After hours of discussion and an outpouring of angry Vallejo residents Tuesday night, city leaders decided against a resolution to condemn the actions of Mayor Andrea Sorce.
The City Council discussed a proposed resolution stating that Sorce engaged in a “pattern of questionable and inappropriate behavior” and used her authority to influence city staffers. The resolution also said Sorce publicly criticized employees and violated rules of decorum in public meetings.
The City Council voted 5-2 to take no action on the resolution, with councilmember Peter Bregenzer and councilmember Helen-Marie Gordon dissenting. In a second motion, council voted 6-1 to release a redacted report detailing the probe into Sorce’s alleged actions, with councilmember Diosdado “JR” Matulac the sole dissenting vote.
“This is the least transparent process I’ve seen in my two years as mayor,” Sorce said in emotional remarks before the vote.
According to the resolution, Sorce violated multiple City Charter sections, municipal codes and the city’s Code of Ethics and Conduct for Elected and Appointed Officials — “despite repeated counseling and other intervention.”
Neither the resolution nor staff report specified exactly what alleged actions took place.
Shannon Chaffin, an outside attorney hired by the council to lead the investigation into the mayor, said during the meeting that the complaints were first brought by city staff.
Chaffin’s investigation included an unreleased report with testimony from witnesses and city staff who reported Sorce’s alleged behavior, which was not specified. After Tuesday’s vote, the likely heavily redacted report will be released at an unspecified date.
Sorce said that councilmembers had been meeting in closed sessions for months to discuss the investigation without her, and that she had no knowledge of the allegations before her condemnation was agendized one week ago.
She also said that she had not been shown any evidence that the condemnation effort was coordinated as a result of her calls to bring change to several city departments.
“It’s all because I have the audacity to call out what appears to me to be corrupt practices — particularly in the Vallejo Police Department and the Vallejo City Attorney’s office,” said Sorce in her remarks.
The City Attorney’s Office, led by Veronica Nebb, is currently under review for allegedly destroying evidence related to police shootings after an ACLU request to the Vallejo City Council last July.
The Shaw Law Group was hired by the City Council at the end of last year to investigate the matter and the city has not released any findings from the investigation.
A statement from the Solano County Sheriff’s Office read aloud by Sorce confirmed that the office is leading a criminal investigation into a city issue that she herself reported. Neither Sorce nor the statement elaborated on details of the investigation.
Chaffin said that “more than a majority” of councilmembers approached him to agendize the resolution. If staff complaints had gone unaddressed, the council could have faced legal trouble, said Chaffin.
Councilmembers Bregenzer, Gordon and Matulac implied that they had been involved in the closed session meetings regarding Sorce’s alleged behavior.
“It took us 10 months of working on this,” said Bregenzer. “None of us wanted to be here today. But it’s part of what we were elected for.”
Before voting to take no action, councilmembers Tonia Lediju and Alexander Matias both said Tuesday night that they had not been interviewed during the investigation and were unaware of specific allegations before the resolution had been agendized.
“I have been deeply, deeply grieving this situation,” said Lediju in remarks before the vote. “As a colleague to the mayor, as a community member, as someone who pays taxes in this city, wanting to see us thrive.”
Vallejo residents criticize council effort
Dozens of Vallejo residents showed up Tuesday night on behalf of the mayor. Multiple people — and several councilmembers — stated that the resolution was a waste of taxpayer money and time.
“What makes this item so troubling is not simply its content,” commented Cristal Gallegos, who leads Vallejo’s Housing Justice Coalition. “It’s what it reveals about our institutional priorities.”
Worsening homelessness, rising rents and past patterns of police misconduct were more pressing concerns for Vallejo residents, Gallegos said.
Askari Sowonde, a longtime human rights activist in Vallejo, said in a public comment that if the mayor seems pushy, it’s because “we asked her to do that.”