Public Participation, Round One

The meeting got off to a late start at 6:34. During his invocation, Mayor Cameron Smyth’s presaged adjournments in memory of several recently-deceased Claritans: Karen Pearson-Hall, Naya Rivera, and Michael Lodl. He asked that their deaths be a reminder to look out for one another and to “love thy neighbor.”

After some tepid proclamations (Parks and Recreation month; celebrating art by local students for Santa Clarita’s Sister Cities program), the first batch of public participation speakers were heard.

Brian Muehlberger called in to ask that Central Park be renamed to honor his late daughter, Gracie, as well as Dominic Blackwell—the two Saugus High students who died in last year’s school shooting. He explained that the park served as the reunion venue for families and hosted memorial events, so it was a meaningful site. He added that the broader community was behind his proposal, with thousands signing an online petition to rename the park “Central Park In Memoriam of Gracie Muehlberger and Dominic Blackwell.” Frank Blackwell, the father of Dominic, also called in to express his support for the name change and to describe the pain and loss his family still grapples with.

The remarks from Muehlberger and Blackwell were followed by a couple of complaints about unwelcome businesses. Francisco Negrete, owner of Las Originales on Newhall Avenue, said that he cannot compete with the street vendors who sell food near him. He wanted to be certain that they were adhering to all laws and regulations. [NOTE: This complaint was distinct from the broadly covered incident wherein the owners of Bergie’s Bar and Grill harassed a street vendor who set up his cart near their establishment. Several speakers tonight mentioned the Bergie’s incident as an example of racism in Santa Clarita.] Another man called in to complain about Airbnbs. He said that two of the most troublesome properties were rentals near Gold Canyon Drive and Horseshoe Circle. One or both hosted a party with 100+ revelers in the middle of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Concluding the first round of public participation were a few speakers who asked for Bob Kellar’s resignation and spoke about allegedly unaddressed social problems such as racism, discrimination, and homelessness.

In response to the speakers, City Manager Ken Striplin said that there was a process for permitting street vendors, but he said that most vendors are still operating illegally as relatively few permits have been sought. He also pushed back against accusations that Santa Clarita wasn’t doing much to deal with homelessness. He mentioned studies and planning projects focused on the homeless; the Homeless Task Force; the City Council’s monetary support for Bridge to Home; and impending work with Family Promise.

City Council Comments

Many of the councilmembers gave rather extensive comments during the next portion of the meeting. They won’t have another meeting for over a month, so there was a lot to be said.

Councilmember Marsha McLean asked Claritans to visit speeup.santa-clarita.com to help build an accurate picture of Internet service that will be used to focus future improvements. McLean’s memorial adjournment was for Karen Pearson-Hall. She fought alongside McLean and others to preserve Santa Clarita’s open spaces all through the 90s and 00s. A trailhead is named in her honor.

Councilmember Laurene Weste’s memorial adjournment was for Glee actress Naya Rivera, who was born in Santa Clarita and attended Valencia High School. Weste began tearing up as she said that Rivera’s last moments before drowning in Lake Piru were likely spent saving her son. Weste then offered some observations about the recent coronavirus (re-)shutdowns. She said that “we can’t hide from the virus," and suggested that the most fragile should be protected while others keep getting back to normal. She also asked for more concrete solutions, like using UV light to reduce germs in building ventilation systems.

Mayor Pro Tem Bill Miranda decided to address the park renaming request that had been made by the fathers of the victims of the Saugus High shooting. He somberly expressed his sympathies and stated that something must be done. However, he didn’t necessarily think that something should be renaming Central Park. Miranda requested agendizing an item to discuss an appropriate memorial, and this opened up a rather lengthy conversation among the City Council. (The conversation went on uncomfortably long for City Attorney Joe Montes, who likes to remind the Council that they should give brief direction to the City Manager and agendize items for the future meetings rather than discuss unagendized items at length.)

It soon became apparent that the fathers had spoken to all of the councilmembers individually and that they were quite set on having Central Park renamed to Central Park In Memoriam of Gracie Muehlberger and Dominic Blackwell. Given the immense gravity of the situation, it was all rather tense. The councilmembers sympathized deeply with the parents, but most seemed to think that a special memorial site within Central Park was a better idea than renaming the whole park. Ultimately, there will be a discussion of some potential options presented for discussion at the next meeting. Mayor Smyth worried that, “The City Manager is looking flummoxed” because everyone had given him slightly different directions. And it may be that there isn’t any simple solution to be had. Since the vision of the families and the vision of the City Council do not align on this very important matter, a long and contentious discussion may well be in store for the next meeting.

Councilmember Bob Kellar decided to speak up for the first time in weeks regarding current events. He started by lamenting the aggressive tactics of protesters who had gone to Congressman Mike Garcia’s home for a demonstration. Just as he closed one topic, he started riffing on another, moving from his stance on illegal immigration to political polarization to homelessness to policing to the education system to Marxism to the “silent majority” in America at large. He pushed back against what he considered political correctness in a way that seemed designed to provoke the people who have been calling for his resignation: “Excuse me, I guess the word’s ‘undocumented.’ No: they’re ‘illegals’, and it has compromised the workability of a lot of Americans and there has been a lot of problems as a result of it.” Acknowledging calls for his resignation, he said that he had no intention of leaving his seat before his term expires.

Given the intense scrutiny of Kellar’s past remarks, the full seven-and-a-half minute speech may be of interest (recording below; I didn’t transcribe it all):

Most of Kellar’s comments were frank at best, intentionally abrasive and insulting at worst. But since most everyone has made up their mind about Bob Kellar already, it seems doubtful that these most recent remarks will markedly change anyone’s opinion.

After Kellar’s statement, Mayor Cameron Smyth gave the last memorial of the evening. He had the difficult task of remembering Michael “Mehow” Lodl, a high school student who recently committed suicide. Smyth had watched him grow up and even coached him when he was younger. He remembered Lodl’s athleticism and potential. Smyth emphasized the importance of thinking about mental health and how to support and protect young people. He ended his comments by asking for an update on efforts to begin a community roundtable on diversity/racism/social issues—the new iteration of the Human Relations Forum. Janine Prado, Director of Recreation and Community Services, said that City staff are working with the Hart District to build a diverse forum. A first event should take place in the fall.

Consent Calendar

The consent calendar was rather long, but only a few items attracted any particular attention and discussion. Item 5 proposed extending a moratorium on rental evictions through the end of August because of COVID-19-related hardships. Steve Petzold told the Council to let landlords and tenants work it out among themselves, citing legal processes already in place. Tony Maldonado asked for an even longer extension through the end of September.

Other items on the agenda included an agreement with CalArts that will afford them access to high-speed Internet over two dark fiber strands. Numerous transportation-related projects were funded. The agenda also recommended that the Council communicate their opposition to some State Assembly and Senate Bills. AB 3269, SB 1120, and SB 1135 would limit certain local land use authority—local authority could be pre-empted if homelessness didn’t decrease, and housing development projects could be OKed in lots zoned office or retail commercial.

Ultimately, the Council went with the recommended actions on all items.

Public Participation, Round Two

Before the second round of public participation could begin, Bob Kellar excused himself. He said that he was under the weather, but he promised that he would watch the comments of speakers on TV as soon as he returned home.

If he did indeed tune in, Kellar would have seen another round of speakers demanding his resignation. Just as in prior weeks, a number of high school students like Cassidy Bensko and Quynn Lubs spoke out against Kellar, whom they viewed as racist and needing to resign. They were appalled at his remarks. However, in a new twist tonight, several of the speakers started campaigning against Jason Gibbs, Kellar’s would-be successor to City Council, and promoting Kelvin Driscoll as their preferred candidate instead. Bensko said that she opposed Gibbs because she felt he had anti-Muslim and pro-gun rights stances. Gibbs association with Kellar was seen as problematic.

