Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Fresno Council Secretly Ordered Janz to Write Letter to AG Bonta About County Elections
By admin
Published 1 year ago on
October 17, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Following a pattern of lack of transparency, the Fresno City Council directed a letter be sent to the state Attorney General about the future of county elections, without disclosing a vote on the matter.

The letter, sent by City Attorney Andrew Janz to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, questioned a county proposal to return the election dates for sheriff and district attorney at the same time as the governor is elected.

A 2022 state law moved those elections to the same year as a presidential election, giving Sheriff John Zanoni and DA Lisa Smittcamp — both elected in 2022 — one-time six-year terms.

In August, the county supervisors approved letting voters decide when the election should be. Fresno County electors will decide March 5, 2024, whether the sheriff and DA should be elected next in 2026 or 2028.

Janz Direction Given in Secret

Multiple sources with direct knowledge tell GV Wire that the city council took action in closed session at a recent meeting.  The minutes for the meeting Sept. 28 meeting only reflect that the council discussed “conference with legal counsel-anticipated litigation.” What the litigation may have been was not described.

The minutes said the item was discussed, but “there were no open session announcements regarding this item.”

There were also three items on the Oct. 5 closed session agenda labeled as “conference with legal counsel-anticipated litigation.” One was removed from the agenda; the other two were discussed without an open session announcement later.

One person said it was a “close vote,” without detailing the exact count. The state open meeting law, the Brown Act, mandates that actions such as votes taken in closed session be openly reported.

Janz said the city council did not violate the Brown Act in this case.

“There is no reporting out if there is ongoing or potential litigation. There are no transparency issues,” Janz said.

David Loy, legal director with the First Amendment Coalition, said the Brown Act allows for closed-session discussion to initiate a lawsuit. But, he says that is not the case for sending a letter to the attorney general.

“That’s not what they did here,” Loy said. “(The letter is) not an initiation of litigation by the city. That’s asking the attorney general to take action. So I don’t think that’s something that should be discussed in closed session. I think if they wanted to take a vote on whether to ask the attorney general to do something, they should talk about that in open session.”

There is an interpretation of the Brown Act that only a final action, such as a decision to file a lawsuit, requires a publicly disclosed vote. Prior decisions, such as negotiations — in this case,  correspondence with the Attorney General, do not require full disclosure.

Again, Loy disagrees. He said sending a letter — a public record — is different than a confidential negotiation between parties.

“That specific action is not litigation. It’s not negotiation. It’s a request to a law enforcement agency to take legal action that, in my view, that specific action or direction should have been taken by vote in open session,” Loy said.

A Pattern of Secret Votes and Decisions

The city council has had a habit of giving direction behind closed doors and not disclosing how the item was decided or holding a public discussion. Examples include voting to pay privately-operated Granite Park’s utility bills and to support the legal defense of city councilman Nelson Esparza when he was charged with criminal attempted extortion in 2022. The case was eventually dropped.

When the city council voted in closed session to settle a wrongful termination lawsuit with former city clerk Yvonne Spence, it did not disclose the vote nor the settlement until GV Wire formally asked.

Loy said anyone in the public, including the district attorney, can send the council a cease and desist, or a cure and correct letter “insisting that the council either do the whole thing over in open session or simply stop violating the law in the future. And if the city council refuses, then they can be sued.”

Janz’s Letter to Bonta

In the Oct. 9 letter, Janz opens with “I have been directed by the Fresno City Council to respectfully request your office take action regarding a matter of public safety on behalf of the City of Fresno.”

Janz argues the 2022 state law moving sheriff and DA elections does not allow Fresno County to set its own election date — even if the voters decided to do so next March. He wrote, “if passed, would improperly cut short Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp and Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni’s terms by two years.”

“The City of Fresno urges your legal team to enjoin Fresno County from holding a referendum on this matter,” Janz wrote.

