List of Alleged Violations
November 12th, 2009
I need your help !
Vote to Remove Your Elected Official, Herbert Simmons, postponed to December 15; List of Alleged Violations
A Call for Justice and Due Process !
The opposition is small in number, but well organized
If you have never attended an Altadena Town Council meeting, or have not attended in a long time, now is the time. A great injustice is on hand.
Please read today’s article in the Pasadena Weekly here: http://www.pasadenaweekly.com/cms/story/detail/briefs/7914/.
Below is an e-mail, copied verbatim, from the Executive Committee of the Altadena Town Council, received on Tuesday, November 10th, at 11:48am regarding the allegations against me. In a Cure and Correct letter dated September 18th, I requested this information in writing to be furnished within 30 days. Only now have I finally received the allegations in writing, many of which had been added after the original Closed Session Meeting on August 18, 2009, almost four months ago. This late written notice, which, according to Article IX, Section C of the by-laws, was to be done at the initial filing of the complaint to initiate the Investigation. This is a violation of due process according to the Altadena Town Council’s own by-laws. I received this only seven days before a Closed Session Meeting will be held to vote to remove me from the Council. I have not been given a fair opportunity to adequately prepare a defense against these accusations.
I am concerned for the community for whom the Altadena Town Council makes decisions in this manner. It affects every decision on every level, from the cell tower, the re-striping of Lake, to who is elected to represent you.
Do your votes mean anything? Why is the Town Council attempting to squash an effective and enthusiastic leadership? Why is removal from office the only option? Why are decisions being made regarding an elected official without consideration of the opinions of those who voted? Has this now become a country in which dissent from the majority equals death? Is freedom of speech no longer allowed? If the ATC followed the Brown Act, the community would have learned from this process, participated in it, and would have contributed to the outcome. That I would have had no problem with.
Many have asked, What did you do to tick off the Altadena Town Council? My answer is simply that I informed you.
I would like to thank each and every one of you for your support. I have given you my very best, and because of that, there are no regrets. Always Remember, LEADERS HAVE NO MORE POWER THAN THE PEOPLE GIVE THEM. This is your community. The Altadena Town Council is more afraid of you than they are of me.
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Summary of The Committee Voting Process and Results
The committee reviewed Mr. Simmons actions relative to the ATC Ethical Standards and Bylaws. The committee ruled that 4 violations of the ATC Ethical standards have
occurred by Mr. Simmons. This ruling was obtained following many hours of factfinding by committee members in addition to several hours of deliberation regarding the standards and evidence against Mr. Simmons. A simple majority vote either dismissed the alleged violation, or confirmed that Mr. Simmons had violated the specific ATC standard.
For each violation below, which was not dismissed, evidence was presented to confirm that a violation had occurred. The group thoroughly discussed and questioned the evidence prior to the individual vote for or against a specific violation.
Listed below are the specific Ethical Standards, which were discussed and for which the committee voted to confirm that a violation had occurred. Following each standard are a list of exhibits that make up the body of evidence that the committee reviewed. Last are the results of the individual votes by the committee.
It should be noted that due to the amount of discussion and new facts tabled at the
committee meeting, no absentee voting was allowed. Only committee members present at the meeting were allowed to vote.
Absentee voting was allowed at the initial Closed Session Meeting on August 18, 2009.
The following ATC Ethical Standards were discussed and voted as confirmed:
· Paragraph 3.5: Members shall refrain from abusive conduct, personal charges or
verbal attacks upon the character or motives of other members of the Council,
Committees, or the public.
· Discussion: The committee discussed numerous examples where Mr. Simmons
had presented public, personal charges, which constituted abusive conduct
towards other ATC councilmembers. Below are the exhibits, which demonstrate
these violations. Further, despite repeated warnings and conversations, despite
repeated apologies from Mr. Simmons, he continued to attack and misrepresent
the ATC and its members. The committee was unanimous in their belief that these
attacks were deliberate, repeated and designed solely to discredit and embarrass
the councilmember being targeted in each of the exhibits below.
