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In what amounted to being little more than a slap on the wrist, the Grass Valley City Council chastised its wily planning commissioner for his opinionated remarks, but decided to keep him on board.
At the beginning of the Tuesday night meeting, Mayor Gerard Tassone said “this is not a lynching of (Planning Commissioner) Terry Lamphier. I would like an open dialogue on how (the code of conduct) is supposed to work.”
The city’s code is meant to help public officials understand how to be respectful of one another, staff, and residents while doing their job and making fair and balanced decisions. A few councilmembers were concerned Lamphier may have violated this code since his late February appointment by making opinionated statements that had some inaccurate information.
Two were in “Other Voices” columns printed in The Union and one was a remark made during public comment at a City Council meeting.
All three were related to growth issues in Grass Valley. Since the mayor is considered to be the official spokesperson for the city according to the code, concerns were raised as to whether Lamphier’s comments might have confused residents into thinking he spoke on city policy.
Five residents spoke in support of Lamphier and the need to uphold freedom of speech. Only Dee Mautino, a Grass Valley resident and former Councilwoman, criticized his actions.
“He serves the public in a pubic capacity and an editorial serves the public and in that respect,” said Grass Valley resident Rich Colombini, adding “Terry deserves some credit, not to be dissed.”
This issue is a familiar one for him, said Jim Bair, a former Grass Valley planning commissioner. He said he was charged with violating the code of conduct after speaking at a church forum about growth while on the commission. He said he wondered whether the issue would have been raised if Lamphier had agreed with the Council rather than criticized it.
“I think that Terry has exemplified courage and tenacity in speaking out. My issue is that he has made some errors,” he said.
Inaccuracies in Lamphier’s remarks drew strong criticism from Councilwoman Lisa Swarthout, a former planning commissioner herself, who said, “the main issue in my mind, is that misinformation breeds polarization in this community.” She also questioned whether Lamphier would be able to be objective during planning commission meetings.
Lamphier assured her he could, saying “can I fairly represent the interests of developers? I am very respectful of their rights as well as other people in the community. Yes, I have a personal agenda and I do not feel it interferes with my ability to do my work.”
Lamphier was then encouraged to better utilize the resources of the city to ensure accuracy in any future opinion pieces or public comments.
“This is not to say that you can never speak, but you must use discretion when you do it,” Tassone said to Lamphier. “And you must be sure you have the facts right.”
While Lamphier may have been spared the ax, the city’s code of conduct might not have fared so well. All five Councilmembers agreed in the importance of the code of conduct, but that it deserved a second look that could result in revisions or additions.
One suggestion was made by Councilman Dean Williams to include a specific disclaimer that public officials can attach to published opinion pieces to remind residents that they are not speaking for the city.
Tassone appointed Williams and Swarthout to the committee, instructing them to review the code and bring back recommendations for the entire City Council.
<I>To contact staff writer Brittany Retherford, e-mail brittanyr@the
union.com or call 477-4247.</I>
At the beginning of the Tuesday night meeting, Mayor Gerard Tassone said “this is not a lynching of (Planning Commissioner) Terry Lamphier. I would like an open dialogue on how (the code of conduct) is supposed to work.”
The city’s code is meant to help public officials understand how to be respectful of one another, staff, and residents while doing their job and making fair and balanced decisions. A few councilmembers were concerned Lamphier may have violated this code since his late February appointment by making opinionated statements that had some inaccurate information.
Two were in “Other Voices” columns printed in The Union and one was a remark made during public comment at a City Council meeting.
All three were related to growth issues in Grass Valley. Since the mayor is considered to be the official spokesperson for the city according to the code, concerns were raised as to whether Lamphier’s comments might have confused residents into thinking he spoke on city policy.
Five residents spoke in support of Lamphier and the need to uphold freedom of speech. Only Dee Mautino, a Grass Valley resident and former Councilwoman, criticized his actions.
“He serves the public in a pubic capacity and an editorial serves the public and in that respect,” said Grass Valley resident Rich Colombini, adding “Terry deserves some credit, not to be dissed.”
This issue is a familiar one for him, said Jim Bair, a former Grass Valley planning commissioner. He said he was charged with violating the code of conduct after speaking at a church forum about growth while on the commission. He said he wondered whether the issue would have been raised if Lamphier had agreed with the Council rather than criticized it.
“I think that Terry has exemplified courage and tenacity in speaking out. My issue is that he has made some errors,” he said.
Inaccuracies in Lamphier’s remarks drew strong criticism from Councilwoman Lisa Swarthout, a former planning commissioner herself, who said, “the main issue in my mind, is that misinformation breeds polarization in this community.” She also questioned whether Lamphier would be able to be objective during planning commission meetings.
Lamphier assured her he could, saying “can I fairly represent the interests of developers? I am very respectful of their rights as well as other people in the community. Yes, I have a personal agenda and I do not feel it interferes with my ability to do my work.”
Lamphier was then encouraged to better utilize the resources of the city to ensure accuracy in any future opinion pieces or public comments.
“This is not to say that you can never speak, but you must use discretion when you do it,” Tassone said to Lamphier. “And you must be sure you have the facts right.”
While Lamphier may have been spared the ax, the city’s code of conduct might not have fared so well. All five Councilmembers agreed in the importance of the code of conduct, but that it deserved a second look that could result in revisions or additions.
One suggestion was made by Councilman Dean Williams to include a specific disclaimer that public officials can attach to published opinion pieces to remind residents that they are not speaking for the city.
Tassone appointed Williams and Swarthout to the committee, instructing them to review the code and bring back recommendations for the entire City Council.
<I>To contact staff writer Brittany Retherford, e-mail brittanyr@the
union.com or call 477-4247.</I>
