Lemoore City Hall drama continues as city council woes earn Valley coverage

Tuesday’s meeting was also the first with a revved-up sound system, allowing users to tune in via the city's Facebook page.

Councilmembers approved a pair of General Plan amendments that could alter the future look of Lemoore’s sidewalks and Bush Street. Based on the judgment of the Lemoore Planning Commission, councilmembers approved a request from a local developer to change the configuration of West Bush Street west of Highway 41. Originally slated to build out to six lanes, planners said six lanes weren't needed and recommended the current two-lane road add just two more lanes.

Councilmembers also decided to eliminate parkways from city sidewalks. A parkway is that area between the sidewalk and street where trees and grass grow.

The continuing drama began earlier on Monday when both Mayor Ray Madrigal and Councilmember Holly Blair found themselves leading the nightly news local broadcasts. The topic? Blair’s behavior. It was just a week ago that councilmembers suggested that Blair’s conduct was “unbecoming” a Lemoore councilmember.

The criticism came early during the city’s public comment period when Lemoore resident Tom Reed lamented the current state of public discourse, suggesting that the council may be broken. “I’ve said it before, and more than once, this is a fractured council,” he said. The public deserved better and placed the blame on the council.

“The City of Lemoore deserves better than a council who has members with seemingly no respect for other members,” he continued. While not mentioning any names, Reed reiterated Blair’s assertion that she was stopped by Lemoore police officers at least six times in a two-month period but was, in fact, stopped just three times in a nine-month period, according to Chief of Police Darrell Smith. He wondered who is right. “Here’s the problem,” he added. “Both cannot be correct; therefore, we have two highly placed members of the City of Lemoore making contradictory statements. When I walk into this chamber, I expect members of Lemoore city government to be truthful.”

In his council report moments later, Smith responded to Reed’s comments. “Mr. Reed, that was very well said, and I appreciate that comment.”

Blair continued the evening’s drama when during the consent calendar discussion, she accused city officials of unethical behavior and abuse of power, citing materials included in the weekly council packet with which Blair took exception. “I find it highly unethical and kind of an abuse of power to bring in partisan fights,” she said from her spot on the dais. “So, I am just noting that I think a lot of the additional items in that packet were unnecessary and in fact make our whole city look bad. So, I will not be voting in favor of the approval of that, but I wanted to make it known why.”

When Madrigal quizzed her about the items, she cited examples of Democratic Party emails included in the packet. Blair is the local chair of the Kings County Democratic Central Committee. “For the life of me, I can’t understand why that would be entered into the public record for discussion in a non-partisan seat of the council. That makes no sense to me.”

During closing comments, the first-term councilmember attempted to justify her actions by recounting struggles she’s had growing up, with police officers, school professors, and poverty.

“I’m not here to make everybody feel more comfortable. I’m here to help serve the community,” she pleaded. But, she added that not all the community comes from a sphere of affluence. “I expect some respect. I’m just trying to do a good job.”

She thought that perhaps a broader discussion could be held, to talk about “the other side” or “different points of view.”

Councilmembers Dave Brown and Eddie Neal also commented. Brown said he doesn’t care what anybody listens to, but “my thing is that when you’re representing the 26 thousand some odd people in the City of Lemoore, you represent them all.”

Councilmember Neal was adamant: “This is embarrassing for this to be going on in our town,” he said, referring to the slate of news articles, television, and radio coverage the issue has received. “Enough is enough. I didn’t agree with what Councilmember Blair said.” 

City Manager Nathan Olson concluded the discussion with rare personal comments, saying the issue with the police stops escalated rapidly. The problem, he highlighted was when the staff came to him with the subject of a sitting councilmember, and that member’s demeanor, texts, and accusations. “The evidence does not support the claims, I’m sorry.”

Olson went on to praise the work of the police department and its chief, Darryl Smith. “He is top notch and outstanding.” Olson pleaded that the accusations and the public arguments stop. “Staff doesn’t need to come up on anybody’s Facebook feed. Can we drop this?”