Email on Altadenans.com and to public email lists dated Aug 14th (Full email avail)
(snip)
….My attempt to receive contributions is not on behalf of the Altadena Town Council, as Councilmember Alice Wessen has implied. If we are indeed trying to work together on behalf of improving the quality of life in Altadena, a simple phone call from Alice Wessen would have been all that was necessary. I feel that Ms.Wessen’s attacks upon me and the programs have not been in the best interest of the Altadena community. It should be noted that Alice Wessen was a strong supporter of my opponent, Bill Westphal, and I believe her actions to be biased and not in the best interest of the citizens of Altadena. The only true opposition I have received regarding these programs has been from Secretary/ Councilmember Alice Wessen. I feel that the Closed Session meeting,scheduled for 6:15PM on Tuesday, August 18th, is an attempt to secretly stop me, a new face on the ATC, from bringing positive changes and ideas to Altadena. I move that the ATC make the proposed private
meeting public so that there are no hidden agendas and that everyone is clear on their accusations and procedures. I believe that it is best that what is expected of Councilmembers be made public so that everyone is held to the same set of standards.(snip)
· Exhibit 3 – Print out from Altadenans.com, subject “ATC Meeting 9/15 – Brown
Act Debate. -
· “…but the Altadena Town Council feels that although they follow the majority of the Brown Act, the gray areas not followed can be manipulated without holding themselves liable for their actions. This is very unfair to the community.”
· Exhibit 4 – Print out from Altadenans.com, subject “Complaints Against the
Altadena Town Council”
· Numerous charges, in a letter distributed publicly, against Chairman Gino
Sund and councilmember Tesumch Shackleford
· Exhibit 5 – Print out from Altadenans.com, subject “Cell Cite Delayed”
· “Chairman Gino Sund has stepped into our Census Tract and it can be
inferred through Mr. Ambrosini’s email (see below) that they have
communicated privately to discuss new locations of the cell tower.”
· “3. We call into question Chairman Sund acting without notice to elected reps in the proposed cell site in Census Tract 4602. Why has he not responded to inquiries from elected reps?”
· Vote Results: The committee voted in the majority that Mr. Simmons had violated
paragraph 3.5 of the ATC Ethical Standards.
I apologized to Alice Wessen personally twice, once in person and once by phone. The charges against Gino Sund and Tecumseh Shackleford were filed by former Altadena Town Council Member Camille Dudley. My complaint against Gino Sund is valid, and I stand behind my statements regarding the Brown Act.
· Paragraph 4.1: A member shall always conduct himself/herself in a respectable
manner and never in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing his
office, the Council, or Altadena into disrepute.
· Discussion: The committee discussed the level of disrepute that the sum of Mr.
Simmons’ actions has created for the ATC. It is clear from the comments on his
website that his accusations and attacks on the ATC and individual ATC members
promoted an environment for the general public to look at the ATC and its
proceedings with disrepute.
· Exhibit 6: Editorial from the Altadenablog about Mr. Simmons:
http://www.altadenablog.com/2009/10/editorial-simmons-needs-to-demonstrateleadership.
html
· Exhibit 7: Satirical post on Altadena Hiker regarding Mr. Simmons:
http://altadenahiker.blogspot.com/2009/10/power-and-that-pesky-absolute.html
· Article in Pasadena Weekly
http://www.pasadenaweekly.com/cms/story/detail/bylaws_and_order/7719/
· Vote Results: The committee voted in the majority that Mr. Simmons had and
continues to violate paragraph 4.1 of the ATC Ethical Standards.
I have conducted myself in a respectable manner. Disrepute has existed for the Altadena Town Council since long before my election. Just last year, there was significant controversy surrounding the 2008 election.
Paragraph 4.2: A member must never misrepresent the Council or a Committee and/or
its members.
· Discussion: There were several examples provided where Mr. Simmons represented his personal programs as those of the ATC to the public, to businesses, to PUSD and to the county. In addition, through the public communications he presented on his website, Altadenans.com, he has consistently misrepresented ATC positions, motives and facts relating to business in front of the ATC (e.g., the Cell Towers and claims he made against Mr. Sund).
· Exhibit 8: Letter from Mr. Diaz
· Exhibit 9: Letter from the Los Angeles County Supervisor, Mr. Antonovich
· Vote Results: The committee voted in the majority that Mr. Simmons has violated
paragraph 4.2 of the ATC Ethical Standards.
I have made it clear in all communications that my personal programs are not affiliated with the Altadena Town Council or with the County of Los Angeles.
Paragraph 6.1: Members shall not take any special advantage of services or opportunities for personal gain by virtue of their office, which are not available to the public in general. They shall not accept any gift, favor or promises of future benefits which might compromise their independence of judgment or action or give the appearance of being compromised.
· Discussion: The group focused on the gifts, services and opportunities that the
local Altadena businesses have been providing to Mr. Simmons in support of his
student and teacher of the month program. The evidence, from the Supervisor’s
and Mr. Diaz office demonstrate that this program was presented as an ATC
activity and the businesses this committee talked with have confirmed that they
were led to believe Mr. Simmons was representing the ATC with this program.
