San Leandro's MeToo movement has arrived

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CITY NEWS

SAN LEANDRO

—BOYS’ CLUB—If Monday night’s often cringeworthy double-dose of censure hearings showed anything it’s that the San Leandro City Council has the makings of a MeToo-type scandal brewing.

—An independent investigator’s report did not substantiate claims by former City Manager Fran Robustelli that Councilmembers Fred Simon and Victor Aguilar, Jr. exhibited gender bias against her. However, numerous instances of gender bias were communicated by city officials to the investigator.

—At Monday night’s meeting, former San Leandro Councilmember Celina Reynes called out Simon and Aguilar’s behavior toward women during a searing public comment.

—Reynes, who abruptly resigned from the council in December 2023 after just a year in office, included current Councilmember Bryan Azevedo in her commentary.

—“The level of sexism on this council is unacceptable,” Reynes said, adding that Simon and Aguilar, Jr. have been apologists in the past for victims of sexual harassment.

—“There is general hostility toward women with authority and power on this council, and I want to emphasize that the sexism is not isolated to Simon and Aguilar, but if I had to give public comment about Councilmember Azevedo, I would be here 10 minutes, instead of two.”

—Azevedo voted against both censure items on Monday night. He, too, displayed contempt for women in authority, twice attacking the credibility of former San Leandro Mayor Pauline Russo Cutter.

—When Azevedo moved to table the censure item against Aguilar, Jr. due to “too many inaccuracies” in the report, he said, “Some of the witnesses [in the report] are known not to tell the truth.”

—Azevedo reiterated the comment during Simon’s censure hearing, this time naming Cutter and scoffing at the investigator’s determination that she was a reliable witness. Cutter was seating in the council’s chambers for the first comment.

—During the same meeting, Simon, in a moment of pique, lodged an uncorroborated allegation against City Manager Janelle Cameron that she had reprimanded staff for reporting a hazardous waste compliant.

—Simon did not support the promotion of Cameron to city manager last summer. Instead, according to the investigator’s report, Simon pushed for the candidacy of a male in the city manager’s office who expressed no interest in the job.

—As reported here yesterday, Councilmember Xouhoa Bowen said she is worried about facing retaliation for voting in favor of the censure resolutions. “I’ve already started to hear things. Things are not always as they seem,” Bowen said.

—Bowen faced bullying tactics from Aguilar, Jr., Simon, and Azevedo at a council retreat in May after a large number of her ideas became council priorities, while theirs were largely ignored.

—“No disrespect to my council colleague, but I see nothing but Bowen’s advocacies and priorities listed on here,” Aguilar said at the time. “I feel completely blindsided by this.”

—Mocking Bowen’s legislative success, Aguilar said. “I could have done what Councilmember Bowen did and added 30 steps to this priorities session.”

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