated either a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6) corporation under the Internal Revenue Code or be a public agency (city, special district, county department, etc.).
MANDATORY VIRTUAL BIDDER’S CONFERENCE—TUESDAY, MAY 2, 202
To be eligible to apply for Keller Canyon Mitigation funds, public agencies and eligible nonprofit organizations must have at least one representative attend and remain for its duration a mandatory virtual bidder’s conference on Tuesday, May 2 at 9:00 a.m. The bidder’s conference is expected to last for approximately 90 minutes and will include detailed presentations on the grant process as well as allow for questions and answers. To have a record of attendees, registration for the bidder’s conference is required.
At the beginning of the April 11, 2023 Antioch City Council meeting, City Attorney Thomas L. Smith reported out from Closed Session that on motion by Councilman Mike Barbanica and seconded by Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock the city council on a 3-2 vote authorized a settlement and severance with former Public Works Director and City Engineer John Samuelson. He will be paid $144,714.44 and a settlement of $100,000 for a total of $244,714.44. Councilwoman Monica Wilson voted yes, while Mayor Lamar Thorpe and Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker voted no.
As previously reported, Samuelson was terminated on December 16, 2022 by City Manager Con Johnson. While he didn’t sue the City he threatened to do so for wrongful termination if they didn’t agree to settle with him.
When reached for comment Samuelson said, “Just grateful that council approved it and ready to move on to working with Pittsburg.” He is now that city’s Public Works Director-City Engineer.