These businesses would not provide these gifts, services and opportunities to the
general public.
· Exhibit 10: From Altadenans.com, Mr. Simmons provides an outline of the
various gifts, services and opportunities some of the local businesses have
provided to him for his student and teacher of the month program.
· Vote Results: The committee voted in the majority that Mr. Simmons has violated
paragraph 6.1 of the ATC Ethical Standards.
All business sponsors of the Student and Teacher of the Month Programs understand that these programs are not affiliated with the Altadena Town Council.
______________________________________________________________________
November’s Altadena Town Council Meeting will commence at 7:30pm on Tuesday, November 17th, after a Closed Session Meeting in which the Town Council will vote to remove me from office. Please attend the meeting (held at the Altadena Community Center, 730 E. Altadena Dr.) and voice your opinion.
#1 by limefire on November 12th, 2009
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This is outrageous! The Altadena Blog is more or less an arm of the Sheriffs Support group so Simmons beats the SSG candidate, their members join together to oppress him for conduct identical to and lesser than what several SSG/ATC members engage in as ATC members on a regular basis. So these SSG members use the Altadena Blog as evidence against Councilman Simmons. A loop of self interest tied as a noose!
Where is he discipline of members who have raised money for their own not for profit from the dias without permission? Where is the discipline for members who have stated they would only support developers who donated to a Not for Profit whose board of directors they sat upon? There is none, in spite of written complaints having been made, yet they accuse and vote against Councilman Simmons. WHAT A CESSPOOL! These rules only apply to those who are not squaling little piglets at the developer Not for Profit trough. The ALTADENA TOWN COUNCIL IS A TOTAL JOKE .
If the Town Council is as the County says, “just like any other homeowners group” why does it get free office rent from the County? If the ATC is just another homeowner group why does it get free meeting rooms from the County? If the ATC is just another homeowners group, why has the county paid $1,000 a month every month for 14 years to put it’s meetings on television? If the town council is like any other homeowners group why does the county consult it in writing legislation? Why does the County then in the mansionization ordinance mandate that public hearings on appeals be heard at the ATC BEFORE those appeals go to the Regional Planning Commission? Why dont they go to the nearest homeowners association, most in Altadena being MUCH older than the ATC?
Because the County wants to have it both ways, having a group they can control, consult and not have to insure or staff. the ATC is NOT like ANY other homeowner group. The ATC is or should be subject to the ralph M Brown Act and as such all of these secret meetings held against Councilman Simmons and all these emails going back and forth between members, inculding the original complaint are illegal.
The people who need to be up on ethics violations are Sund, Wesson, Campbell, Shackleford, Neilan, Bissner, and the others involved in this dispicable conspiracy to grab power. They are the ones who have brought the Altadena Town Council into complete and near total disrepute in the Altadena Community. They have turned what could have been a community serving institution into a complete total joke. They have become the Altadena Clown Council!
#2 by Linda Holler on November 12th, 2009
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Dear Mr. Simmons,
I am a resident the census track to which you have been elected.
I’m afraid I need to complain about the amount and the nature of the email I get from you.
I added the Altadenans to my mailbox in order to keep informed of the doings in the census track, almost as a reminder to
then click on the website.
I would like to say that I appreciate the Students and Teachers of our local schools.
But please don’t contact me personally with your battle with the ATC. No one would volunteer for this job without good intentions, as I’m sure you did. No doubt elected members to this post feel a common purpose with fellow board members in performance of public service to our town. Can’t we all get along…
Thanks, Linda
#3 by gloriana casey on November 13th, 2009
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I believe that people are upset about how the council went about its gathering of information and lack of transparency to the public. If as a NEW council member, Mr. Simmons did something wrong ( and one must question the amount of training and mentoring given to new council members,) then this would have been a perfect opportunity for the council to OPENLY imform the public of the error, IN OPEN SESSION.) Not only would this have been a benefit to Mr. Simmons AND the public, WE would have all been informed as to how to proceed and would have ALL been aware of proper procedure. This is a primary tenent of The Brown Act , which does add that information must be given even if it causes some embarrassment for the official. We all learn from mistakes, and education is a major tenet of the Brown Act.
I was disappointed in seeing at my second attended council meeting when Mr. Simmons asked to have the Brown Act discussed We in the assembly were told that the Brown Act did not apply and a council member also stated that a lawyer told them that they did not have to follow it. According to a report ( order 2004:8 from Rockland DelGadillo) the council is under the Brown Act, unless they have become a 501 non-profit.) Anyone know the status of this? Several members knew nothing about the Brown Act, and the discussion was voted down 10 to 2. ( refer to minutes on the council website.)