A couple of voices that have been involved in the Kellar turmoil, just not necessarily on microphone, were featured more prominently this evening. Anthony Breznican lamented, “Bob Kellar just humiliates our town, our city, our home […] Every politician in town should be recoiling from Bob Kellar.” Breznican was dismayed that the Council had been silent instead of directly renouncing him. Another man named Zagley(sp.?) Najar also spoke. He identified himself as an educator who has been encouraging his students, several of whom spoke tonight and in the past, to think critically about the City of Santa Clarita and its history. [NOTE: It was unclear to me if he also goes by David Najar or is a relation of David Najar, who teaches at Santa Clarita’s Global Prep Academy (GPA). GPA’s Twitter account has weighed in on the issues discussed tonight.]

Najar’s comments mostly dealt with the future of the Santa Clarita City Council. But he first took time to interrogate Councilmember Weste about an earlier comment. He asked, “Did you abdicate your responsibility for doing something about COVID-19 and actually mention something about ultraviolet lights? Is Lysol next? We’ve got to do better. The information that you give out to the public matters, Laurene. You have to be careful with that. Please. OK?” Najar was drawing a comparison to an ignorant medical faux pas that President Trump had made about using light/disinfectants to treat COVID-19 patients. Perhaps in his eagerness to scold Weste, though, Najar had missed the fact that she had been talking about using UV light to kill germs in building ventilation systems—a not uncommon practice that has shown efficacy against other coronaviruses.

Kellar and Najar were not so different tonight when it came to speaking in an off-the-cuff manner that others could find insulting. Najar was a bit more careful and self-aware, though, trying to correct himself for repeatedly dismissing the councilmembers for being old:

“Now, as I look at this dais, I see old Santa Clarita. I see a future though. And I’m really excited about, and I hope that everyone’s listening, I see a future of Kevin Driscoll, a man who looks much more like the future of Santa Clarita. Someone who’s gonna represent the marginalized voices in Santa Clarita. Imagine replacing, everyone listening, imagine replacing Bob Kellar with Kelvin Driscoll. Go to his website. Read about him. He’s an amazing man and we can make a change for, in the system that we see on the screen here. So instead of all of these old white faces—God bless you all, [Mayor Smyth gestures in exaggerated mock offense] Cameron you’re not that old, and I’m older than you, I know! I’m older than you. I see you. Umm, and listen, you two women, I’m not, this is not ageist [McLean and Weste exchange looks], but, but, if Bob is so concerned about the health and welfare of young people, or Marsha and Laurene, you were talking about young people and their health and welfare, but then Bob went suddenly started talking about how bad our youth are. They’re fantastic, and they’re gonna make a change in this city, and we’re gonna see people like Kelvin, Everyone who’s listening, get ready to vote for Kelvin Driscoll. [sing-song-ily:] I yield…the rest of…the night.”

Mayor Smyth said that he appreciated “the dramatic close.”

There were also few comments not on the topic of racism or Bob Kellar. Mountasia’s Michael Fleming called in to ask for help in allowing his outdoor activities to be open for business. He argued that it could be done safely, and he stated that Mountasia would have to close shop permanently by September if the shutdown continued. Tony Maldonado spoke about the City of Santa Monica winning a California Voting Rights Act appeal. Like Santa Monica, Santa Clarita is facing a lawsuit-compelled transition from at-large to district-based voting, and he was hopeful that the ruling could be used to put up a fight. There was another comment about problematic Airbnbs as well.

The City Council and City Manager Ken Striplin responded. Striplin said that the City had the tools necessary to address Airbnb issues—they’ve contacted the offending property owner and have more forceful options available. The Council brainstormed how to keep Mountasia and other businesses alive, but there was no great headway made. Businesses have the Council’s support, but they can do only so much to act independently of LA County or the State of California. The meeting ended and the next won’t be until the end of August.

Amazing Grace

Mayor Pro Tem Bill Miranda’s invocation was about a man who saw the error of his ways and changed for the better:

“‘Amazing Grace’ was written in 1779 by John Newton, who at the time was an active member of the slave trade. He was blind to the evil of the systematic racism from which he was profiting. Over time, Newton saw the error of his evil ways and became an abolitionist. He hated slavery and thought it evil and wrong. The message of the song is that forgiveness and redemption are possible, regardless of the sins committed. and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God.”

Miranda is the most idealistic of all the councilmembers, so was he trying to make an abstract statement about the possibility for meaningful change and progress? At least in part. But Miranda also knows what’s been going on, and while he has steadfastly defended Kellar as honorable, decent, and not-racist, this choice of anecdote wouldn’t be his first indirect suggestion that Kellar could do more to ease community tensions.

Mayor Cameron Smyth made a proclamation for “Indepedents [no, not “Independence”] Week.” It’s a week to celebrate independent businesses and entrepreneurs for their role in the community. He asked that Claritans do their part by shopping locally. After all, everyone knows people whose small businesses and livelihoods have been impacted by coronavirus and the shutdown.

Unyielding

Mayor Smyth opened up the public participation portion of the meeting by explaining that the first ten speakers would proceed, followed by the regular business of the meeting, followed by the remaining speakers. Clearly, there were a lot of people who still had something to say about Councilmember Kellar. Many were youths, many had returned from the prior meeting, and many chose to read from prepared statements. (That last note may sound trivial, but people tend to speak too quickly and to slip into monotone when they’re reading, so it can be less effective.)

There were many common refrains. No one was ready to excuse Bob Kellar based on the context of his prior remarks, arguing instead that he demonstrated racist and anti-immigrant sentiments in other statements, too. Speakers noted that a change.org petition demanding Kellar’s resignation had as many responses as votes that he received last election (how many of the petition signers were from Santa Clarita was unclear). The other councilmembers were condemned for allegedly focusing on the wrong things: McLean was more worried about the image of Santa Clarita than about addressing its problems; Weste talked more about the Fourth of July than the protests; and Miranda was bothered by curse words on signs, but not Kellar’s words. Even councilmember statements that “black lives matter” were labeled as less than meaningful. Kimberly Luna said, “It is not enough for you to simply state that ‘black lives matter.’ Since it’s trendy right now, it doesn’t mean as much as it used to.”

These collective grievances are likely to be aired again later this week—Cassidy Bensko announced another demonstration slated for Friday. She and others plan to keep up the pressure on Bob Kellar and the City Council.

In lashing out against the councilmembers, many speakers were ready to dismiss whole decades’ worth of community contributions and legacies over Kellar’s remarks. Quynn Lubs said, “I hope you know that you will all be remembered as weak, small-minded, ignorant people who refuse to take a stand against racism. You are all complicit, and you will be remembered as such.” At least a couple speakers argued that activist “high school girls” (Kellar’s dismissive term from last week) had done more for Santa Clarita than any of the councilmembers. The first round of comments ended on this same theme of legacy-wrecking when a speaker named David took over the last half of another speaker’s call:

“You know it’s sad—I’m an educator, over 30 years, to listen to young people, so hurt, by you Bob Kellar, to be so hurt, by a man who is a leader! It’s time for you to stand up, Bob, and walk off of that dais. Now! I don’t care if it’s November. You stand up right now, Bob, and walk off that dais. I am watching the TV. Stand up! For all the young people, who are hurting right now, stand up, and go away! It doesn’t make you a bad man. It actually—this would be the best thing you’ve ever done. Stand up and walk away. You’re hurting young people. Thank God these young people are gonna be in charge and not you people. You’re almost out. You’re almost done. I cannot wait for that day. Go Zoomers, we’re enough with the Boomers. [screeching] I yield the rest of my tiiiiiiiime! [cheers in background of call]”

“Excuse me?”

The City Council engaged with the speakers’ comments only selectively. Mayor Smyth asked City Manager Ken Striplin to address an allegation that the City paid over $20M for policing but spent less than $40,000 on fire. Striplin clarified that most fire fighting and prevention funds came from property taxes and amounted to over $60M per year—well over what’s spent on policing.

Councilmember Marsha McLean expressed her dismay over the insults thrown her way:

“Even though the speakers are going to be very disappointed, I’m not going to address some of the comments calling us weak, ignorant, small-minded people. Excuse me? That does not elicit support for anything that you have to say. That is disrespectful and it is not OK.”

