A four-member majority of the Pacific Grove City Council on Wednesday, June 5, rejected Mayor Bill Peake's request to remove Economic Development Commissioner Mike Gibbs from his position, after Gibbs sent an email to another resident disparaging the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force.
Gibbs also provided personal email addresses of the DEI chair and a former task force member, encouraging the resident, Carol Marquart, to "poke the bear." Both Gibbs and Marquart have been consistent critics of the task force at DEI meetings, council meetings and online since October 2022, around the same time Gibbs launched the conservative group PG Lives.
An unapologetic Gibbs went on the defensive on Wednesday night, arguing that the email addresses he shared were not private and deflecting any criticism by arguing that he and his wife had been subjected to negative comments within the community for the last couple of years. He said he reported some of the comments to Peake but nothing was done about them.
Gibbs was supported by a number of speakers who lauded Gibbs for his contributions as an EDC member and volunteer in the community. Some contended Gibbs' First Amendment rights were being violated, leaving the city open to lawsuits, or predicted economic calamity if the council removed him.
One Gibbs supporter made a disturbing comment in the back of the chamber, according to a witness. After one man spoke to the council urging them to removed Gibbs from his post, the Gibbs supporter said to others: "We should hang him."
The four councilmembers who voted against removing Gibbs—Luke Coletti, Lori McDonnell, Nick Smith and Debby Beck—said they would have preferred Gibbs received a warning. All were critical of Gibbs' disparaging another city board, but they said they did not have enough evidence before them to vote to remove.
"I am concerned about some of the language used and I certainly don't want [board, commission and committee] members trying to undermine other commissions in this particular case, given the evidence I'm not able to support the removal," Councilmember Nick Smith said.
Coletti had stronger words for Gibbs.
"What you did, Mike, was really stupid, and I think you know it," Coletti said. "I think your apology was weak and I'd like to see some reconciliation." He also told Gibbs that if he wanted to be an ambassador for the city, he had to support other city boards and commissions.
Coletti also had harsh words for the public.
"There has been a litany of vicious, hateful, spiteful comments made online and towards this body and towards our [boards, commissions and committees], the level of discourse is in the gutter and we need to reset," he said. (Coletti has received negative comments on social media sites Facebook and NextDoor from residents critical of him, as he has also found himself in the midst of controversy.)
Other councilmembers shared their own concerns over the state of public discourse in the town over the last couple of years.
"This has become a tipping point for a problem that's been brewing for years," McDonnell said. She wondered if there was a teachable moment to be had but struggled coming up with an alternative to removing Gibbs that would include an action to address what she said was a systemic problem.
Peake said he was disappointed with negative comments circulating among the public, and while he had no control over what happens outside of City Hall, he was focusing on controlling what went on inside. Gibbs, as a public official, made "antagonistic remarks" against others, Peake said.
Councilmembers Joe Amelio and Chaps Poduri supported Peake's removal request.
Poduri acknowledged Gibbs' service to the community, but he said, "The undermining of another city commission doesn't sit well with me, and that to me is something that we do need to consider."
(3) comments
Thank you for the follow up on this. It was concerning to me that Mr Gibbs had 8 minutes of allotted time to speak and never made a sincere apology. More concerning is that our City Council allowed Gibbs to get away with harassing other members of the community. Mr Mothershead is spot on with his comments. City Council needs to hold themselves and the members of the public that serve on boards, commissions, committees and task forces to a higher standard. Please stop bullying people.
Our so-called moderate councilmembers, many of which were endorsed by the Monterey County Democrats, clutched their pearls Wednesday night about the maturity and civility of recent discourse (specifically surrounding the response to inappropriate behavior by controversial activist and commissioner Mike Gibbs). By essentially victim-blaming the harassed parties (and those who fearlessly stick up for them), the council (once again) endorsed bullying and bigotry through their unwillingness to hold Gibbs accountable and their blatant disregard for the rowdy group of radicals in the chambers. The council seemed shocked that tensions had grown so high and appeared to blame those persecuted. We should expect nothing less from Luke Coletti and Debby Beck, who have done far worse than Gibbs and themselves wouldn't be in office if the city enforced any meaningful code of conduct and if they didn't curry the favor of the worst among Pacific Grove. But shame on Nick Smith and Lori McDonnel for insinuating that some sort of Kumbaya compromise is even possible and, even worse, that those being targeted by hate in this community should bend over and take it. Through their cozying and coddling of xenophobes, racists, and homophobes, this council (including the mayor) has created this beast. They have encouraged Mike Gibbs and the members of PG Lives (and Wellspring church) that follow him to incite the harassment of the marginalized members of this community. As reported in the Weekly, one of the right-wing extremists in the audience Wednesday night even exclaimed, "We should hang him,” in response to a citizen’s public critique of Gibbs’ actions. Another is reported to have blocked the exit physically, attempting to intimidate. And this is after months of Gibbs and his cronies amplifying their violent views in public comments, letters to the editor, emails, blogs, social media posts, classes, and more. The citizens of Pacific Grove deserve a council that will open their eyes, call out the cringeworthy, disgusting, and dangerous behaviors of these extremists, and advocate for the tormented humans in this community with the same empathy and passion that they advocate for the shoreline, seals, butterflies, and trees. Monterey County Democrats, do better with your endorsements moving forward. Peake, Smith, and McDonnell have proven themselves incompetent. And, though Peake seems to be trying to publicly walk back his friendliness to Mike Gibbs to redeem himself ahead of election season, his failed leadership has contributed significantly to this mess.
Here’s the link to the video recording of the meeting. This agenda item begins at 4h31m35s. Council discussion begins at 5h27m19s.
https://www.youtube.com/live/vTzut-5gnMU?si=YSdX4xQ8tYpHW8a_&t=16295
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.