When Del Rey Oaks City Council convened for business on Jan. 24, the top order of business was who to appoint to fill the vacant seat on the dais.
Mayor Scott Donaldson, a former council member with two years left on his term, unseated former mayor Alison Kerr in the November 2022 election. Donaldson was sworn in Dec. 13, which meant that, per state election law, the seat would have to be filled by Feb. 10, or the council would have to call a special election for Nov. 7, the same day as the general election, but nearly 10 months from the present.
Six applicants vied for the seat, but the seat still remains open, because the council is locked in a 2-2 deadlock. On one side is Donaldson and new council member Jeremy Hallock, and on the other are council members Kim Shirley and recently elected John Uy.
Donaldson, who ran on a platform of uniting a city whose residents have become increasingly polarized in the last six years, sometimes around national issues, but more specifically around the proposed 28-mile Fort Ord Regional Trail and Greenway that would travel through part of Del Rey Oaks, was unable to unite the council.
Donaldson made a motion, seconded by Hallock, to nominate Louise Goetzelt, a former (appointed) council member who also ran, and lost, to win a seat against Hallock and Uy. In the Jan. 5 meeting, Shirley and Uy advocated for a process in which the top vote-getter in the November election be appointed to the seat—should they want it—and if they didn't, the offer would be extended to the losing candidate with the second-most votes—those candidates were Kerr and Goetzelt, respectively, but the motion died for lack of support from Donaldson or Hallock.
Yet it was because of that prior motion, Donaldson said, that he nominated Goetzelt, but neither Shirley or Uy would budge—she made clear that now that the application process was opened up, there were other candidates she favored more.
Both Shirley and Uy’s first choice was Gary Kreeger, but neither Donaldson nor Hallock would support him. Their second choice was Bill Ragsdale-Cronin, but he too couldn’t get a majority.
Donaldson questioned why neither Shirley or Uy would support Goetzelt, and Shirley responded that there are other candidates she prefers, stressing that Ragsdale-Cronin was her second choice.
As the debate played out, every candidate but Goetzelt and Ragsdale-Cronin withdrew their applications, and the item was continued to special meeting to a future date yet to be decided (but before Fen. 10) that will be called by Donaldson, who City Manager John Guertin says is now in Hawaii.
It remains to be seen how things play out, but a divided Del Rey Oaks council seems to be in the cards.
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Editor's Note (9:30pm 1/26/23): A previous version of this story indicated the Jan. 5 motion to potentially appoint Kerr, or Goetzelt, were two separate motions; this story has been edited to reflect that it was in fact a single motion, which failed due to lack of support.
(6) comments
I am not sure this is the proper forum for direct back and forth communication. If the Weekly editors allow it this is what I would say:
Let me address what I can of the points Ms. Chrislock brought up. Melodie, I think we view things differently. From your commentary it is apparent you hold Councilmember Shirley in high regard. If that is your starting point I don’t think any facts I have said or will say would have any impact. You see, I am not ok someone that 1 day is all about 'the voice of the people' and how the council should direct appoint Goetzelt, and then 19 days later doesn't care about the voters, nor her motion, and even tells an untruth about that as she is speaking to the mayor. I am not ok that she refused to follow the directions of the mayor on the 3rd ballot. I cannot have respect for someone that never even considered Clarke and Burger during the process. What makes it even worse for me is her disregard for the core values.
To answer your question. As to my personal view about the others? My first choice would have been Allion – based on his years on the council, business background, financial background – he would have been a good mentor for these brand-new councilmembers. Burger would have been 2nd – like several of the others he has planning commission experience; the difference from the others – he is a business owner so he has current management experience, and it would have helped the council meet their alleged desire for diversity and inclusion as he is Chilean. Goetzelt – also had both city council and planning commission experience. So from someone looking from the outside in – It’s understandable after Shirley’s and Uy’s motion on the 5th that the two of them would direct appoint Goetzelt, that Mayor Donaldson went for that compromise to placate Shirley and Uy.