A few minutes later, McLean thought it important to reaffirm that she valued free speech and free thinking, but used in a civil, non-insulting manner:

“Nobody should tell you what to think, how to think—that’s not up to anyone else. You’re entitled to it. It’s guaranteed us by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. So don’t let anybody take that away from you. But also, allow other people who may not agree with what you have to say to speak their views. Look at both sides of an issue, come to your own conclusion.”

Mayor Pro Tem Miranda and Councilmember Laurene Weste echoed the idea of the importance of having community discussions. Miranda had attended a Juneteenth celebration, and he thanked many individuals by name for taking him up on his offer to have one-on-one discussions about the state of things in Santa Clarita. Weste stated that community discussions were key to moving issues forward, and she stressed a need for kindness. Weste’s general comments also included mention of the City’s modified slate of Fourth of July activities, including a peewee parade, patriotic tour, and fireworks.

As for Councilmember Kellar? When asked for comments, he said, “I believe I’ve taken enough of your time tonight. Thank you very much.”

A Home by the Mall

The consent calendar didn’t have many contentious items, but a few attracted comments. Steve Petzold spoke on Item 6, which made preparations for the City Council election this November. Petzold suggested that subsidizing candidate statements was worth considering. Presently, candidates must pay costs associated with the optional statements. The next item on the agenda sought to improve campaign transparency by creating a new policy for campaign finance disclosure forms. Paper forms will still be accepted, but if a campaign submits electronically, that means they have “opted in” to electronic submissions and must continue to do so for all subsequent forms. This could hasten the release of forms to the public.

On Item 8, wherein SoCal Edison requested an easement for access near Needham Ranch. Elaine Ballace encouraged the City to negotiate. She suggested withholding access to gain assurances that SoCal Edison wouldn’t raise utility rates. The City didn’t adopt this strategy, perhaps because access to a dirt road wasn’t sufficient leverage for meaningful rate negotiations.

The last bit of discussion concerned Item 13, which could mean up to a half-million dollar grant towards preparing a city-center specific plan for the area around McBean and Valencia Boulevard. Councilmember Kellar said he didn’t like it when “Sacramento was over-stepping its bounds.” He said that politicians were throwing around a little money to dictate construction of high-density housing in city centers, like the area around our mall. The City Manager clarified that California had indeed changed its housing policies to make it easier for high-density housing projects to move forward, but the grant application was only intended to help prepare, not to force the City to take any immediate actions. When it came time to vote, all the councilmembers voted for the recommended actions on all items except for Kellar, who voted against the city-center specific plan grant.

Vehicle Miles Angst

At the last meeting, there were public hearings on the City’s $220M budget and on levy assessments for special districts—these came back for final approval tonight. There were relatively few comments. On the topic of the budget, Kieran Wong called in to praise Santa Clarita’s fiscally responsible practices, while Christina Carlson requested line-item budgeting for the policing budget. She wasn’t exactly saying “defund the police”, but she wanted to know how public safety funds were being spent in detail to encourage critical evaluation.

City Manager Ken Striplin explained that the policing chunk of Santa Clarita’s budget appears as a single item because it is a single item, namely a contract for services from the LA County Sheriff’s Department. He said that other, comparably sized SoCal cities can spend well over double what Santa Clarita pays, so we were not at the high end of spending for policing services.

You wouldn’t think that street lights would be controversial, but Alan Ferdman had dug into a public hearing on the matter and uncovered what he considered irregularities. He made points about whether LA County funds appeared in the budget and wondered why an approximately 50% reduction in operation costs wasn’t fully passed along. City staff said the numbers were all correctly and fully reported. Not all savings from the switch from LED lighting were being passed along because some savings were helping to pay off bonds earlier, which would itself result in savings over time.

One of tonight’s new public hearings took place to amend the City’s Community Development Block Grant annual plan. In response to COVID-19 impacts, the City was receiving more funds (over $1.5M) to support coronavirus testing, affordable housing, and the like.

A decidedly more contentious new public hearing related to assessing transportation impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Most development projects require CEQA documents and review, and the State recently mandated use of vehicle miles traveled thresholds in place of level of service for CEQA. The difference, as explained on the City’s slides, was that “vehicle miles traveled measures the impact of driving capturing number and length of trips on roadway network” whereas “level of service measures the impact of development and traffic on the driver.”

It was all fairly technical, but the plan seriously concerned at least two councilmembers. Weste called it, “A significant shift in the paradigm of planning in California.” McLean worried:

“You all know that I’ve been very involved in transportation issues for many years, and I guess one good thing about being on the job for a good many years is you don’t lose historical perspective. For many, many years there has been talk about ‘vehicle miles traveled’ where the endgame is to put a meter in every single vehicle to track how many miles you drive on a daily basis and to charge you for those miles and then to build toll roads on our freeways to turn our freeways into toll roads and charge you for going on those roads. So when I read about this and they’re calling it ‘vehicle miles traveled,’ I’m very suspect about this. Um, I think this is—even though it doesn’t say so in this particular bill—I asked the city manager to look into it. I think this is a roadway into what they ultimately want to do to us. And I cannot support this at all.”

The tone sounded at least a little conspiratorial, but Oregon has done something similar, and the LA Times occasionally runs related stories. Still, it wasn’t clear whether this was the right opportunity for Santa Clarita to take a stand, so to speak, against tracking individuals via their vehicle mileage. After all, the scope of the particular hearing was narrow: adjusting how to make transportation impact calculations for CEQA. “Are we handcuffed to this, Ken?”, asked Councilmember Weste of City Manager Ken Striplin. He explained the item was being presented because it was part of a State mandate, so there really wasn’t much wiggle room. The Council, with the exception of McLean, voted for to implement the changes.

Public Participation Resumes

The second round of public participation again revolved around condemning Councilmember Kellar for his alleged racism. With roughly two dozen total speakers on the topic tonight, all the points about Kellar got repeated over and over again. This made the personal stories of some young Claritans who had personally experienced racism stand out more. Sofia Ongele countered the idea that Santa Clarita wasn’t racist, saying:

“Santa Clarita is the town where my dad had a gun pulled on him for going on a walk, where my younger sister and I have been yelled the n-word at as we walk home from school, and where I learned at a young age to hate my skin color.”

Megan Duncan said:

“My first impression was the lack of diversity. Everything was white. I remember trying to wear my hair natural at school. I would get comments like, ‘Your hair is so big’, ‘Can I touch your hair?’, and other comments like, ‘You don’t act like a black girl,’ and ‘You’re pretty for a black girl.’”

After all of the speakers had their say, the meeting adjourned.

But First, Some Proclamations

Councilmember Laurene Weste began the meeting on a somewhat celebratory note. She teased the news that there would be an opportunity for the community to come together to celebrate the Fourth of July, even if this year’s festivities will look very different than past years’. Mayor Smyth maintained the upbeat tone as he proclaimed June 2020 LGBTQ Pride Month. He wished that a public turnout as big as last year’s could have been accommodated, but, y’know, COVID-19. He also introduced a short clip of speeches from graduating seniors from all of the SCV’s high schools. Most touched on themes of perseverance, hope, and changing the world.

Then it was time for the inevitable onslaught of speakers against Bob Kellar.

Background on Bob: An Aside

A little background is in order: When the protests against racism/George Floyd’s death/police brutality/etc. began in Santa Clarita, Bob Kellar’s “proud racist” remarks from a decade ago re-surfaced. At a 2010 Minutemen rally against illegal immigration, Kellar said,

“Roger [Gitlin], a moment ago, mentioned what Teddy Roosevelt said, and he was right on: ‘One flag, one language.’ You know, I brought that up and I read that comment by Teddy Roosevelt at one of our Council meetings a couple of years ago. I said, ‘Folks, this is important.’ And you know the only thing I heard back from a couple of people? ‘Bob, you sound like a racist.’ I said ‘That’s good, if that’s what you think I am because I happen to believe in America, I’m a proud racist. You’re darn right I am.” [Watch at 1:25 if you want to listen for yourself.]

