Planning commissioner, who resigned in protest, will run for Lemoore Council seat

Nearly 200 persons packed the Lemoore Civic Auditorium that Tuesday night, and it was clear that everyone there was against the decision. About 20 persons spoke out against the proposal to shutter the planning department.

But one man in the audience took even a more stringent stand. Planning Commission Dave Brown, appointed by former Mayor Willard Rodarmel two years before, spoke out against eliminating the department and then promptly resigned from the Planning Commission once the decision was made.

The Planning Commission, consisting of seven members, reviews and makes recommendations to the Lemoore City Council regarding city planning activities.

Now Brown, after much contemplation, has decided to run for the Lemoore City Council, hoping to slide into one of three seats available. Incumbents Siegel and Wynne have opted not to run while Eddie Neal has already returned his nomination papers and will compete for a second four-year term on the council.

Brown, 55, is a Civil Service worker at Naval Air Station Lemoore. He and his wife Dianne have lived in Lemoore since his retirement from the Air Force in in 2003. Brown, a native of Indiana, says he has found a good home in Lemoore, and by running for city council, he hopes to make it even better.

This is a good town,” said Brown, “and people need to be heard.” He was referring to 2013 when he spoke out before the city council and ended up resigning from his position on the planning commission.

“The way it was handled by the council (in 2013) it was very poor, and I just couldn’t stand there. I had to do something,” he remembered. “We just don’t treat people that way…it just wasn’t right.”

Brown has involved himself in other ways as well. He’s a five-year member of the Lemoore Police Department’s Volunteers in Policing.