(Orange Co) Tustin stands by Councilman Amante in grand jury dispute

By ELYSSE JAMES / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER -

The City Council will send a letter to the Orange County grand jury disagreeing with its conclusion that Councilman Jerry Amante attempted to influence academic freedom at a university.

The grand jury report stated that Amante and Laguna Hills Councilman Allan Songstad attempted to influence officials in 2010 at Chapman's Brandman University in Irvine, where a program director has said he was pressured to step down.

The report recommended that Amante and Songstad complete ethical training and "refrain from attempting to exercise influence over public and private educational institutions."

The Tustin council, including Amante, voted 3-2 Tuesday night to disagree with the report, saying the city will not implement any of the recommendations. Councilwomen Beckie Gomez and Deborah Gavello dissented. Gavello asked that Amante recuse himself but city attorney David Kendig said that the only rule precluding Amante from voting on the matter had been changed in the past few months.

Mayor John Nielsen said he saw it as an issue of freedom of speech.

"To be frank, whether or not we like what was said, free speech is protected," Nielsen said. "In my view this is kind of political correctness run amok."
Gomez said she agreed with Nielsen's free speech comment, but was concerned that the grand jury had heard "differing versions" of what happened at the 2010 meeting.

"I cannot support that letter the way that it is written," Gomez said.

Fred Smoller, director of Brandman's graduate program in public administration, had sent two students to work with Barbara Kogerman, then a council candidate in Laguna Hills, as she compiled and published a breakdown of city manager compensation. The two interns, and the school's name, were listed on the cover of the report. Kogerman later changed the cover page, Register reports state.

Amante, Songstad and League of California Cities director Lacy Kelly visited Jim Doti, president of Chapman University, with a copy of Kogerman's report to talk about the listed authors, Register reports state.

Smoller resigned in October. In his resignation letter, he stated, "...disgruntled elected leaders had convinced (university) administrators that I could no longer be an effective public face for the program."

Several Tustin council members said Tuesday that the grand jury report doesn't include enough evidence or testimony to reach the conclusions that the grand jury listed.

Gavello suggested the council vote to agree with the grand jury findings, censure Amante at a future hearing and remove him from all paid committees. She questioned why a copy of Kogerman's city manager compensation report was taken to the university during the meeting.

"You went to discuss this item or you would not bring the report with you," Gavello said.

Amante defended the meeting, saying that the grand jury findings were incorrect.

"I was one of the four people who was in the room and has had their meeting not only misinterpreted, but skewed for political reasons," Amante said. "This is full of innuendo and inference and appearance rather than any evidence or fact."

Amante said he was at the school to introduce his friends.

"It had nothing to do with the city of Tustin and nothing to do with our residents," he said.

Amante later said he has not read the grand jury report

"I don't think any of us likes the thought of dirty politics going on and I would certainly hope that wouldn't happen here," Gomez said.

In July, the Laguna Hills City Council voted to have Mayor Melody Carruth and Mayor Pro Tem Joel Lautenschleger work with the city attorney to formulate a response to the grand jury report. The council is tentatively scheduled to take up the issue again at its Sept. 25 meeting, City Clerk Peggy Johns said.