Soon after the speech came the fallout. Kellar’s remarks were covered by many big news outlets (ABC, NBC, LA Times, LAist, etc.) because a councilmember saying, “I’m a proud racist,” is shocking. If you want to give Kellar the benefit of the doubt, he was making a rhetorical if/then statement to point out the absurdity of contemporary discourse (i.e., if believing in America means he has to bear a “racist” label, he’ll take it because he believes in America.) Many interpreted the comments less forgivingly. However, at the 2010 Council meeting where his remarks were discussed for a couple of hours [I covered it], the vast majority of public speakers said that they did not think Bob Kellar was actually racist. Perhaps the audience had been stacked, but his defenders were many. Most wanted to talk about illegal immigration rather than dwell on Kellar’s ugly words. Kellar said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I am not a racist in any form, shape, or fashion,” and, “I abhor racism,” and, “Racism is wrong and should never be tolerated.” Still, his stubborn what-happened-happened, apology-less approach kept the comments alive and well enough to revisit him at every re-election campaign in the ensuing years.

The most recent “re-discoverer” of this chapter of Claritan history was writer Anthony Breznican. He mentioned it on Twitter just as Santa Clarita’s big Thursday protest loomed. The original series of tweets got at least 781 re-tweets and over 1,500 likes. #santaclarita even trended for a time—in part because of the Kellar incident, in part because of overblown fears of riots and looting. An online petition urging Kellar’s resignation began and has collected over 28,000 signatures from Santa Clarita and beyond. And prior to tonight’s meeting, a group of protestors staged a sit-in in front of City Hall. In short, Kellar’s old remarks sparked a fresh surge of outrage and activism. Now you’re up to speed.

The Reckoning

When there are a lot of public speakers at a City Council meeting, the first 10 speak at the beginning of the meeting and the remainder speak at the end. That happened tonight, but I’ll cover them all at once for the sake of continuity.

As one might expect, many of the comments were directed at Councilmember Bob Kellar. A number of students and other young people were his most vocal critics. Leila Bishop kicked things off:

“We’re aware that Councilmember Bob Kellar plans to retire in November, but it is not soon enough. […] By publicly declaring himself as a ‘proud racist’, Councilmember Kellar is in violation of Santa Clarita’s City Council norms and procedures Resolution 19-8 section 4D that states the following: ‘Councilmembers should make the public feel welcome. Councilmembers should not be partial, prejudiced, or disrespectful towards the public. Councilmembers should treat members of the public equally. […] When Councilmember Kellar declared himself a ‘proud racist’, he sent an unwelcoming message of fear and distress to the non-white community of Santa Clarita. Racists have no place in government because they create an environment of fear and their decision-making is clouded with bias.”

Many other speakers echoed her statement or re-read the same sentiments and demands. Quynn Lubs recently interviewed Bob Kellar, and she found his refusal to apologize for his remarks and his stances on issues like homelessness to be deeply troubling. The tone of comments criticizing Kellar ranged from disappointed to angry to vitriolic. Perhaps the most aggressively personal attack against him came rather late in the meeting from Karen Black:

“I would like to first and foremost state that Bob Kellar is not a real Green Beret and should never be considered an honorable combat soldier. My husband is an infantryman, and you, Robert Kellar, are no combat soldier. Bob Kellar is a glorified TRADOC [Training and Doctrine Command—Black was using this as derisive shorthand for an army trainer safe from actual battle], because those who cannot do, teach. I’ve read your Signal interviews, and you, sir, are simply a racist TRADOC. You never deployed, you’ve never seen battle, and you simply jumped from a few months of Green Beret training to becoming a trainer. My husband saw real battle and lost an entire team to a suicide bomber. […] Don’t you dare, Mr. Kellar, pretend that you have ever walked in the boots of a real soldier. You are a military shame and a sham, and you dodged deployment and battle, so don’t you dare speak as though there’s honor in your military service. You’re simply a drafted TRADOC, and now your legacy will only be that of another filthy, racist councilman. I’ve written to the LA Times to ensure that is how you are remembered, sir. And Ms. McLean, you are tone-deaf and willfully blind. Your [indistinct word] is limited to how your precious KKK-founded, racist city will be viewed by the outside world. If you don’t want to be viewed as discriminatory, then admit your racist roots, and change everything about what you stand for. Otherwise, you are just another fragile white woman who refuses to acknowledge her privilege and hides behind the pretense of feigned equality.”

Indeed, Kellar’s fellow councilmembers were also targeted. Speakers suggested that being silent was the same thing as being complicit. Cassidy Bensko remarked:

“The mayor said to me that he was not in a position of power to have Bob Kellar resign. [No, Kellar’s eyes didn’t dart over to Smyth at this juncture.] I do not believe that this is true. I believe that you all sitting in the City Council have the power to push Bob Kellar to resign because you have the leverage. […] While I know that you all have your issues considering that you are the very group of people that called the police and the National Guard on peaceful protesters throughout this past week and legitimized a conspiracy theory circulated by white supremacists on Facebook to do so, I am asking you to make right by the peaceful protesters of the City. I am asking you to make right by the Black Lives Matter protesters in this city, of the youth, of the people of color, of the women of color, of the members of the LGBTQ community who have been done wrong by the City literally as long as it has existed. I am asking you to do right by this group of people by condemning Bob Kellar and asking for his resignation.”

The Council and Mayor Smyth in particular were criticized on multiple occasions for being quick to show up to the “re-open SCV” protest but slow (taking over a week) to speak with the Black Lives Matter protesters. Protesters were upset that the National Guard had been called in and that a curfew had been put in place over unfounded fears about the protests turning violent. Megan Schneider said, “You made your decision before you saw the reality. […] You chose to escalate the situation.”

In an attempt to put some teeth behind their demands for change, speakers talked about a variety of consequences for inaction. Some described ruined legacies, but most focused on elections. Jessica Conrad warned:

“You work for us, so act like it. We are demanding better. And if you don’t want our city to be known as a racist place, I’ve got some bad news for you. You can ask anybody outside of the City what our reputation is, and I promise we’re not well known for our diversity. You may be aware of the fact that 2020 is an election year, and these high school girls that you clearly think so little of have inspired more action than you have in your entire lifetimes. And they’re the ones who are going to be voting you out of office if you don’t do your f*cking job.”

Not everyone took the blowtorch approach to making a comment. Dr. Cherise Moore of the Hart District Board called in to speak. She spoke more in generalities than with the aim of singling people out. Moore had already begun discussions about city-school partnerships with Mayor Smyth (more on that below), and she described the problems in Santa Clarita thusly:

“As you see from the week of peaceful protests, there is warranted anger, pain, and hurt in our community. Racism exists in the world, in the country, and yes, in Santa Clarita Valley, too. And it is wrong on every level. […] I can’t change the past, but I can do something about the future. Black lives do matter. I know that because I carry the burden of having to have ‘the talk’—and some folks who are listening will know what I mean when I say ‘the talk’—with my nine-year-old black son. And brown lives matter, and all other lives matter, too. It is time to start the healing and it begins right here at home in Santa Clarita.”

Bill Reynolds was one of the relatively few Claritans who called in to speak on behalf of Bob Kellar. He claimed that many speakers had no context for Kellar’s 2010 remarks at the Minutemen/immigration rally. Reynolds recalled how Kellar had mentored Sheriff’s Deputy David March, who was killed by an illegal immigrant, explaining Kellar’s strong stance against illegal immigration that had been conflated with racism. Reynolds described efforts to have Kellar resign, contending, “It’s a political act to get Bob removed simply because they want Chris Werthe elected.” Reynolds closed his remarks by thanking the mayor for helping businesses to re-open—he said he had finally gotten a haircut.

Steve Petzold also defended Kellar.

“Bob Kellar is one of the greatest individuals in this community. He has a lifetime of service out here to the Army and to the LAPD and through his leadership in the chambers of commerce. The man is absolutely colorblind. He would give you the shirt, he would give anybody the shirt off his back. The man is absolutely colorblind. He has spent countless hours working on behalf of the Boys and Girls Club. This man has had his character assassinated. That is a Biblical sin. The Eighth Commandment—’Thou shalt not bear false witness’—I’ve listened to a number of people call in here tonight and just spout absolute trash about this man. I speak in respect of Bob Kellar and I hope that you will stand behind him. There is no reason for this man to resign.”

Overall, Kellar had his defenders, but tonight, the detractors dominated the conversation. There was a lot of energy, but it was rather unfocused in the sense that no one really cared about the online petition, and Bob Kellar was not worried about re-election—he’s retiring. As for his reputation, that became a wash 10 years ago when this issue first came up. People have already made up their mind about Bob Kellar one way or the other.

Whether the voices that called for Kellar to resign return in the coming weeks, and whether their message shifts to backing a preferred Kellar replacement, remains to be seen.

Miranda: “Black lives matter”, Kellar: “I am not a racist”, Smyth: “Words matter”

The City Council responded in between the two bouts of public participation (which, again, were consolidated above). Mayor Pro Tem Bill Miranda spoke at length. He began by recognizing the importance of “looking inward” and by asking for clarity on what Claritans truly wanted:

“We’re all in support of Black Lives Matter. OK. [Miranda’s “OK”s are quiet conversational pauses— one of his verbal idiosyncrasies. I’m noting this because it’s hard to convey the tone of an “OK” from a quote] We’re in support of the idea that every life matters. OK. We understand that Black Lives Matter focuses on a particular group who feels they are systemically preyed on by others. We understand that. OK. I understand that. I’m a man of color, so I understand that. Our country and all our communities are finally looking inward. We’re finally doing this. I grew up in the 60s, OK, I knew what the 60s was all about, I was in the streets. And I can tell you, it’s good to know our citizens are looking inward. But in looking inward, we must know and understand: what is it we want? Do we want equal justice, or do we want a pound of flesh? Because if what we want is a pound of flesh, count me out. If what we want is equal justice, put me in the forefront of this march.”

He went on to give his support for “8 Can’t Wait” policing reforms, such as banning chokeholds. Miranda then made it clear that he was standing by Kellar because he knew his true character:

“I wasn’t on the Council when certain words were spoken, but I can tell you where I was. I was the head of the Latino Chamber when those remarks were made. And I had a meeting with the person who made those remarks. And if I can sit here, next to that person, and say [emphatically], ‘I am convinced that person is not a racist!’, then you can argue all you want. But I wouldn’t be here if I thought this person was a white supremist [sic] or a racist. I know this person.”

Miranda pointed out that Kellar had just months left of his term before he stepped down and pleaded with people to think about forgiveness and love rather than demanding their pound of flesh. He closed by saying, “My office is open. I’m here to serve. Contact me. I will meet with anybody at anytime to discuss anything.”

When it was time for Councilmember Bob Kellar himself to speak. he was rather defensive. His opening:

“What an interesting last few days. For openers, I also am very saddened to see what took place in Minneapolis. However, problems of this kind will never be solved by rioting. Now, it seems a couple of high school girls have got me totally figured out—that I am a racist, bigot, along with a few other adjectives. Truth is, these young ladies do not have a clue as to who I am, what I have done in my life, or what this country called ‘America’ is all about. I will digress for a moment and say that ten years ago, we had a lot of discussion about this—my words. And I stand today as I did ten years ago and I say if you choose to take what I said out of context, just take the last four or five words, yeah, it sounds pretty bad. But if you pay me the courtesy of reading what I said and how it came about, you will see that absolutely is not the case. And furthermore, I am not a racist, never have been, and never will be in my life. I have worked hard to help all Americans.”

Kellar took a clear stance against being racist, but he didn’t do himself any favors by calling some of his critics “high school girls.” Many, in fact, were, but it came off as a dismissive label. He ended his remarks by talking about his decades of community service and by warning of insidious takeovers relating to speech, freedom, and values, mentioning Khrushchev and communism.

Mayor Cameron Smyth tried to be more unifying:

“We’ve had nine straight days of protests to varying degrees, and I take pride and we all should as a community, that throughout those protests and throughout those days, we have not had one arrest, not one act of violence, either within the protest or with those that threatened violence against the protesters. We have not had one business or incident of property damage. And not many communities can say that throughout the country.”

He said that he met with organizers of the sit-in earlier, and he would have another meeting tomorrow. “Words matter […] and we need to acknowledge that as community leaders,” was about as close as Smyth got to directly addressing Kellar’s remarks. He thought it was important to re-state that, “The City of Santa Clarita denounces racism in all its forms, period, hard stop. All people are welcome in this community, and every voice should be heard.”

To offer one concrete step forward, Smyth said he had been having conversations with Dr. Cherise Moore of the Hart School District Governing Board. The two agreed that it was time to “re-activate” the City’s human relations forum. There will likely be an important role for students in the forum.

Councilmembers McLean and Weste had shorter remarks. McLean didn’t like recent optics: “It really saddens me a lot when I see our City painted as being racist to other areas around the United States when we are not. The City Council respects and represents every single person in our community.” Weste said, “It’s clearly heartbreaking to lose a man’s life so unnecessarily. It’s completely heartbreaking. I don’t have words for it. It’s traumatic, and I think we’re all very saddened by it.”

The “Genius” Budgeter

In addition to the judgment of Bob Kellar, there was some “regular” business to attend to.

On the consent calendar at tonight’s meeting were millions of dollars to improve roads and traffic. The cash was spread among a few items, including new street lighting, the next phases of an “Intelligent Transportation System” that synchronizes traffic and detects bicyclists, and road overlay and slurry seal projects. Al Ferdman made a comment that improved LED street lighting savings should have been passed onto the public—he wondered why the savings weren’t evident. (City Manager Ken Striplin explained savings of about 15% were being/would be realized, but not always instantaneously.) There were also levies of special districts and of the Open Space Preservation District’s annual assessment. The recommended actions on all of the consent calendar items were approved unanimously.

Some mercifully brief public hearings followed.

The first was a discussion of the upcoming fiscal year’s $220M budget. Presenting the budget is always City Manager Ken Striplin’s big night. He gets to talk about the City’s responsible financial practices, highlight big new projects, and lay out a vision for the year ahead. He still managed to do most of that, but he had to describe the enormity of the challenge posed by the COVID-19 shutdown to put things in perspective. Striplin said that the City was expecting a roughly $10M loss in general fund revenue for the current fiscal year. He cited a study that ranked Santa Clarita as the 17th hardest hit city in the nation in terms of coronavirus/shutdown-related unemployment [we’ve fallen to 23rd hardest hit in a more recent article.] As a result, this fiscal year’s budget didn’t grow but was actually about 3% smaller than last year’s. The budget focuses only on required contractual obligations and critical capital improvement projects. Already-funded projects that should be completed in the fiscal year include the new Sheriff’s Station and the Canyon Country Community Center.

The City Council was generally supportive. Mayor Cameron Smyth asked if the budget could change is shortfalls weren’t as severe as expected, and Striplin said that a mid-year budget review in December would provide an opportunity for that (or to tighten the budget if things get worse). “Genius comes to mind,” said Councilmember Marsha McLean of Striplin’s balanced budget in the face of such economic adversity and uncertainty.

The next public hearing related to the review and amendment of fees for City services. The staff usually recommends adjusting fees in-line with the consumer price index, but in light of economic hardships, the recommendation was to defer many of the increases until October or January. The final public hearing was on stormwater pollution prevention fees, and staff recommended no increase to the $26.22 per equivalent residential unit fee. The City Council agreed with both recommendations.

Tonight’s adjournment was for Michael Malone, who worked for the Walt Disney Company and supported LGBTQ causes. He is survived by his husband, Brian O’Connor.

Mike Garcia and Kathryn Barger Delight Council

With Mayor Cameron Smyth nowhere in sight, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Miranda got things rolling by asking Councilmember Bob Kellar to provide the invocation. Kellar described a “modified Memorial Day program” held at Eternal Valley Memorial Park, which has hosted an observance for over three decades. He said that, while the public was unable to attend owing to restrictions against large gatherings, there was still much to appreciate. The staff of Eternal Valley set out over 6,000 flags on the graves (this is a task normally performed by Scouts troops). Our recently sworn-in 25th District Congressman Mike Garcia gave a keynote address that ended in a standing ovation (the first Kellar can remember at the annual event). Kellar closed his remarks by reading the names of the Santa Claritans who have died while serving in the armed forces since the events of 9/11.