In a statement last week to GV Wire, DA Lisa Smittcamp said the state law was “potentially unconstitutional.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Here’s What We Know About a Commuter Plane Crash in Alaska That Killed 10 People

DON'T MISS

Trump’s 3rd Week: More Executive Orders, a Trade War That Wasn’t, and a Mideast Jolt

DON'T MISS

UMass Will Pay Student Who Made Half-Court Shot $10,000 Even Though His Foot Was on Line

DON'T MISS

Trump Is Signing Up Local Law Officers to Help With Immigration Enforcement

DON'T MISS

Judge Blocks Trump From Placing Thousands of USAID Workers on Leave

DON'T MISS

Federal Judge Blocks Musk’s DOGE From Accessing Sensitive Treasury Department Data

DON'T MISS

Rookies for Eagles and Chiefs Could Play a Key Role in the Super Bowl

DON'T MISS

Sony PlayStation Network Outage Enrages Gamers Around the World

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He’s Firing Kennedy Center Board Members, Naming Himself Chairman

DON'T MISS

PJ Pickles, the Pajama-Clad Pup, Want to Join Your Loving Home

UP NEXT

Trump Is Signing Up Local Law Officers to Help With Immigration Enforcement

UP NEXT

Judge Blocks Trump From Placing Thousands of USAID Workers on Leave

UP NEXT

Federal Judge Blocks Musk’s DOGE From Accessing Sensitive Treasury Department Data

UP NEXT

Trump Says He’s Firing Kennedy Center Board Members, Naming Himself Chairman

UP NEXT

PJ Pickles, the Pajama-Clad Pup, Want to Join Your Loving Home

UP NEXT

Rabies Detected in Fresno, Reedley. Fresno County Urges Caution Around Wild, Stray Animals

UP NEXT

Trump Says He’s Revoking Biden’s Security Clearance in Payback Move

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help in Locating Missing 75-Year-Old Man

UP NEXT

Fresno Students Walk Out of Class to Protest Deportations

UP NEXT

Donation to Food Bank to Provide 1.3M Meals to Western Fresno County

Trump Is Signing Up Local Law Officers to Help With Immigration Enforcement

3 hours ago

Judge Blocks Trump From Placing Thousands of USAID Workers on Leave

3 hours ago

Federal Judge Blocks Musk’s DOGE From Accessing Sensitive Treasury Department Data

3 hours ago

Rookies for Eagles and Chiefs Could Play a Key Role in the Super Bowl

3 hours ago

Sony PlayStation Network Outage Enrages Gamers Around the World

3 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Firing Kennedy Center Board Members, Naming Himself Chairman

3 hours ago

PJ Pickles, the Pajama-Clad Pup, Want to Join Your Loving Home

4 hours ago

Newsom Signs $50M Plan to Battle Trump Policies, Support Immigrants

19 hours ago

Fresno Students Entering the Work World Need Your Help to ‘Dress the Part’

19 hours ago

Hanford Shooting Leaves One Dead, Another in Critical Condition

19 hours ago

Here’s What We Know About a Commuter Plane Crash in Alaska That Killed 10 People

JUNEAU, Alaska — Authorities are working to recover the wreckage of a plane crash in western Alaska that killed 10 people while investigator...

23 minutes ago

23 minutes ago

Here’s What We Know About a Commuter Plane Crash in Alaska That Killed 10 People

1 hour ago

Trump’s 3rd Week: More Executive Orders, a Trade War That Wasn’t, and a Mideast Jolt

2 hours ago

UMass Will Pay Student Who Made Half-Court Shot $10,000 Even Though His Foot Was on Line

3 hours ago

Trump Is Signing Up Local Law Officers to Help With Immigration Enforcement

3 hours ago

Judge Blocks Trump From Placing Thousands of USAID Workers on Leave

3 hours ago

Federal Judge Blocks Musk’s DOGE From Accessing Sensitive Treasury Department Data

3 hours ago

Rookies for Eagles and Chiefs Could Play a Key Role in the Super Bowl

3 hours ago

Sony PlayStation Network Outage Enrages Gamers Around the World

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend