San Leandro City Council censures two members after complaints from former city manager

San Leandro City Council convictions of Vice Mayor Fred Simon and Councilman Victor Aguilar will force them to forfeit half of their travel budget for the city’s homeless programs and undergo mandatory training after former City Manager Fran Rubestelli accused them of harassment and interference in her life responsibilities

Rubestelli was hired as San Leandro’s city manager in 2021. She resigned on April 23 and filed a complaint with the mayor and city attorney on May 8. The city council hired an investigator from Southern California, Carl A. Botteruda to conduct an investigation and create a definition of its requirements.

In his final report, Botterud wrote that Robustelli “alleged that she was subjected to discrimination, retaliation and harassment during the three years she served” as mayor. He found that two of Robustelli’s allegations that Simon and Aguilar improperly interfered with her duties could be upheld, as could another allegation that Simon subjected her to inappropriate conduct. He wrote that a fourth allegation that she was subjected to inappropriate behavior because of her gender could not be substantiated.

Some of the allegations stem from former San Leandro Police Chief Abdul Pridgen resigning on Feb. 20 following an investigation into allegations he violated department policy, the city said. Although the city has not released details of the charges, Pridgen has been on administrative leave since September 2023.

As city manager, Robustelli was responsible for finding Pridgen’s replacement. But during the search, she alleged, Simon and Aguilar harassed her and threatened to fire her, according to her complaint.

“Simon threatened to keep her on the job if she made the wrong decision,” Botterud wrote in his report, adding, “Aguilar told Robustella that she should reconsider her decision to avoid public retaliation.”

At the Nov. 18 San Leandro City Council meeting, Simon defended his actions and attacked his opponents on the City Council and what he called a “biased” investigation. He claimed that the witnesses interviewed by Botterud were biased against him.

“I do think some of the witnesses in the inquest have a negative political bias against me,” Simon said. “Here in a city, (with) so many problems — from crime to homelessness, rundown neighborhoods, businesses, dilapidated streets — I expect more (from Robustelli) than to be comfortable and retire when our city has all of these needs “.

Simon said he disagreed with the report’s findings.

“To my surprise and to many in my community, I was charged with two counts of interfering with the city manager’s ability to do her job and misconduct in her decision to fire the chief — our first black police chief in the city’s 152nd … annual history,” – he said. “I do not agree with the well-founded conclusions of the investigation.”

Aguilar took a softer approach, expressing his “sincere regret for any misunderstandings” between him and Robustelli about how to jointly reform the police department.

“When Chief Pridgen was placed on paid administrative leave and an investigation was launched, community members expressed strong support for his retention. The response from the community has been clear and unequivocal,” said Aguilar. “While I personally disagreed with the city manager’s decision to part ways with Chief Pridgen, I respected her authority.”

In the end, the board voted 4-2 to censure Aguilar and Simon, but dropped the most severe punishments proposed for them. Council members were penalized with a 50% cut in their travel and training budgets — the equivalent of $5,000 — for the fiscal year and will be required to undergo management training.

“The whole idea here is that we’re doing the right thing in the right way. It’s one thing to be a passionate advocate and another to threaten your job,” said San Leandro Mayor Juan Gonzalez III. “To threaten someone with a bad grade because that person is exercising professional judgment using all available information is out of bounds.”

Originally published: November 29, 2024 at 3:52 PM PST