It was an impassioned evening at Seaside City Hall on Thursday, Sept. 20 amid a recent swirl of allegations and revelations that have led the city to launch an investigation into sexual harassment claims and an audit of councilmember expenses.
The latter, a review of city councilmember expenses from July 2015 to present, was spurred by recent revelations brought to light by a Public Records Act request from a Sacramento-based political research firm into the travel and child-care expenses of Councilmember Kayla Jones.
Some of the travel expenses were found to exceed city policy. Both Jones and City Manager Craig Malin say they were not aware of the policy when overages were occurring, and Jones, on Sept. 14, reimbursed the city for $490 for expenses that may have exceeded city policy.
The sexual harassment investigation will look into allegations Jones made at the end of a council meeting on Sept. 6, which came after some heated discussion on the dais during the subject of school resource officers. Jones alleged that since coming onto the council in late 2016, other members of the five-member council had inappropriately commented on her appearance, that she has to deal with what she feels is "blatant sexual harassment."
Jones, who was elected in 2016 and who is running for mayor in the coming election, was not present during the Sept. 20 meeting.
The remaining council members voted 4-0 to hire an outside firm to investigate the sexual harassment allegations.
Many at the meeting spoke in support of Jones, and applauded the things she's helped the city accomplish in her two years on council, and many spoke out against her, calling her child-care and travel expenses into question.
City Manager Craig Malin, and the city's finance department, were also explicitly called out by a few residents—including Gracie Rubio, Mayor Ralph Rubio's wife—for allowing Jones' expenses to be approved.
On Friday, the day after the council meeting, Jones sent out a statement regarding both the city's child care policy—which was passed in 2017 and allows reimbursements for child-care expenses—and her travel expenses that have come under scrutiny.
"Governance should reflect the community it serves. Public service should never be limited to the retired, wealthy, or child-free, especially in a community with so many low-income families," the statement reads. "I could not afford to serve on the council without this policy."
The statement also touches on her travel expenses, which were incurred when was attending various trainings or conferences.
"A city is better served if their elected officials attend workshops and conferences to stay current on the law and learn new ideas that can be brought back to the city," it reads. "I consistently asked city staff if there were any procedures I needed to follow, and any paperwork I needed to complete. I did everything they asked me to do."
The statement concludes with Jones saying she didn't ask for an investigation into the sexual harassment allegations, but that she wanted the council as a whole to receive sensitivity training.
Malin says, however, that because Jones specifically used the words "sexual harassment" in her comments on Sept. 6, the city was compelled to launch an outside investigation to protect from potential future liability.
Former councilman Ian Oglesby—who Jones unseated in the 2016 election, and who is also running for mayor—called for the investigation to be completed before the Nov. 6 election. "This should not be turned over to a new council," he said.
Malin says the city has yet to hire an outside investigator, and he is unable to offer a timeline.
"There's a limited number of people who do this, and they're unfortunately very busy," Malin says. "There's no promises on speed. There’s no advantage to rushing something as important as this."
Because the investigation will look into alleged conduct by Jones' fellow councilmembers—rather than city staff members—City Attorney Don Freeman said the report will be made public.
"This is not going to be swept under the rug," Freeman said. "Character assassination doesn’t help us in any way. This has to be fact-based."