Mayor Slams Gavel On Mosca During Public Comment Period
By Terry Miller
Published: Thursday, March 25th, 2010
In what has proved to be a more than contentious city council and election season, Sierra Madre citizens were once again bombarded with fireworks at the final city council meeting before the April 13 election.
Sierra Madre city councilman and candidate for re election Joe Mosca was verbally attacked during Public Comment period at Sierra Madre City Council on Tuesday evening. At least four members of the public affronted and walloped Mosca’s reputation for considerably longer than the 3 minutes traditionally allowed per person at a time reserved for items not specifically on the agenda.
It was clear than Mayor MacGillivray had no intention of stopping the onslaught of personal attacks and innuendo and allowed such a spectacle to continue with one speaking for approximately 15 minutes against the candidate.
“You have to sit there and Take it” exclaimed MacGillivray said of the blitz. Councilman Mosca demanded time to respond to the assault. Mosca clearly stated that he felt the City Attorney should be consulted on the matter as a point of order but MacGillivray refused Mosca’s request. Proclaiming that she is the Mayor and said Mosca was “Out of Order’ for attempting to shield his good name.
“There’s nothing wrong with passion” said Mosca in a telephone interview Wednesday evening “but I feel these were personal insults and I have a right to respond – it is not a violation of the Brown Act to do so.”
One might ask if this blatant attempt to discredit Mosca was allowed by the sitting mayor, why then, was Mosca not afforded the same courtesy.
MacGillivray threatened at one point in the proceedings to have Mosca “taken away” presumably by the boys in blue for attempting to defend him. Chief Diaz was seen in a huddle with some of her officers moments after MacGillivray threatened Mosca with expulsion.
Mosca said the mayor treated him with no respect whatsoever and felt somewhat like he did in Catholic School being reprimanded by an elder.
Mosca continued that this incident has a much larger impact and that good people in Sierra Madre are becoming increasingly reluctant to step up to politics, join commissions or do anything civic due in no small part to this kind of abusive behavior.
A passionate and reflective Mosca said “I entered politics to make a difference” and echoed what many in the community felt Tuesday. These attacks were clearly orchestrated to discredit Mosca one final time with the hope that under the present rules of order he would have to “just sit there and take it.”
Mosca said it’s clear that homophobic, insular thinking plays a role in this onslaught which Mosca is handling with dignity. Despite being upset by not only the comments allowed but also the way in which fellow councilmembers, mainly MacGillivray handled the situation Mosca plans to battle on.
Mosca would like to see an agenda item added in the future to address how council can address such matters should they occur in the future. Not affording him the right to discuss the issue with city attorney was not acceptable and inappropriate, he said.
For his part, Mosca says civility is very important in getting anything done on council and rules and procedures should be followed and feels that when there was such an orchestrated attempt to discredit
a sitting councilmember (on a locally televised council meeting just prior to an election), there should be some options allowed or at least considered.
Councilman Mosca will continue to walk the precincts and talk to his friends and neighbors up to April 13.
Calling what he experienced Tuesday night “abuse” Mosca still honors the right rules and procedures but claims he was NOT out of control as MacGillivray said.
22 Responses for “Mayor Slams Gavel On Mosca During Public Comment Period”
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I have to admit I don’t always agree with you, but in this case you really hit the nail on the head. Long time reader, first time commenter.
tmiller@beaconmedianews.com
71.119.17.145
Submitted on 2010/04/12 at 11:49am
(Dear Editor: I hope that you are able to print my letter as it appears below. I understand that it is a bit long. Thanks very much.)
I am a Sierra Madre registered voter who has done her homework in regards to our upcoming election. I have not allowed anyone to tell me how to think or how to vote. Instead, I have used rational, independent thought to come to my decisions. In the past, my vote was manipulated by a campaign. Afterwards, I regretted my decision because I realized that I was duped. That candidate, or those supporting or against a ballot measure knew how to manipulate voters. I have vowed that that will never happen again.
As I do my homework on the candidates, I think of it as a job interviewing process. It is important to do a background check and decide whether or not each candidate will do the best job for our city. Does this person have the right experience, temperament and references for the position? Do the candidate’s views and goals align with one’s? What does the candidate say? Is the candidate’s platform based on fear, misinformation and lies? What do others say? Are negative things said used as a smoke screen to make another candidate look better or is there some merit there? I tend to dig deeper and not take things at face value.
