The Brentwood City Council has sanctioned Vice Mayor Johnny Rodriguez for allegedly violating the city’s ethics and conduct policy.
The sanction came after Councilwoman Karen Rarey alleged that the vice mayor had shared confidential, closed-session information with an outside party.
Rarey told the council she first thought Rodriguez had shared confidential job evaluation papers with someone in 2021 when she noticed the handwriting on his paper seemed “feminine-like.” It wasn’t until months later that she saw his writing was not the same as the evaluation notes he had allegedly written about the city manager and city attorney, and a later conversation with an outside attorney confirmed it was “a serious concern,” she said.
Rodriguez admitted he asked his wife to help him with writing the evaluations because he was “having a hard time expressing” his thoughts.
“I know that those evaluations were very important and I wanted to make sure that I was able to express my thoughts through that,” he said. “My wife took my thoughts, put them on paper for me and assisted me. It was no one else.”
“I didn’t I did not think that it was a violation of policy or anything like that,” he added.
However, Rarey disagreed.
“When it says confidential on the envelope, you don’t share them with somebody else,” she said, noting that includes family and friends. “So, if there’s a reason you need to share it, it needs to be brought to the city manager.”
The council could choose to do nothing about the allegations or admonish, sanction or censure Rodriguez, City Manager Tom Odgen said in his staff. However, censuring, the most severe response, would not be possible because there was not enough time for an independent investigation and hearing that would require. The vice mayor’s term ends Dec. 13.
Rarey asked the council to sanction Rodriguez. A sanction, unlike a censure, is a simple action directed toward a specific person that is not considered a punishment but states what was done against policy and allows the accused person to provide a written or verbal response, according to the staff report.
In his response, Rodriguez said he was frustrated and confused about the situation, which came to light at a previous council session and also included criticism about him allegedly from an unnamed resident.
“I’ve been an open book for about 30 years,” he said. “I know that I have been working in a community for as long as I have been working with young people. I’ve always expressed the difficulties that I have at times in regards to expressing myself when it comes to writing. I know that it’s something that I’ve always had a challenge with.”
Some residents agreed.
Greg Robinson said Rodriguez “has been nothing but an upstanding, hardworking person” and a “great asset to Brentwood.”
“He has helped so many youth in our community get through the trials and tribulations and taught them ethics, taught them responsibility and taught them to be upstanding citizens,” he said. “And you guys are berating him by dragging his name through the mud. When what he did is the same thing that I do all the time with my wife. I am not a good writer.”
But resident Antonio Xavier said the alleged violation of city policy is a “big deal.”
“Trust and transparency and public officials form the bedrock of a functional government,” he said. “You’re elected officials and your actions as an elected official represent Brentwood. When it comes to ethics and integrity, your goal should not be to do the bare minimum. Hold yourself to a higher standard. Set an example for the rest of us.”
Councilmember Jovita Mendoza thought the council should take action. “Are we going to choose to follow policy or are we not?” she asked.
“We need to be able to trust each other that these documents that we fill out, are filled out by the individual and are not shared with anyone,” she said. “I think we need to take action so going forward, this never ever happens again.”
The mayor asked outside attorney Tim Davis if Rodriguez’s actions were a violation of the city’s closed session procedures.
“There certainly is an allegation of that,” Davis said. “Putting aside the Brown Act clearly, evaluations are confidential and shouldn’t be discussed. I think that’s clear. … That’s my opinion.”
Councilmember Susannah Meyer said though the sanction discussion was difficult, it had to be done and “timing can’t be part of our discussion.”
“I’d like to mention the sacredness, if you will, of closed sessions, and I would agree that I just would love to tell my husband what happens after the fact, but I don’t.”
Bryant called closed session “sacrosanct.”
“It’s absolutely essential that we are able to be completely transparent and frank with each other,” he said.
Bryant added that the community – and staff – deserve to know that their personal information is protected during discussions.
“Confidentiality is the cornerstone of a closed session,” he said. “And it has to remain so.”
Bryant added that he knew the vice mayor didn’t mean to violate policy, but he believes the matter still needs to be addressed for this and future council members.
The council approved sanctioning the vice mayor on a 3-1-0 vote, with Mayor Joel Bryant dissenting and Rodriguez abstaining. The mayor said he thought admonishment was a better route than sanctioning.