At this point, Mayor Cameron Smyth entered with typical dramatic flair: his lower face was masked,[1] but his eyes darted back and forth in eager anticipation of the news he had to share. He said, “I am pleased to announce that just 15 minutes ago, the LA County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to apply to the State of California for an LA County-wide variance” to State health orders. He said that, if approved, LA County would be able to re-open salons and some in-restaurant dining. Later in the meeting, he clarified that houses of worship and retail had just been re-opened by the County, so those were already checked off the list. Smyth called it an “amazing day” and gave due credit because “Supervisor [Kathryn] Barger carried an amazing load.” Just a couple of weeks ago, the City of Santa Clarita was trying to get its own variance to the most restrictive of health orders, but the unified county effort is sure to get more attention.

Councilmember Bob Kellar said, “May I make a suggestion?”, and vigorously applauded the re-opening progress.

Roll call followed (all present), and Smyth re-arranged the agenda just a little to accommodate City Manager Ken Striplin, who would be leaving early to join his son’s high school graduation.

“I called her back!”

Lynne Plambeck was the first to speak during public participation. She said that hundreds of native oaks have been removed for the Needham Ranch business park, but she hasn’t seeing an equal number of mitigation oaks planted, as required. Plambeck mentioned other projects where oaks have been removed and not promptly replaced, and she reminded the Council that an oak features prominently on the City Seal. “Where in the heck are the oaks?” she queried.

Next, Elaine Ballace complained about, well, everything, but mostly about not getting a return phone call every time she wanted one. In a master class on how to endear oneself to City Hall, she said the following, and more:

• “When you place a phone call to you people, not one of you on City Council has returned one of my calls.”

• “Ken hasn’t returned a call in two weeks! And I’ve left messages ad nauseum with Ken’s assistants.”

• “Is there a problem?” [reacting when Smyth whispered “I called her back?” to Striplin]

• “If ever there were a reason for districting, maybe this is it, because at least you could call one person ad nauseum until that person calls you back, and then if that person doesn’t do anything for your area, you vote him or her out”

• “Just for fun, I called other city chambers and what not, and they all got back to me within an hour!”

• “Maybe I need to call Kathryn Barger’s office and have her request that you people return phone calls”

• “Hopefully you’ll be able to do something to help some of the seniors get their taxes filed.”

• “Next time, could you write it [an agenda] in English instead of ‘legalese’?”

• “I just think this is really sad what you have done to people in Santa Clarita…[three minute timer rings]”

Clearly, the prolonged quarantine has hit some Claritans harder than others.

In any case, Mayor Smyth said that he’s spoken with Ballace for over half-an-hour at least once this year, Councilmember Marsha McLean said that she always returns phone calls, and City Manager Striplin said that he has spoken with Ballace often over the phone, mentioning that the conversations are usually over a half-an-hour in duration.[2]

The final public speaker was Steve Petzold, who praised the library system that is allowing loans amid shutdowns. He then alleged that a Brown Act violation occurred when the City Council met in a closed session to discuss district-based voting and legal actions relating to it. “Simply acknowledge the mistake that you made,” he said. In response to Petzold, City Manager Ken Striplin said that a violation had not taken place, and that the City Attorney had made certain this was so.

Laurene Weste’s Horses Predict Bad Fire Season

During councilmember updates, Councilmember McLean said that LA County Public Health’s reports of the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases scared people. She suggested that focusing on the number of new cases and their location would better inform the public of risk. Mayor Pro Tem Miranda’s remarks included an “Eid Mubarak!” to acknowledge the end of Ramadan. Mayor Smyth used his update time to clarify what the County had opened (retail stores, houses of worship) and what it was waiting to re-open (restaurant dining, salons).

Item 12 on the agenda had been moved up to this point in the meeting so as to include City Manager Ken Striplin before his son’s graduation. The item was an opportunity to discuss progress made on getting a variance to help Santa Clarita expedite re-opening, but it was moot due to the earlier, county-level progress on this front led by Supervisor Kathryn Barger. The Council quickly agreed to submit a letter to the Governor in support of LA County’s unified re-opening efforts.

Apropos of nothing, Laurene Weste then launched into a discussion of the Fourth of July Parade. (It may be that she wanted Striplin to hear her remarks before he left.) She said that the parade is a big deal in Santa Clarita and one of our longest running traditions, so she wanted to imagine what an Independence Day celebration could look like given that crowds of thousands would almost certainly not be permitted. She suggested teaming up with The Signal and KHTS to create neighborhood competitions to decorate with flags and the like. She pitched many other ideas, some perhaps not fully developed: “The kids could have speeches; it could be kids and their pets.” The idea of a “virtual parade day” was also floated.

City Manager Ken Striplin agreed that the usual parade was out of the question, and he said that City staff could start fleshing out the alternatives. Mayor Smyth encouraged keeping a fireworks shows (perhaps with viewing from cars), because he said that a big, City-sponsored event would “reduce the temptation of doing a home firework show” that could lead to wildfires.

Laurene Weste offered a foreboding warning on this front: “This is going to be a very, very dangerous fire season. I knew when my horses started shedding the middle of February that we were going to have a really hot summer.” She encouraged Claritans to make sure that their properties have good fire clearance—advice perhaps most pertinent to the landed class.

Carl Boyer Rolling in Grave, Claims Steve Petzold

The City Council then moved onto the rest of the consent calendar. Most of the recommended actions were approved without discussion, including a rate adjustment for waste services amounting to an extra $3.95 per month for single-family homes. According to the agenda, taking your trash has gotten more expensive partly because China isn’t accepting foreign recyclables like it used to.

Sprawling across the consent calendar and into the unfinished business portion of the meeting was a discussion about protecting renters in light of pandemic-related financial hardships. Without any action, Santa Clarita’s eviction moratorium would cease at the end of May, at which point renters would have six months to pay back rent. LA County had a similar measure, but it was recently extended, providing eviction protection to the end of June and allowing 12 months to pay back rent. At issue was whether Santa Clarita’s policy should match LA County’s.

Landlord/public speaker Steve Petzold kicked off the discussion, and he was decidedly riled up. He called in to comment that Santa Clarita was founded to gain independence from LA County, yet item 10 on the agenda recommended rescinding the City’s own rent protection ordinance and letting LA County’s policies govern by default. Carl Boyer would be rolling over in his grave, speculated Petzold, whose tone ranged from indignant to outraged to hopeful to simply loud. He made remarks about the importance of protecting landlords who depend on rental income—not just protecting the renters. For Petzold, it was paramount that the City keep some level of oversight instead of deferring to the County: “You must retain control. You must reject the resolution before you!”"

Councilmembers generally agreed with Petzold about preferring to have the City rather than the County dictate terms, even if the terms were essentially identical. Councilmembers Laurene Weste and Bob Kellar both wished that they could better predict the pandemic and the recovery ahead in order to gauge when it would be fair to expect outstanding rents to be paid back. “I’ll give you a better answer six to eight month from now,” joked Kellar, defeatedly. Councilmember Weste could also see both sides of the issue—the need to look out for renters and landlords alike. She made her second foreboding warning of the evening: “It’s either going to get a lot better real fast, or it’ll do what happened in 1918—it’ll get a whole lot worse.”

It sounded like everyone was on board for more protection for renters. Just like the County, eviction protection was extended through June, but unlike the County, the 6-month payback period was extended to 9 months, not 12 (McLean proposed this as a kind of compromise, and the duration could be changed again based on future developments). Kellar summed things up by stating that, “Instead of just abdicating our control to the County, mirror the County but maintain control.” All voted in favor, so at the very earliest, eviction protection remains in place through June and renters have the better part of a year, at least, to resolve unpaid rent.

Can’t We Make Districts Some Other Time?

