Censure of council members rejected -
Duncan apologizes for offending e-mail while Calhoun threatens suit.
By Pablo Lopez
The Fresno Bee
(Published Wednesday, September 17, 2003, 5:40 AM)
A divided Fresno City Council on Tuesday rejected a resolution that would have condemned council members Jerry Duncan and Brian Calhoun and Calhoun's assistant, Ann Kloose, for sending offensive e-mail messages.
The decision came after Calhoun threatened to sue the council, saying he and Kloose had been defamed and that the resolution is illegal.
Duncan took another tack: Though he had apologized at least twice before, Tuesday he finally used the word "sorry."
After an hour of heated testimony, with some members of the audience jeering Duncan and Calhoun as they tried to make a point, the council sent a clear message that offending e-mail messages were an embarrassment to the city.
First, the council members unanimously approved a resolution that directs them to be fair and respectful to all residents, regardless of race, creed, religion, political affiliation or skin color.
Council President Tom Boyajian then was given the green light to arrange a "sensitivity" workshop for council members so they could learn "effective leadership and collaboration."
The council, however, stopped short of publicly rebuking two of their own and Kloose.
In the end, Cynthia Sterling and Mike Dages cast the key votes, siding with Calhoun and Duncan to reject the censure resolution.
Council Members Brad Castillo and Henry T. Perea supported Boyajian on the censure move.
Though Sterling said e-mails that targeted her were "hurtful and offending," she sided with her attackers, saying "I want to mend the fence" and move on to more important issues such as double-digit unemployment.
Dages also wanted to move on to more important issues, saying the e-mail messages are "an embarrassment for the city."
He criticized Boyajian for bringing forward the resolution. "What we are doing is wrong. This has gone on long enough."
Boyajian, however, said the resolution was important to members of the public, "who feel disconnected from the council." Doing nothing, Boyajian said, sends a message that city leaders don't care about people's feelings or thoughts or that they approve of Duncan's and Calhoun's actions.
"This is not about me, or Calhoun or Duncan. Quit making it personal," Boyajian said. "A lot of people in the community are upset. If I didn't act, I couldn't live with myself."
While Duncan said he learned that he had made a big mistake and apologized to the public and the Human Relations Commission, Calhoun spent nearly 30 minutes criticizing Boyajian and City Attorney Hilda Cantu Montoy.
Leaving his seat at the dais, Calhoun addressed the council from the public lectern and scolded Boyajian. "I will not let you impugn my integrity or the integrity of my council assistant."
Calhoun, visibly shaken, was upset with the resolution that said he and Kloose made "disparaging remarks, bias and prejudices toward certain groups."
In essence, Calhoun said, the resolution accused him and Kloose of being racists.
Though, Calhoun said, he stayed publicly silent on the e-mail fiasco, he said he had privately talked to Kloose and that they had answered every complaint from members of the public who had called him or sent e-mail to his office.
"I felt no need to tell you, Mr. Boyajian. You are not my boss," he said.
Then he threatened to file a lawsuit if the council approved the resolution, saying that the resolution was illegal because Cantu Montoy had ruled that the council does not have the power to censure or discipline individual council members. Calhoun also vowed to start writing his own resolution against any council members with whom he did not agree. In addition, he said he would consider resigning once the lawsuit was ruled upon.
But the issue became moot when the council rejected the resolution.
Debbie Reyes, chairwoman of the Human Relations Commission, appeared stunned after learning that Sterling had sided with Duncan, Calhoun and Dages and did not comment. Sterling appointed Reyes to the commission.
Commissioner Cary Catalano, said he, too, was surprised by Sterling's vote. He said without the resolution to condemn Calhoun, Kloose and Duncan "it diminished the whole package" of what Boyajian tried to achieve.
Commissioner Sudarshan Kapoor, however, said the council discussion brought sensitivity and awareness to the fact that Fresno is a multicultural community. He said the council members will benefit from the sensitivity workshop "as long as they don't do it by themselves. They should do it with the HRC."
The controversy began when the City Attorney's Office made e-mail messages public in response to a request by The Bee.
In one e-mail, on June 10, Duncan wrote to Kloose: "If I had one dirty bomb ... I could eliminate all the liberals in Fresno at once." The message was written during City Council discussion of the Human Rights Commission's budget for the current fiscal year. Many commission supporters are politically liberal and were present in council chambers that day.
During the same meeting, Kloose wrote to Calhoun: "If these HRC folks bring down a crowd and get unruly, I'm calling to send over some officers to 'Cap' these guys."
Another e-mail message, between Duncan and Kloose, has caused a stir:
During a June 27 budget hearing, Mayor Alan Autry scored big in his battle with the council over his $726 million budget, saving his signature programs.
Kloose wrote to Duncan: "I just heard Alan's remarks. How did the darkside of the council receive it? Were they respectful?"
The reporter can be reached at
plopez@fresnobee.com or 441-6259.