James, you clearly have great admiration for Mayor Donaldson so you may not be open to my perspective.
Shirley made a motion to appoint the top vote getter in the election, which would have made sense. Donaldson would not accept that. With new candidates to chose from she made a different choice.
What right did the Mayor have to force a council member to vote for someone they did not support in that third round of voting?
No matter where Donaldson stood, there's no excuse for the badgering and bullying that he engaged in trying to get his way.
Goetzelt was clearly Donaldson's first choice. It was not a compromise on his part. During the campaign Goetzelt was asked why she wasn't doing much campaigning. Her answer was that the council would just appoint her if she lost.
You didn't answer my question, "What is it about Goetzelt, Clarke, Burger and Allion that Donaldson and Hallock so identify with. And why is not getting their way worth sending the city to a special election?"
Donaldson and Hallock are equally to blame for pushing DRO to a special election. All the gaslighting in the world won't excuse them from responsibility.
DRO is a city divided… over a bike path. Newly elected Mayor Donaldson used that divide to get elected. But Donaldson appears unable to govern. I sat through the city council meeting intending to make a public comment on Cal Am’s decision to hold the Peninsula’s water supply hostage, but never did.
Instead, I witnessed Donaldson trying to badger and blame two of his city council members, John Uy and Kim Shirley. It was quite a gaslighting spectacle. He tried shaming both city council members into voting for his choice. He tried tricking them with odd voting options. For over an hour Donaldson tried to manipulate the vote to get one of his four choices. He failed.
Again and again, he asked Uy and Shirley to compromise on one of his handpicked candidates, but when Shirley finally asked him directly if he was willing to compromise, he refused to answer and changed the subject. Donaldson did not appear to understand the meaning of the word compromise except as it applied to others.
It was agonizing to watch. But Shirley showed calm resolute leadership under pressure.
It’s a shame that Alison Kerr, with the second highest vote count in the recent election, almost half the vote, was not allowed to fill the council seat as Shirley motioned in an earlier meeting. That could have been Donaldson’s offer of compromise to the roughly 49.9% of his constituents who voted for Kerr. But Donaldson would not consider it and now under his questionable leadership it looks like the city will be forced into a special election in November and will remain without a fifth council member until then.
I would ask commentor, James Clark, what is it about Goetzelt, Clarke, Burger and Allion that Donaldson and Hallock so identify with. And why is not getting their way worth sending the city to a special election?
Well that's an interesting take on the events... leaves out some serious details like:
As you stated there were 6 candidates - all with planning commission experience and 2 with actual City council experience.
Donaldson wasn't the only one that ran on uniting the city - UY did as well.
Shirley: "She made clear that now .. candidates she favored more". Isn't that interesting - watch the 1/5/2023 meeting starting at time stamp 56:41 and you will hear her go on for 4 minutes about "the number of votes" and "the people have spoken" and now on the 24th non of that matters? Only that she favors them more? That's interesting.
The story is also missing the other two candidates - Clarke and Burger - that Uy and Shirley would not even consider either, and Hallock and Donaldson would.
So what is there about Kreeger and Ragsdale-Cronin that Uy and Shirley so identify with? And why is not getting their way about those two worth sending the city to a $40000 special election?
Another detail not discussed is the role Del Rey Oaks plays in the water battles between Peninsula residents and Cal Am. Del Rey Oaks has a critical vote on Monterey One Water, which closely divided between those two factions. Whomever holds that 5th seat will be the swing vote on whether DRO is pro-ratepayer, or pro-Cal Am on M1W.
61% of Del Rey Oaks voted for Measure J to buyout Cal Am, but in his first vote on water Donaldson voted to reappoint Salinas Mayor Kimbley Craig to LAFCO. Craig was one of the five votes behind LAFCO's decision against the Water Management District, the buyout and the mandate of 24,000 Peninsula voters. Now Craig is the one vote blocking a LAFCO revote on the Cal Am buyout. So far Donaldson is backing Cal Am against his constituents.
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