[Background Note: There’s an industry of sorts built around suing cities on the basis of the California Voting Rights Act. The Act states that cities can’t elect officials with at-large elections if voting is “racially polarized” because doing so dilutes minority votes. Santa Clarita has bumped up against the CVRA and the general idea of voting districts for many years, and Scott Rafferty is the lawyer who has forced the City’s hand with the threat of costly litigation. So district-based voting is happening—it’s just a matter of how quickly the transition will proceed under the present, extraordinary circumstances.]

Tonight, the City Council had to decide how to schedule the five community hearings required as part of the transition to district-based voting. There had been a schedule in place, but it was changed because of COVID-19 related health orders that precluded the City from hosting large crowds for the required hearings. There have been multiple, at times conflicting factors that influence this decision:

• The main impetus for trying to fit five public hearings into one month is that the LA County Registrar gave a deadline of the end of June to receive districting information from the City. They need that information in time to prepare district-specific ballots for the 2020 election.

• However, large gatherings are prohibited by both the County and the State at this time. (Will that change soon?)

• Furthermore, the Governor suspended deadlines for CVRA lawsuits in light of current conditions.

• And no one on the City Council is in a rush to move to districts—the transition is opposed.

• Still, the Council recognizes they have little chance of winning a lawsuit if they try and fight it. Rafferty looms large with the threat of costly litigation for delays.

So what’s a City Council to do? There was a prolonged and often confusing discussion on that very issue. City Attorney Joe Montes said that, in light of the Governor’s suspension of deadlines, the countdown clock had essentially been paused. Santa Clarita will have 89 days to comply with holding the public hearings, etc. once the Governor lifts the suspension and the clock re-starts. This sounded simple enough. If the Council didn’t proceed because of the Governor’s suspension and an inability to hold public hearings, they wouldn’t be able to submit district boundary information to LA County in time for the 2020 election, and the election would proceed in the usual, at-large fashion. The City would still be on the hook to move to district-based voting, but that would affect the 2022 City Council election. There could be consequences, but those were still nebulous.

On the agenda, staff had recommended continuing to move forward with a busy schedule of hearings all June long just in case there was a change that allowed for large public hearings to take place next month. Some councilmembers were trying to read between the lines, so to speak, that this recommendation was the safest route. Summing up the confusion about mixed messages was Councilemember Marsha McLean. At one point she said, “The Governor has suspended the deadlines…what are we talking about here?” (i.e., why the rush then?), but she later said, “Play the game…maybe I shouldn’t say ‘play the game’” (i.e., demonstrate that the Council is trying to make progress with a tight schedule, but let County or State regulations be blamed for being unable to hold the public hearings that are required to move forward). Obviously, some of this is inference on my part, but feel free to watch the meeting if you’d like to try and read the Council yourself.

Overall, Councilmember Kellar was exasperated (“I just find this to be the most disgusting thing,” he said of being forced to implement districts and pay Rafferty a minimum of $30,000—there were also frequent reminders that Rafferty worked in Northern California, not locally). Mayor Pro Tem Miranda was at once resigned and defiant—he wanted to “do it right” and without a rush because he figured that, “We’re gonna get sued anyways" (i.e., regardless of what action they take). The others had mixed feelings, with McLean and Smyth especially wanting to err on the side of minimizing the risk of litigation.

Public comments did not help add any clarity. Many speakers were upset that the City Council seemed to be trying to rush the hearings, so the Council had to emphasize they didn’t like the rush (or districting at all, for that matter) but that they were considering it to avoid an expensive lawsuit. Elaine Ballace said, “I don’t know what’s going on…I think there should have been a presentation because I am really confused here.” Truer words… Glo Donnelly was simply grasping at straws (“I hope Scott Rafferty [pause] goes away.”) And Jonathan Ahmadi said that his committee had worked on selecting district maps so he wanted the hearings to go forward. Ahmadi had taken it upon himself to create an independent committee to draw districts after dropping out of the City Council race.

While everyone held strong opinions, all seemed fairly open-minded throughout the whole discussion. It truly is a singular situation, and there wasn’t a clear “best” path. The final decision was to not adopt the rushed/amended/whatever-you-want-to-call-it schedule of public hearings and instead draft a new schedule once the County allowed for public gatherings to occur. Miranda voted in favor, McLean waivered aloud: “Can I vote after others vote? Is that possible? No? I’m going to vote no.” Smyth voted no. But Weste and Kellar voted yes, so the motion carried.

Fire Fees, Dining in the Street, and Pride

There was a very brief discussion about increasing Fire Protection District development fees from $1.24 to $1.28 per square foot. Everyone supported the resolution to adopt the increased fee. Before departing, Mayor Smyth asked the City staff to look into ways to help restaurants increase capacity, such as shutting down streets to allow for more outdoor, well-spaced dining. Mayor Pro Tem Miranda wanted to add a resolution recognizing gay pride for June. Then, the meeting ended.

[1]The mask, which comes off and on all meeting long, now bears the City Seal. Is this merch available to all?

[2]Elaine Ballace’s IMDB

In brief: The City Council wants to re-open Santa Clarita, justifying their intent by arguing that coronavirus hasn’t struck us nearly as severely as the rest of LA County. It’s true that Santa Clarita’s COVID-19 related death rate is vastly lower than the overall LA County rate. If people were dying here at that rate, there would be over 40 deaths instead of the 8 that have actually occurred. However, infection and death rates are definitely not as low as in the counties that are re-opening quickly, like Modoc. The closest comparisons in terms of death rate per capita are the counties of Contra Costa, Ventura, Solano, and Orange. A few more comparisons: SCV per capita death rate is about 3 per 100K; Alaska about 1 per 100K; California about 8 per 100K; USA about 28 per 100K; New York about 140 per 100K. Obviously, those numbers can go up.

Does the county comparison work?

The City Council wants to begin re-opening Santa Clarita by following State health orders instead of more restrictive LA County orders. This could be accomplished with some kind of order variance or waiver. There would still be some safeguards, but closures and restrictions wouldn’t be as severe as in the rest of LA County.

Various California counties have been allowed to re-open at different paces, so Mayor Cameron Smyth has pitched the idea of re-opening Santa Clarita by comparing the SCV to a county.[1] The SCV’s population exceeds that of many California counties, and it is geographically distinct—should we really have to act like coronavirus has affected us like it did south LA County?

More importantly, has it? And if so, does that means it’s “safe enough” to re-open—and by whose standards and judgment? (An impossible question, I know).

I pulled data from the news and government health websites to put together a hypothetical Santa Clarita “County” comparison. What other counties would we look like if we were our very own, distinct county? Perhaps like the ones that are being allowed to move forward? Below is a Google spreadsheet with three tabs—data, data dictionary to explain the data sources and assumptions, and a chart to make it more digestible.

If you want to do a simple statistical test, then yes, the number of COVID-19 deaths for our population size is substantially lower than the number for the rest of LA County ( χ2 = 32.29, p << 0.001). It can be interesting comparing city-to-city too, but that’s for another day.

Many of our neighbors are in the same range of 2-3 coronavirus-related deaths per 100,000 residents—Ventura, Orange, Santa Barbara, and Kern Counties. They’re taking different approaches, so I’m not sure what actionable lessons can be gleaned from the similarity in rates. Maybe it’s just all about geography.

The SCV data shows a high number of confirmed cases per capita despite relatively few deaths. As many have pointed out, simply reporting the number of cases can be misleading because the number will go up not only with greater prevalence but also with greater testing activity. Two areas could have identical true rates of infection, but the area that tests more will report more cases.

So is Santa Clarita ready to reopen?

Depends on who you ask.

[1]Twice in as many days, he has mentioned carving a separate county out of north LA County as not being the craziest of ideas.

COVID-19 delay to district-based voting?

