Salinas City Councilman Jose Castañeda is often the lone dissenting voter, and Tuesday night was predictable: His colleagues voted to write a response to the Monterey County Civil Grand Jury agreeing with their findings in an investigation into Castañeda.
They voted 6-1 to send the letter to Presiding Monterey County Superior Court Judge Marla Anderson.
Mayor's Letter to Grand Jury
The letter, by Mayor Joe Gunter, agreed with the grand jury's findings that Castañeda has failed to pay a $5,000 fine.
Monterey County Superior Court Judge Kay Kingsley, now retired, ordered the fine in 2013. It came as the culmination of a legal battle with the city; after Castañeda was elected to City Council in 2012, he refused to give up his seat on the Alisal Union School District board. The city sued, and eventually prevailed in court, on the grounds that he was holding two incompatible offices.
Castañeda has not paid that $5,000 fine, both because he can't afford it, and because he believes it's a bogus judgement.
Councilman Tony Barrera delivered an impassioned speech Tuesday night, criticizing Castañeda, though Barrera appears to get along better with Castañeda than anyone else on council.
"This man needs to pay," Barrera said. "He needs to get rid of his ego. None of us is above the law.
"We need to move on. You can fight everything you want, but this thing needs to stop, for the sanity of the city.
"Sir, today, you're the guilty one."
The city has spent upwards of $26,500 working on the issue of Castañeda holding dual offices.
The $5,000 fine, however, is payable to the state of California, not the city of Salinas. That means even if it is collected, the city won't recover associated costs thanks to the partial or full payment of that fine.
Mayor Joe Gunter's letter stops short of implementing the grand jury's most extreme recommendations: that the city pursue incarceration of Castañeda as an option to force him to pay up, and that they amend the city charter to allow for his removal from City Council.
As to the prospect of incarceration: "The city attorney will research the viability of the potential remedy suggested by the grand jury and will resume the city’s efforts to obtain satisfaction of the $5,000 judgment on behalf of the state," according to the mayor's letter.
And any changes to the city charter are also up in the air, and would require a vote of the people, in June 2016 at the earliest.
"The city attorney will research the potential for inclusion of such a provision in the city’s charter and will provide a recommendation to the City Council," according to the letter.
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