One week after city councilmember Diane Pearce proposed a discussion on making Clovis "a non-sanctuary city," the fallout continued Tuesday night. (GV Wire Composite)
- Clovis City Councilmember Lynne Ashbeck criticizes fellow councilmember Diane Pearce for non-sanctuary city idea.
- Ashbeck says Pearce is trying to govern Clovis via social media by seeking individual attention.
- Pearce responds, saying her goal is to "push back on a state that handcuffs our law enforcement instead of criminals."
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One week after a city councilmember proposed a discussion on making Clovis a “non-sanctuary city,” the fallout continues.
“Stoking fear is not leadership. The language we heard at a recent council meeting was discouraging and appalling. It was not leadership. It is not Clovis and it is not useful. And pandering requires no courage at all.” — Clovis City Councilmember Lynne Ashbeck
At Tuesday’s council meeting, Councilmember Lynne Ashbeck criticized colleague Diane Pearce, without using her name. She called Pearce’s attempt “partisan, divisive and self-serving behavior.”
“I do not remember a time when we governed this city via social media by seeking individual attention or by calling our colleagues out as cowardly, wrong or out of touch just because we didn’t get our way,” Ashbeck said.
At the Feb. 4 council meeting, Pearce brought forth discussion to place the item on an agenda. She previously floated the idea on her social media pages. The remainder of the council balked at the idea, and the item won’t be on an agenda in the foreseeable future.
Although “non-sanctuary” is somewhat undefined, it means working closer with federal immigration authorities. A state law limits the practice.
Mayor Vong Mouanoutoua said the only way such an item can make an agenda is with majority approval of the council.
Ashbeck said that despite calls to action from Pearce, she only received one email. She said the subsequent name calling was a departure from normal Clovis behavior.
“Stoking fear is not leadership. The language we heard at a recent council meeting was discouraging and appalling. It was not leadership. It is not Clovis and it is not useful. And pandering requires no courage at all,” Ashbeck said.
Clovis Police Chief Curt Fleming posted a Facebook message last week, clarifying the city’s immigration enforcement policy. The city complies with state law not to ask about immigration status nor enforce immigration law.
Related Story: Will Clovis Become a Non-Sanctuary City? Diane Pearce Pushes for It.
Pearce Responds
Pearce responded, saying the fact that more members of the public on Tuesday — speaking both for and against the non-sanctuary idea — showed that a formal discussion is necessary.
“The entire point of this conversation, in my mind as it relates to public safety, is to push back on a state that handcuffs our law enforcement instead of criminals.” — Clovis City Councilmember Diane Pearce
She also took umbrage to Ashbeck’s comment last week that the discussion was a waste of 45 minutes.
“I thought that was disrespectful to the people who came to address their elected representatives, the people that they put in these seats up here,” Pearce said. Tuesday’s discussion lasted nearly 27 minutes.
Pearce did apologize somewhat, saying it “was not fair” that Fleming learned of the issue via social media instead of a formal council debate.
“The entire point of this conversation, in my mind as it relates to public safety, is to push back on a state that handcuffs our law enforcement instead of criminals,” Pearce said.
Mouanoutoua weighed in, not on the non-sanctuary city issue, or whether it should be on the agenda, but on the importance of the council focusing on its job and being respectful.
“If we don’t stand for each other and we call for each other’s necks, it makes it very difficult for people to see that, hey, we got Clovis united,” Mouanoutoua said.
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