Secondly, Mr. Simmons made public announcements and through his website of his error and his site does state that the Teacher /Student awards are solely of his design, and the participating businesses are aware that this is not council business. For a contact to be binding, it must be written and with a 2/3 vote per the by-laws, so this was never an issue of litigation for the city. Sadly, the altadenablog, which was so excellent during the fires, has made criticism of Mr. Simmons as having his name on the t-shirts. However, Mr. Simmons has had to make patently clear that the council is NOT involved, although much of the public would like the council to be in support of this project and there was a large public support group at the August. council meeting. To improve the quality of life and the community is a basic charge of council duty. What business does not want to see value given to the education of their future employees? What good student does not want to be singled out with, among other local business gifts, with an awarded t-shirt? What parent doesn’t want to see a child excited about hard work and accomplishment?
Another question which is bothersome is that WHY the council took so long coming to this conclusion of what they think is wrongdoing? if this occured in July, then why has it taken so long to come to a council decission? Surely a member who did something wrong and has gone out of his way to advertise that fact should not be treated as if he was Bernie Madoff, or a sub-prime lender. The punishment does not seem to fit. To drag this on forever with the public’s main knowledge coming from the blog does not tell the whole story. Closed meetings per the Brown Act apply to paid personnel and not to elected officials. The public has a right to know.
The thing which bothers many people is that they would like to know WHAT is going on. If they elected someone, and if he is unfit, then the public should be told as to why. The council by-laws state that there is no time limit as to how long that a person may serve, and as the council is made of volunteers, this can be a good thing. However, it also has the potential to make this a kind of social club, where those who have a different view for the need for open discussion can be condemned in secret, and removed and where these same deciders” can put someone of their choosing in the seat. To eject an elected official so easliy is rather disquieting. Why would the council by- laws supercede the need for the public to KNOW per the Brown Act? Perhaps a revisit to the intent of Occam’s Razor would be in order. ( a simple solution is superior to a mole hill made into a mountain.)
Sadly, some do see this as a personal battle for Mr. Simmons , but I appreciate his desire to have TRANSPARENCY for council actions. I’m sure that for several years many of us have been in a Rip Van Winkle existence with government, but we are all awake now, and it is very clear that we all have a stake in this country and that the work starts at the micro level with our local government. I also appreciate the fact that he has continued to move on ahead with the Student /Teacher awards, as this is one area in which the community should be able to “get along.” If freedom of information was not important, then the Brown Act would not have come into existence, nor would this nation have a ” Freedom of Information Act.” How will this end? I do not know, but with or without the city council, I beleive that Mr. Simmons has already made Altadena a better place for business, schools, and the community. I would like council transparency to be in effect and my elected official to continue to challenge and work for my census tract of 4602.
#4 by Altadena on November 13th, 2009
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Altadena “politics” is disgusting. The town council and their sheriff support group-sheriff community advisory group-altadenablog GANG is corrupt to the core. These crowd of hot shot ego trippers are threatened by Mr. Simmons’ grass-roots approach to representing his constituents. Unfortunately, Altadena is controlled by the town council-sheriff support group/community advisory-altadenablog GANG. If you disagree or question the GANG, they will manufacture evidence, make up stories, tell lies, and use whatever is in your power to bring you down. I am so sorry and disgusted to be a resident of this town.
#5 by admin on November 13th, 2009
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Thank you for your positive comment. Please do not be disgusted because you along with other like minds is the change that the Altadena community needs. Your support is invaluable to this community. Thank you
#6 by Holly Rundberg on November 21st, 2009
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11/21/2009
I first met Herbert, when he walked our tract and introduced himself as running for Town Council. He was very enthusiastic and voiced great plans for us all. He wanted to improve communication, and seemed more than willing to listen to us all. He was determined to implement positive changes for our tract and the community at large.
Herbert won by almost 2 to 1, which is very impressive. He continues to have a base of support from what I can gather from the Town Council meetings and his web site.
I first questioned his ability to lead when I attended the Altadena Sheriffs Community Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting after the election. Herbert was also at this meeting. I realized that he was out of sync with what was going on at the meeting when the following occurred: Various members of the CAC gave reports and so did Captain Blow. After the Captain gave his report Herbert spoke in a way that seemed to have an undercurrent of irritation and disagreement with what Captain Blow had just said. As best as I can recall it Captain Blow stated that he would not hesitate to make arrests of those who were committing crimes in Altadena. Herbert seemed annoyed that arrests were being made instead of jobs being created. Granted jobs for everyone would be wonderful but 1) it is not Captain Blow’s job to create employment for offenders, and 2) I could not understand why Herbert did not offer to help those in the room who were involved with helping educate and train young people in Altadena rather than taking offense at what Captain Blow had to say?
