Censured council member says on local podcast that a recall of some members may occur this year

By Ed Martin, Editor
Lemoore City Council at a recent meeting
Lemoore City Council at a recent meeting
Gary Feinstein/Feinsteinfotos

It has been a busy if not a controversial week for Lemoore Councilmember Holly Blair.

During a local podcast, a defiant Blair suggested that she intends to help organize a recall effort to remove council members who she said fail to listen to their constituents. She didn't mention specific councilmembers, but the most recent members to join the council are Chad Billingsley and Stuart Lyons, both of whom were elected in November.

Council members Dave Brown and Mayor Eddie Neal are up for re-election in 2020.

Blair announced her intentions during the daily podcast "Hopper in the Morning" and insisted that the community is solidly behind her. Blair was the subject of a recall effort in 2018 that ended when recall supporters failed to acquire the requisite number of signatures to place a recall measure on the ballot.

She was also censured last year by her fellow council members for "conduct unbecoming a council member."

Blair was also busy on social media this week. In a Facebook post, dated Sunday (April 14), she declared that "the majority of drug busts in this city are completely fabricated," and in the same post suggests that an independent police audit "could help with that."

Councilmember Holly Blair's Facebook post regarding opinion about Lemoore drug busts and possible fabrication. (Click on photo to view Harper's Magazine related article)
Councilmember Holly Blair's Facebook post regarding opinion about Lemoore drug busts and possible fabrication. (Click on photo to view Harper's Magazine related article)

Blair provided no proof that Lemoore police officials may have fabricated drug busts. The Leader, to determine what she meant by the post, contacted Blair via email, sending queries to her city hall and personal email addresses. She declined to comment and chastised the editor for contacting her by private email.

Police officials chose not to comment, citing the remarks as vague, ambiguous, and not supported by the facts.

For much of the podcast, Blair castigated her fellow council members for their actions related to the Santa Rosa Rancheria Tachi Tribe. Its leadership is contemplating taking property it owns within the Lemoore city limits and claiming it as sovereign land, meaning the City may no longer have jurisdiction over the properties, an effort that could have economic and other implications for the City of Lemoore.

At an earlier meeting, council members voted 4-1 (Blair was the only no vote) to respond to a letter from United States Department of the Interior. In the letter, city officials objected to the Tribe's intentions to declare the property sovereign.

"They (council members) don't think that anyone who looks different from them, acts different from them, sees the world different from them, who looks different from them, should have any power or authority in the conversation where they're (council) not in charge," said Blair during the podcast. "That creates a problem."

Newcomer Chad Billingsley, who tuned in to the podcast, disputed many of Blair's remarks. "It concerns me that a lot of what she says isn't true," said the mayor pro tem. "While listening to that podcast, (she says), most of the council (are) older men. I'm actually a millennial myself, and she's never asked my race, but she assumed I'm white. And she went on to say that often times we make decisions because we're not comfortable, and that is not true. Everybody makes decisions that are in the best interest of the City of Lemoore. A lot of it's (Blair's remarks) not true, and I want the community to know what's true and not true."

In fact, said Billingsley, the City of Lemoore and other elected officials in Kings County recently met with Tribal members and had a good dialogue with its leaders. "There was a very open dialogue, and I believe we have a good relationship with them," he said. He also said the letter the council sent to the Department of the Interior wasn't even discussed.

Lyons, who also won a council seat in November, expressed frequent frustration with Blair's antics. "It's a constant barrage of negativity that comes out of her," he said. "It's hard sometimes to focus on anything else." He also cited the recent meeting with the Tachis and cited a positive working relationship.

He's also confused by Blair's many no votes, even on minor issues. The Council voted recently to begin the process of cleaning up the community's water system by building a new water treatment plant. Holly was the only negative vote. "She votes no on everything, on things that don't make any sense, like approving the prior minutes. She votes no just to be the opposition," said Lyons.

Blair remained defiant during the podcast: "If anyone is really upset in the direction the council is going, I just want to let them know recalls can begin six months after the election," she warned. "There's going to be a recall effort happening in June in order to switch up some of the council members, who right now, it looks as though they're not really representing the constituents and guess what, you finally have someone up there who's a teacher and teachers like explaining how things work."

A recall can be a time consuming and a challenging endeavor. During last year's recall, which encompassed the entire city (Blair was initially elected at large while new council members are elected within districts) recall supporters needed 20 percent of the city's registered voters just to get the measure on the ballot. 

"And I've got a number of students right now, and I'm not talking about my students mind you, just community members I'm teaching how the system works," she continued. "They are intrigued and are getting involved, and I would say that the council members – if they would like to keep their seats – they (ought) to start listening to the majority in the community, or they're going to see themselves recalled real fast. So, I'm just going to leave it with that, because I myself, I'm not worried. I know that I've got the community behind me, and I'm ready to move forward, and I think our tribal brothers and sisters (at) the tribe have been very good to Lemoore.

"Like I said, they have offered a number of scholarships, job training, job fairs, and just in terms of employment, one of the largest employers of the area. I  couldn't say enough great things about what wonderful neighbors they have been and, in the future, will continue to be, and I hope that this council gets their head out of their you know what and starts working cooperatively."

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