Investigation finds two San Leandro councilmembers improperly interfered in former city manager's duties
Former city manager told investigator that Councilmember Fred Simon is "horrible towards women;" San Leandro City Council plans to censure Simon and Councilmember Victor Aguilar, Jr. on Nov. 18.
CITY NEWS
SAN LEANDRO
—INTERFERENCE CHARGES—Two San Leandro councilmembers are facing possible censure for improperly pressuring the city manager to retain the city’s police chief and interfering in her duties.
—An independent investigative report released by the city on Thursday found Councilmembers Fred Simon and Victor Aguilar, Jr. violated provisions in the city charter that prohibit councilmembers from interfering in the city manager’s decision-making authority.
—Then-San Leandro City Manager Fran Robustelli, who left the city for the same position in St. Pete’s Beach, Fla. last May, was subjected to three years of discrimination, retaliation, and harassment from Simon, she told investigator Carl Botterud.
—Robustelli made the complaint during her finals days on the job last May. The investigation was later expanded to include Aguilar, Jr..
—The complaint centers, in part, with Robustelli’s decision to place then-San Leandro Police Chief Abdul Pridgen on administrative leave in September 2023. Pridgen and the city eventually parted ways in February 2024.
—Pridgen’s name does not appear in the report, but redacted portions of the document match the timing and circumstances surrounding his dismissal. Similarly, several redactions appear to reference a complaint lodged against Robustelli by the former city clerk.
—According to the investigation, Simon threatened Robustelli’s employment if she chose to fire Pridgen. Aguilar did the same, suggesting Pridgen’s dismissal would upset the public, and thereby, impact her job-performance evaluation.
—Simon, who was re-elected for a second term on Tuesday, viewed Pridgen as a reform-minded police chief best suited to turnaround the department following the killing of Steven Taylor by a San Leandro police officer. Aguilar also voiced strong public support for Pridgen.
—The investigator found Robustelli’s complaints that Simon and Aguilar’s improperly interfered in her duties as city manager were substantiated by testimony from several councilmembers.
—Robustelli also alleged that Simon and Aguilar’s Jr. behavior towards her was based on gender bias, and that Simon, in particular, is “horrible toward women.”
—However, the investigator was not able to substantiate the gender bias claims, he wrote.
—In the aftermath of the Pridgen affair, Robustelli said Simon bombarded her with complaints and requests for information. In doing so, Robustelli believed Simon was “setting her up to fail,” the investigator wrote.
—San Leandro Mayor Juan Gonzalez III told the investigator that he believed Simon made “excessively persistent or picayune asks of Robustelli.” Gonzalez added that he believed “Simon was setting her up to fail” and that he offered to “manage” Simon.
—The San Leandro City Council on Monday voted in closed session to set the table for censure proceedings against Simon and Aguilar, Jr. on Nov. 18.
—Allegations of political interference is extremely serious charge. The non-interference provision is the glue that allows the city manager to run the day-to-day operations of the city with autonomy.
—In 2018, a somewhat similar non-interference allegation was made in Alameda by its then-city manager against two councilmembers.
—The allegations roiled the city and brought the Alameda City Council’s business to a standstill. An independent investigation by the city preceded a scathing report by the Alameda County Civil Grand Jury.
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