Salinas City Councilmember Steve McShane’s resignation reveals some uncomfortable truths.

Sara Rubin here, thinking about the best and worst of politics. (That’s locally, not nationally—where the worst superlatives seem to keep piling up higher and higher.) 

We rely on volunteers to run for office and put themselves out there to be scrutinized by the public and accountable to the public. One of the beauties of local government—and being part of a local newspaper that covers local government—is that people get to know each other as humans. Even when they disagree, there is civility. Usually. 

Salinas City Councilmember Steve McShane announced last night that he is resigning, effective May 10, after 14 years serving on council. He is leaving midway through his fourth term, citing the need to spend more time with his family (two young children, aging parents and in-laws) and also a growing sense of distrust and polarization on the council and within City Hall. 

I’ve been hearing for a couple of years about a feeling of distrust and polarization. But a “feeling” is hard to see or measure. Look no further than last night, when just before McShane’s announcement, the council voted unanimously to approve a new policy on city sponsorships of community events. They can and often do agree—even when it comes to the same issue that landed McShane in hot water when fellow-councilmember Andrew Sandoval raised questions about his role as CEO of the Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce while the chamber was also seeking and accepting city funds. 

Sandoval took the issue further, logging a complaint with the Monterey County District Attorney. The DA’s Office has not yet begun an investigation in earnest, and is waiting first for the California Fair Political Practices Commission to complete its own investigation, initiated in October. But four months later in February, Sandoval followed up by doing the political equivalent of going for the jugular—he held a press conference to announce the complaint, although it is still under investigation with no determination by either the FPPC or the DA. 

Sandoval is a local government watchdog who got elected to council and views his role as unchanged: He remains a relentless, unabashed watchdog. 

But sometimes that takes on an explicitly divisive tone. Back in January when council was discussing the Salinas Police Department budget, McShane attempted to portray his colleagues as anti-police. He also pointed to a real challenge for public safety in the city, noting that constituents call him about things like stolen bikes or vehicle collisions when they learn SPD is hours behind due to staffing levels. “The bad guys are paying attention,” McShane said. “We are a dangerous city by some measures—granted one zip code might be settled with a knife, and one zip code might be settled with some strong talk.”

Yikes. The undertone that came through to many members of the public was one that echoed old racist tropes, that some zip codes (those that are relatively poor and predominantly Latino) are unsafe, while other (whiter, wealthier) areas are safe. 

Sandoval posted a video on Instagram edited to show some of the isolated comments, drawing a flurry of attention. Hundreds of people commented, arguing for both perspectives. Some thanked Sandoval for calling McShane out, others called McShane a truth-teller. 

McShane eventually issued a public apology for the remark. But what’s even more important, I think, is that he did the hard work of showing up to face constituents to talk it through. He tells me he attended a meeting of La Escuelita, a Spanish-speaking civic engagement group, to address the comment and the blowback (I did not attend). He sat with people—Latino people, from the zip codes he had just thrown under the bus—to share his vision for enhancing the police budget. He says he listened to them, and they listened to him. 

This is local government at its best: When an elected official says something offensive then takes accountability for it. McShane doesn’t defend the remark and understands how it came off as racist, but he does defend his perspective that police should be a funding priority. 

You might disagree with that policy perspective, but that’s exactly the point. Even amid disagreements, he is still willing and able to listen. (And yes, there’s plenty that I disagree with McShane about.)

But he is the kind of politician who loves to organize community meetings about the most mundane stuff—neighborhood traffic calming or changes to Monterey One Water’s billing for sewage service, to name some recent topics. He has organized neighborhood cleanups and park beautification days since well before such events were formalized as part of the Amor Salinas program.

Beyond that, he’s been a relentless cheerleader for the City of Salinas. Whatever he does next, I expect he will continue to be.