               As the councilmembers filed in, it was clear that masks were far from mandatory. Only Mayor Cameron Smyth wore one, and he did so only when he wasn’t talking—that mask was off-and-on all meeting long. The other four members of City Council, all of whom are firmly in the age-group at high risk of coronavirus mortality, chose not to wear masks.[2]

               The main meeting got off to a late start because the Council had just had a special meeting about the transition to district-based voting. As you likely know, legal actions related to the California Voting Rights Act have forced Santa Clarita to transition from at-large to district-based voting. None of the councilmembers like it, but the City is supposed to be on a tight transition schedule. However, as City Attorney Joe Montes would later explain, there’s a new wrinkle that sounds a lot like a potential stalling tactic. He said that staff plan to “monitor the orders coming out of the County Department of Health with regard to the timing of the appropriateness to have large gatherings of the public in government meetings—City Council meetings, etcetera. If, if there’s not County approval for those types of meetings, prior to the May 19th previously scheduled hearing [on district-based voting], that hearing will not take place and will have to be postponed. And at that point, we would bring back for Council consideration a revised schedule at the May 26th regular City Council meeting.” Clever.[3]

Rent due

               For the meeting invocation, Councilmember Marsha McLean praised the Santa Clarita students who are behind Six Feet Supplies, a service that shops for people who can’t risk outings due to their health. The accolades are deserved—the website is slick, and the outreach is very thoughtful. After the flag salute, the public participation portion of the meeting began with complaints from Elaine Ballace (it’s hard to use Zoom; seniors need help with taxes) and Steve Petzold (re-districting discussions should happen in open sessions; don’t extend eviction protection for renters beyond May because landlords need to make money too). Tony Maldonado used his three minutes to argue that district-based voting, which is supposed to remedy racial inequalities, actually exacerbates them. Barbara Welsh commented that LA County renters would have twelve months after the safer-at-home order lifted to pay back rent, but Santa Clarita renters had only six. She said the extra months could make a big difference.

               In response to residents’ comments, McLean asked why Santa Clarita chose six months over twelve. Montes explained that the City had just been mirroring the County, which only recently extended protection. With support from McLean and Smyth, it was decided that the Council will re-visit the length of its eviction and rent protections at the next meeting.

               All of the recommended actions on a very short consent calendar passed unanimously and without discussion. Items included a $100K contract for electronic library lockers that will provide 24/7 access to pick up requested materials. There were also contracts to repair paseo bridges and add amenities to Mountain View Park.     

“All of your haircuts look very good”

               Just hours before tonight’s meeting, LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer uttered the now infamous words: “We know with all certainty that we would be extending health officer orders, you know, for the next three months […] unless there’s a dramatic change.”[4] It’s May, and thinking of a whole summer—until mid-August!—with businesses hamstrung and other restrictions did not sit well with Claritans. With scarcely any exceptions, the City Council and the public wanted LA County to know that Santa Clarita was ready to move forward. There was enthusiasm for the idea of re-opening, but everyone was careful to point out that steps forward would need to be careful, well-informed by the past couple months, and likely still in line with orders from Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

               The discussion kicked off with Mayor Smyth mentioning Ferrer’s quote about extending the County’s “Safer at Home” order. He said he and others had questions about the constitutionality of such severe restrictions on the public. City Attorney Montes explained that Governor Gavin Newsom has been making his orders using “both emergency and health powers contained in State law,” but tempered his statement by adding that the “scope has been broader than anyone has seen in history,” which could raise legitimate questions.

               City Manager Ken Striplin said that the shutdown has hit Santa Clarita’s workers and economy very hard. He predicted that the City was looking at losses of revenue “in excess of ten million dollars” for this year, and he said that Santa Clarita was the third hardest-hit city in California in terms of unemployment and 17th hardest-hit in the nation. It was little wonder, then, that City Hall received 58 calls and over 400 emails in the hours between the LA County shutdown extension comments and tonight’s meeting. Nearly all of the communication advocated moving to reopen more quickly. Striplin said that, while facing some of the most severe consequences of business closures, Santa Clarita was staying relatively healthy compared to the rest of the County. “LA County is looking at LA County as a whole…Santa Clarita is different than a lot of places in the County….our cases are very low…well below County average.” If California counties less-affected by coronavirus can open before hard-hit ones, why can’t the same rule apply at the city/regional level?

               The City Council members were eager to add their voices of support to moving forward ahead of the rest of LA County. Councilmember Kellar asked for a “very strong letter” to explain why current restrictions were “over-the-top.” He said the letter should be written and sent to the LA County Supervisors as soon as possible, ideally accompanied by a meeting or phone call with Supervisor Kathryn Barger. Kellar speculated that businesses would be ready to accommodate in-store safety measures to speed re-opening.

               At this juncture, Smyth realized he had neglected to let the public speakers have their say, so he went to their calls via Zoom. Several residents echoed Kellar—they wanted the economy to open with safety measures in place. Business voices like Holly Schroeder (SCV Economic Development Committee) and John Musella[5] (SCV Chamber of Commerce) were fully on board with opening businesses in a cautious and thoughtful way. Schroeder mentioned all the sectors of the SCV economy that have been particularly devastated by the pandemic, like the entertainment industry, Princess Cruises, Magic Mountain, airline-related industries, and so on. Garrett Markenson, owner of Garrett Markenson Coiffure, said he wanted the Council to show more leadership in helping his salon and other businesses to prepare to re-open. He goadingly observed, “All of your haircuts look very good; you must be driving to Ventura to get your hair done.”[6] Mayor Cameron Smyth replied, “I do appreciate Garrett’s comments on our hair. I can attest for myself, I have not had a haircut since February, so at least my product is holding long enough.”

            Following public comments, the rest of the Council voiced their support. Mayor Pro Tem Bill Miranda said that people have called him on the phone in tears, devastated that their restaurants and other businesses may never be able to reopen. He said that people routinely take risks in their daily lives, and now, after months of information and preparation, Claritans were prepared to make informed risks about how they would conduct business or visit businesses. “This is America!”, he repeated several times. Councilmember Laurene Weste was somewhat less spirited, but she agreed that Santa Clarita should re-open faster than more heavily impacted areas of LA County. Of her husband, she good-naturedly joked, “He wants to see something other than me!” Councilmember McLean said that she emphasized with residents because her own small business has been suffering, pleading, “We need to do something and we need to do it now.”

               With everyone in agreement on trying to get a variance from the LA County health order, Mayor Smyth used the remainder of the meeting to help nail down more specific direction for City staff. The Council wanted absolute clarity on the legality of Santa Clarita following State versus stricter County orders. Smyth worried that it was possible to follow the State orders while simultaneously violating County orders, which are stricter. This has the potential to create confusion. He mentioned an Oceanside gym owner who was cited for opening his business under these ostensibly confusing and conflicting directives. Smyth didn’t want anyone in the SCV getting cuffed for something similar. Councilmembers were open to a variance for the City or at the regional level. Some Antelope Valley cities have expressed interest in joining Santa Clarita. Whatever the path, it was agreed that the letter was needed urgently—in a day or two given that the current order expires on May 15th.  

Before the meeting ended, there was a little remark about forming our own independent county for the residents of Northern LA County, which Laurene Weste said sounded a lot like the late Carl Boyer, one of Santa Clarita’s founding fathers. It was only a joke—for now.

[1]The race hasn’t been called yet, but Garcia is leading pretty comfortably.

[2]I’m not a big fan of COVID-19 shaming, and given rates of infection in Santa Clarita, the odds of coronavirus infection among one of the very few people at the meeting were very slim. Furthermore, everyone was sitting fairly far apart, there was no audience present, the cough count was a mere two (more like throat clearings), and there are limitations on the effectiveness of cloth masks. Still, it wouldn’t have been a bad idea to throw one on, right?    

[3]There is, perhaps, a bit of an inconsistency here in that the City will be trying to use the County’s health order to delay district-based voting while simultaneously trying to get out of the County’s health order to help local residents and businesses. That said, there’s plenty of eyebrow raising to be directed at all sides on this voting-by-district move.

[4]The words have since been “clarified” to point out that steps toward re-opening are being taken, but the essential sentiment remains the same: LA County is planning to move slowly in the months ahead.

[5]I forget why, but he blocked me on Twitter some time ago.

[6]Debatable. Salon owner Garrett pictured below. Dramatic!

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