For example, Councilmember Mosca, who seeks reelection, has come under attack for not allowing a citywide vote on the Downtown Specific Plan (DSP) as he had promised during his previous campaign. My recollection was different. During the June 13, 2006 City Council meeting, when Councilmember Zimmerman asked that the DSP be put in the form of a referendum on the ballot, Mosca said let’s wait until the process is complete. He didn’t want the city to vote on the DSP, which was still in draft form. He wanted the plan to be completed, as was adopted in our Master Plan in 1996, and then go forward on it. You can’t vote on something that isn’t a complete project. The snippets on YouTube don’t give the full story and are taken out of context. Mosca went as far as putting together a timeline with completion dates. If you want to see for yourself, go to the library and pull the complete video or City Council meeting minutes.
I have found it helpful to meet the candidates, watch the two candidate forums and city council meetings online, and read as much as I can to arrive at my decision. But I am very careful of where I get the information. For example, a candidate’s blog is not a reliable or accurate source of information. The candidate’s ultimate goal is to get elected. Therefore, the blog cannot be used as a way to come to a logical decision. Instead, I read all the local papers and gain insight as I read each one. Of course, the media does have some bias, but I try to glean whatever information I can each time I read an article. For example, every local paper and an Internet site have unanimously endorsed Josh Moran, Nancy Walsh and incumbent Joe Mosca. How often does that happen?
On April 13, I urge you to vote that ticket: Moran, Walsh, Mosca. They will lead our town honestly and rationally.
Maria Decker
Sierra Madre
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Neighbors in Sierra Madre – the election Tuesday may be the most important since we came here 21 years ago. The announced positions of the candidates do not seem to vary much.
However, what we have seen in the last two or three weeks shows that the decision we will be making is a choice of whether the conduct of our city affairs is to be a reasonable opportunity for civilized discussion of our mutual business, or whether, instead, City Council meetings and other bodies are simply going to be an opportunity for political posturing and abusing those one dislikes on either a personal or policy basis. Her honor the mayor made it clear to all of us where she stands on this and who she supports to continue more of the same.
I don’t think we can afford to continue this uncivilized and unbusiness like conduct of our municipal affairs. Vote to reelect Mosca and elect Walsh and Moran to get this city back to the kind of place we want to live in.
Eric Olson
Sierra Madre
Good ol’ in touch mayor MacGillivray, the woman that wanted to know why the parents of kids going to the PUSD schools in town don’t just pay tuition. Even better ol’ John Crawford, armed with his army of half-witted malcontents dives head first into the council election with a mandate from the people (all 25 of ‘em). Next election, I’m running!
Denis Gearheart
O.K., but I don’t get the dress. What is that – early Sea Org?
To the Editor:
Re: Sierra Madre Mayor uses Position to Abet Political Attacks on Fellow Councilmember/Candidate for Reelection
March 28, 2010
I have read the accounts in both local papers of the most recent Sierra Madre Council Meeting and I am appalled. I always thought that one of the duties of a Mayor was to preside at meetings with an even hand to the end of conducting the public business.
About four people took advantage of the public comment period to lambast Councilmember and Candidate for Reelection Mosca. One spoke three to five times the recognized time limit.
Her Honor Mayor MacGillivray refused to enforce the time limits and when Mosca asked for an opportunity to respond she threatened to declare him out of order and have him removed from the meeting saying “You have to sit there and take it” and “I don’t need input from the City Attorney; this is my meeting and I’m the Mayor”.
Her Honor has been actively supporting candidates for Council other than Mosca.
If candidates supported by Her Honor are elected we can look forward to years of the Council’s being used for political attacks and divisiveness rather than uniting to focus on the best interests of the citizenry.
Eric Olson
Sierra Madre
The homophobic undertone was there from the beginning. For those of you who weren’t here when MacGillivray was on the City Council in the mid-90s, then Councilmember MacGillvray prodded the Sierra Madre City Council to adopt a definition of “Family” that excluded same sex marriages, foster parents and couples that, for whatever reason, choose not to marry.
LA Times 1997: “MacGillivray, however, demanded that the term ‘family’ be limited to those related by blood, marriage, or adoption, and that those living together in other relationships be called ‘housekeeping units’. She said using the word ‘family’ to describe those not related by blood or law ‘degrades the meaning of the term’”.
Let’s just say that I was very embarrassed to live in Sierra Madre at that time. It put us on the map for a negative reason.
Fortunately, the City Council unanimously voted to repeal MacGillivray’s definition of family. The blended, gay and lesbian, adoptive, foster and unmarried families in Sierra Madre are now and always will be, families, not housekeeping units.
