Salinas City Council moves to censure member Andrew Sandoval.

Politics is not known for being a friendly sandbox in which to play. One thing I like about local politics as compared to the national horror show is that people generally get along – they not only work in the same community, but they live in the same community.

This might have a tendency to influence a culture of groupthink, but plenty of elected and appointed officials refuse to go along to get along, saying unpopular things instead of deferring to a vocal group of constituents or special interest groups. This is often respected as leadership.

Salinas City Councilmember Andrew Sandoval takes a distinctly different approach. Before Sandoval ran for government office, he was a watchdog taking aim at government. He was elected in 2022, ousting an incumbent with 57 percent of the vote. But he never dropped his watchdog streak. He has continued relentlessly to submit inquiries – filing California Public Records Act requests that might unearth some wrongdoing by somebody, even his own colleagues, filing complaints with the Fair Political Practices Commission, asking the District Attorney to look into allegations of wrongdoing.

Sandoval concedes that he is aggressive. “Yes, I do think my approach is aggressive. I approach government a little differently than everyone else,” he says. “People say, think about the long game. I need to accomplish what I can [now], not push it to a further time.”

However, his reluctance to be conciliatory and his embrace of conflict is not always conducive to achieving his policy goals. He sent a text message to County Supervisor Luis Alejo, who represents Salinas constituents in District 1, asking if they could meet about the city’s rent stabilization and tenant protection ordinances. Alejo said no. “I don’t know if many want to work with you, Andrew,” Alejo responded. “You bullied and disrespected a lot of people unnecessarily when you were in the majority.”

Now Sandoval is in the minority, after a slate of councilmembers opposing the old majority were elected in 2024. And on Tuesday, Oct. 28, the new majority spoke up in lockstep, endorsing a censure of Sandoval. (A censure is symbolic only, a formal reprimand.)

“Disagreement is part of democracy.”

Councilmember José Luis Barajas raised the issue first with a prepared speech. “We all ran for office to serve, to make our city stronger,” he said. “We all know that disagreement is part of democracy. But what we’ve seen from you has repeatedly crossed the line from disagreement to dysfunction. Your actions have built a pattern – one of hostility, of unnecessary conflict and of personal attacks that have extended far beyond healthy disagreement.”

Barajas repeatedly mentioned Sandoval’s social media presence, which to me is actually the least problematic behavior. He routinely posts clips of video footage – publicly available clips of public meetings – with his snarky commentary on what he views as colleagues’ bad decision-making. Well-heeled campaign strategy firms might make these same clips. Sandoval does it himself. “If a teenager acted the way you do online – the taunting, the name-calling, the personal attacks – we’d call it bullying,” Barajas said.

Councilmember Aurelio Salazar was quick to pile on with his own childish insults. “His videos only get like 400 views, it’s probably Councilmember Sandoval playing his videos over and over again so he gets more likes,” Salazar said. “I don’t have time for childish antics yet it takes up my time when people call and say, ‘Did you see Andrew’s video?’ No. I don’t care what he says, don’t care what he thinks.”

This council has an opportunity to rise above the antics. Instead, Salazar used the occasion to go low and pile on with remarks that many would call bullying.

“You’ve got a lot of time on your hands,” Salazar said. “If you focused your time on being a real city leader, the city of Salinas would be a better place.”

Despite his aggressive tactics, Sandoval is invested in being a good city leader. He has big dreams on parks, pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure, affordability and opportunities for youth. He’s more likely to make lasting progress on all of these things with an approach that includes compromise – but he remains uncompromising in his approach. A censure is unlikely to change that.

SARA RUBIN is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@montereycountynow.com.