Livermore councilmember apologizes for telling city manager, 'Let's see what a woman can do'

Hayward was victim of a weekend ransomware attack; Fremont ends its flag-raising policy stalemate; Union City is offering its third retail cannabis permit, and much more!

Livermore Councilmember Ben Barrientos apologized on Monday night for making a sexist comment to the city manager at a council meeting on June 26.

CITY NEWS

LIVERMORE

—MEA CULPA—Livermore Councilmember Ben Barrientos apologized to City Manager Marianna Marysheva on Monday night for a sexist comment he made to her at a council meeting on June 26.

—“I’ve only known you for a little while, but I know you can make things happen. Let’s see what a woman can do over there,” Barrientos said during a discussion last month about the availability of unleaded fuel at the Livermore Airport.

—On Monday, Barrientos apologized to Marysheva. “My comments were meant as a compliment and as a challenge. I did apologize to her privately and I did make a mistake.”

—But after Barrientos apologized, Livermore Mayor John Marchand asked him to also apologize to the city council and public. “If you’re going to issue an apology it should be to the entire community and to this council,” Marchand said.

—When Barrientos, who was elected last November, did so, Marchand asked him, with a parental tone, what he was specifically apologizing for.

—Barrientos responded because of his comments to the city manager. “And why is that?” Marchand continued. “Is it because it violated the norms and values that we had practiced as a council?”

—Unsure what else Marchand wanted from him, Barrientos told the mayor, “I don’t know what you want me to say? I have apologized to her twice—three times now—and I think people that know me know that I’m not that kind of a person. I made a mistake and I’m sorry, so you can say whatever you want to say.”

HAYWARD

—CYBERATTACK—Hayward’s city website was hit with a ransomware attack on Sunday morning, the city said on Monday. The city does not believe the attack yielded any personal information for the cyberthieves, but they are monitoring the situation.

—The news comes after Oakland was the victim of a debilitating ransomware attack last January. Shoring up Oakland’s IT systems and getting its online infrastructure back online took months. It’s not yet clear what group was behind Oakland’s ransomware attack.

—In 2019, nearby Union City suffered a debilitating cyberattack.

—Problems in Hayward appear to be building recently in Hayward. The cyberattack follows a deadly Fourth of July night last week and a lawsuit filed by the city against Alameda County for alleged mayhem at a county-run assessment center in Hayward for foster youths.

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