Sierra Madre Native:
Thank you for the the comments and fact finding-we appreciate your comments and thoughts!
When MaryAnn MacGillivray was Mayor in the mid-90s she decided that she wanted to define the term “family”. I was embarrassed to live in Sierra Madre at that time. The ACLU and Gay Rights groups came into town. It put us on the map in a negative way. From the LA Times 1997:
“MacGillivray, however, demanded that the term ‘family’ be limited to those related by blood, marriage, or adoption, and that those living together in other relationships be called ‘housekeeping units’. She said using the word ‘family’ to describe those not related by blood or law ‘degrades the meaning of the term’”.
Fortunately, the City Council at that time unanimously to repeal MacGillivrays’ definition of family. The blended, gay and lesbian, adoptive, foster and unmarried families in Sierra Madre are now and always will be, families, not housekeeping units.
Stick to the timeline and allow Freedom of Speech
The video of the last council meeting is up on the KGEM site: http://kgem.tv/2010/03/sierra-madre-city-council-march-23-2010/
This article shines a light on the fact that the Mayor’s primary goal is to get certain people elected to the city council. What happened with governing our city and fulfilling long-term goals?
Cookie and Eric–The Mayor’s behavior has upset a lot of people who were “on the fence” about the election. Instead of helping her, it has hurt her. These folks don’t want to vote for the folks that are associated with her.
1. IMPEACH MACGILLIVRAY!
Boorish, rude, impolite and completely unprofessional behavior should not be tolerated in elected officials, especially in one who deems herself “mayor”. Let’s do away with her.
2. MacGillivray’s unseemly temper tantrum in an official City Council meeting is the perfect reason for all Sierra Madreans to vote for Joe Mosca, Josh Moran and Nancy Walsh.
C. Broede
Sierra Madre
Please see my comments below regarding the Mayor. I don’t know how long you have lived here, but I want everyone to know what happened in the mid-90s when Mary Ann MacGillivray was a councilmember.
Thank you!
It would be nice if the city council would stop acting like they can control the whole city. I mean 5 people voting on things 10,000 people have to live with. Pasadena comes up with a smoking ban and Sierra Madre w/ the vote of 3 council people follows suit immediatley to do the same thing? Wheres the review for an actual need at the issues that are going to affect the citizens and not just the 100 people that go out at night or visit the city on Fridays or Saturdays. I mean where did the parking change from 3am to 2am come from? How does that make sense for people who have cars parked in front of friends houses that are coming home from outside the city that are coming from somewhere closing at 2? Of course they will get tickets, thats what the city wants I guess. Don’t fix something if its not broken.
I’ve been a resident for five years and think Joe Mosca has done just as good a job as any council member. And the past five years, I have seen the council do nothing. Thats pretty much what Sierra Madre wants, so I’ll vote for him.
Be prepared for 2-3 more crazies to bombard this website with attacks against Joe like they did on Tuesday night. Joe is a good man and a good councilmember. I voted for him last time, and I plan to vote for him this time. He has worked hard and produced results. Unfortunately, I also voted for Don and Maryann the last times. I will not be voting for them this time or in 2 years. They are an embarassment to Sierra Madre, but more importantly, an embarassment to themselves.
Why is it when someone feels they are part of a “minority”( gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, etc) and they don’t get their way, they play the “card”. ? In this case Joe playing the “gay card”. The people that spoke at the City Council meeting had all voted for him in 2006. People were mad because Mr. Mosca sought the endorcement of the Democratic Party. Candidates in our local election do not and have never sought endorcements from political parties.
The Mayor allowed Paul Hovsepian to ramble on and on and on. During her term as Mayor, Macgilvray has rarely limited public comment time. No speaker spoke for fifteen minutes. Get you facts straight. Why wasn’t the Mayor interviewed for this article? Our Council members should act as adults and be able to take criticism.
It is disappointing that your paper has accused Mr. Mosca of injecting baseless and irrelevant charges of homophobia into a city council election. I am confident you misquoted him.
Richard,
Please see my comments below regarding Mayor MacGillivray’s past history on the SM City Council. Homophobia is an undertone.
Thanks,
Maria
Bwahaha!!! Joe will do anything to avoid talking about his lousy record in office. Even play the “homophobia” card. The scoundral has no shame whatsoever.
It would be nice if people placed their actual names to comments posted here, thank you!
Why Terry? So you can accuse them of being a homophobe too? Criticizing Mosca for his woeful record as a Councilman does not consitute homophobia.