This has become a chronic approach on Herbert’s part. Rather than offering to help or communicate in a co-operative way he is constantly on the defensive. It sounds to me as though he feels ‘everyone is against him.’ That he is right and those who do not agree with him are wrong. I find his behavior embarrassing and unprofessional.
He claims that he was never given the Code of Ethics and the Robert’s Rules of Order and that he had no knowledge that his request for donations to his Teacher/Student of the Month program was inappropriate. How can we know the truth of this when the Town Council states differently? But in any case, if I was in his position the first thing I would have asked for would have been the rules for the group I was now a part of. It is publicly available to us all. Why wait?
I wanted to be fair and informed about his controversial Teacher & Student of the Month Award Program so I went to the assembly at Daniel Webster Elementary in early October. There were many awards and commendations given by the school itself. Parents of the awardees were present. It was a very upbeat experience. The assembly ended with Herbert’s awards. The Principal was delighted to have someone from outside of the school there to acknowledge the children and teachers’ hard work. He gave out t-shirts, certificates and bags filled with gifts from the community. Some (not all) of these gifts were from some of his free advertisers on his web site. This may have the potential of a conflict of interest situation.
My observations are that Herbert is well meaning but misdirected. I am afraid that if he is allowed to continue that there will only be more of the same. I see no hope of any truce or meeting of the minds. The dissonance that has plagued this new term for the Town Council has proven to be unproductive. We as members of the community have been presented with ‘he said she said’ from both sides. I feel the Town Council could have done better also. But that is another matter.
I do not know what happens if Herbert is removed. This has all become much too complicated. I feel that we need to move on and deal with issues that concern the community not the personalities on the Town Council.
I feel that Herbert’s removal is the only way this can occur.
Sincerely,
Holly Rundberg
#7 by admin on November 21st, 2009
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Ms. Rundberg,
Although negative, I thank you for your response. One thing I have learned in my short time in politics is that you cannot please everybody. There are two sides to every story, and you are entitled to your opinion. Here is my opinion.
What you fail to mention is that because I knocked on your door and the doors of every person in your community, you and others were alerted to the fact that a cell tower was about to go up without any notification, after it had already been in process for one year. In fact, the manager of the water company, Bob Hayward, stated at the Land Use Committee meeting on October 6th, 2009, that he had no idea that a cell tower was going to be built on the property. You were a witness to this statement. You have been able to band together as a small community to voice your opinion to stop the cell tower from being built at the original location at Loma Alta and Fair Oaks because you were informed. You fail to mention this.
Also, this is about due process. I was voted in by the community. Due process in any type of election means that I must be removed by the people, not by a few people on the Town Council who are the accuser, the judge, and the jury. This is not due process. The 2 to 1 vote that you mentioned means absolutely nothing to the Town Council. I was always wary of your intentions, but I hoped that when you showed up at the school that you were coming with good intentions, but apparently you were not. You came looking for something to be wrong, something that you could point your finger at, instead of the good that was being done for the teachers and the students. You fail to look at the long-term benefits of the program, including the fact that more students looking towards education means fewer students looking to get in trouble. You have had my e-mail for months now, and you have yet to voice your opinion to me even once, until this public display. I wonder why. I know that you are good friends with my accuser, but you fail to mention that in your statement, giving others a false impression of the truth. Because of this, don’t you think your opinion could be a bit biased? As far as the CAC, I do not feel that I need to change anything that I said at the meeting because it was for the good of the community. Everybody there was at least 55 years and older, and the attitude of what I heard in there was absolutely insulting to the community, and no positive solutions were offered other than jailing people. I do understand that the Sheriff’s job is to enforce the law, but the CAC’s job, as explained to me, is to be a liason between the sheriffs and the community. How can you have full community participation when you only have one age group represented? This is age discrimination. Furthermore, it was stated that membership to the CAC only occurs once a year in January upon an invitation, per Captain Blow. How did you get invited before January as you stated in your e-mail dated July 23rd? This once again shows the bias of this group. It is not trying to reach out to the community, it reaches out only to the people who agree with them. Your failure to see these injustices is the same failure to see the due process that has not been allowed to the community and to myself as your Council Member. Don’t you think you are letting your personal opinion of me overrule due process and the rights of the community? You are in fact doing the exact same thing as the Altadena Town Council.