District 3 Advisory Board

Special Meeting District 3 Advisory Board Minutes Wednesday, October 28, 2020 • 6:30 p.m. Virtual Meeting • Zoom and Facebook Live Video of meeting: https://www.facebook.com/101486909927126/videos/290780888670321 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Order of Business A special District 3 Advisory Board meeting was called by a majority of DAB members and held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28. 2020. The meeting was facilitated via the virtual platform Zoom and live-streamed on the District 3 Facebook page. DAB member Cindy Miles served as Chair Pro Tem. Council Member James Clendenin and eight DAB members were present (note: there are two vacancies on the board). There were also three City staff and 38 members of the public in attendance. The current agenda was approved. Members Present Staff Present Catherine Johnson Maddy Campbell, Community Services Cindy Miles Representative, City Manager’s Office David Kapaun Megan Lovely, City Spokesperson, CMO Gerald Henry Janet Johnson, Office of Community Services, Jared Cerullo CMO Michael Loop Richard Ruth Ronald Tracy Council Member James Clendenin Members Absent Daisy Olivar • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • New Business DAB 3 • Oct. 28 2020 • Minutes • Page 1 1. DAB Discussion of Recent Media Reports Involving CM Clendenin A majority of DAB members called a special meeting to discuss recent media reports alleging inappropriate activity by Council Member James Clendenin. DAB largely condemned CM Clendenin’s conduct but stopped short of calling for a resignation. Some members shared a desire to see things play out through the legal system and others shared sentiments of support for the positive contributions CM Clendenin has made in his role as the District 3 Council Member. There were four DAB members who read statements during the meeting. Jared Curello shared his belief that a recently released audio recording “proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that James Clendenin, Michael O’Donnell, and Michael Capps conspired to produce this false attack ad and then further conspired to come up with a false narrative to pin the blame on other innocent people.” Curello stated that CM Clendenin has publicly lied about his role in the scheme for over a year and called upon CM Clendenin to resign. Curello also announced his intentions to run for the District 3 City Council seat once CM Clendenin’s term ends next year or if it becomes vacant prior. Richard Ruth spoke about the importance of caring for neighbors and living a life guided by values. Referring to the smear campaign and cover-up conspiracy, Ruth shared the “willingness to destroy an individual” causes him grief. He spoke of positive outcomes from a program initiated by CM Clendenin, and said he is not sure what the ultimate outcome of the meeting will or should be. David Kapaun urged the group to refrain from making a rash judgment, stating “I don’t think all the truth has come out yet.” He said he would like to hear from CM Clendenin on the matter but understands CM Clendenin cannot speak freely due to an ongoing lawsuit. Kapaun also shared his intention to run for the District 3 City Council seat. Cerullo responded to Kapaun’s comments indicating his call for CM Clendenin’s resignation is far from a rash decision. He reminded the group that the district, city, and county has been dealing with the fallout from the smear campaign scheme for over a year, and that it has been established from the beginning that any individual involved is not fit to serve as an elected official. He stressed that since the recording has come to light, there is no longer any question about who was involved. Cindy Miles agreed with Curello’s response to Kapaun. She informed the group that she also plans to run for the District 3 City Council seat and desired to abstain from voting on the issue at tonight’s meeting due to feeling it would be an ethical conflict of interest. She said she originally wanted more time to pass prior to DAB discussing the issue to see how City Council responded to the matter and to hear CM Clendenin’s personal response. Prior to opening the floor for public comment Jared Curello made a motion to amend the allotted speaking time from five minutes to three minutes in the interest of time. Motion was seconded by Richard Ruth. Motion PASSED 8-0-0. There were five members of the public who shared statements. Miles also read into record two emails received from residents and a couple relevant Facebook comments. District 2 City Council Member Becky Tuttle also made a statement. DAB 3 • Oct. 28, 2020 • Minutes • Page 2 Natalie Aramburu (District 3 resident) told the group she knows CM Clendenin from her interactions with him at her neighborhood association meetings. She said she had great respect for him and felt he tried to do the right thing. She went on to share that she now doubts his intentions as a council member and wonders “what happens behind closed doors” after listening to the recently released recordings. She reported she no longer has confidence in his ability to do the job and stated, “The fact you are not wanting to resign tells me you are not holding yourself accountable for your actions.” William Stofer (District 3 resident) announced his desire to run for the District 3 City Council seat prior to commenting on the meeting topic. He went on to share that he believes CM Clendenin should hold his seat until there is “an official decree” from the District Attorney. He urged the DAB to follow suit saying, “It’s fine to talk about this, but let’s not condemn a man who has not been in clear violation of the law.” Lastly, Stofer stated that should CM Clendenin resign or be ousted through an investigation, the residents of District 3 should hold a special election to decide on the interim council member rather than following the process of DAB selecting candidates for City Council to pick from. Hoyt Hillman (District 3 resident) remarked on the positive things CM Clendenin has done for the district saying he has brought things into District 3 neighborhoods that would not have happened otherwise. He expressed that CM Clendenin “may be poor at picking his friends, but he has many friends within the neighborhood.” Hillman shared the sentiment that the group should await results from the District Attorney’s investigation. Elena Ingle (District 3 resident) told the group she is a former District 3 Advisory Board member. She said she respects CM Clendenin and thinks he has done a lot of good things. Beckie Jenek (District 4 resident) denounced CM Clendenin’s involvement and unethical behavior. She then pointed out serious concerns over possible criminal aspects related to the smear campaign. She alleged that CM Clendenin admitted to the Wichita Eagle that he knowingly violated campaign finance laws as well as IRS tax code by raising money for “billboards” for a mayoral campaign and channeling those funds through a nonprofit as a way of hiding contributions from donors who have business contracts with the City. Miles read a comment from Facebook from Kathy Camden (no address given) stating that she asks CM Clendenin to resign and recommending the DAB move to remove him and appointment a replacement should he refuse. Miles read an email from an anonymous resident. The email condemned CM Clendenin’s inappropriate and unethical behavior. It stated, “He has brought shame to the City Council and the City of Wichita as a whole.” The email expressed disappointment in CM Clendenin’s participation in creating the false attack ad against then mayoral candidate Brandon Whipple. The resident said, “Falsify[ing] information about sexual misconduct, harassment, or abuse is weaponizing a traumatic experience common to many women.” The email goes on to state, “The recording in which he plots to divert blame on individuals that were in no way engaged in the nefarious activity further exemplifies his disregard for others in his pursuit of personal and political power. This is the behavior of a person entirely unfit to serve his community. He does not represent the City's core values of trust and service. He does not represent me.” The resident concluded by calling for a recall vote should CM Clendenin refuse to resign. Miles read a second email from Jason Carmichael (District 3 resident). Carmichael pointed out CM Clendenin’s conduct and comments are in violation of Wichita Code Sec. 2.04.050 the Code of Ethics citing that “Council members shall conduct themselves so as to bring credit upon the city as a whole and DAB 3 • Oct. 28, 2020 • Minutes • Page 3 so as to set an example of good ethical conduct for all citizens of the community.” He referenced CM Clendenin’s denials of his involvement over the last year stating he was publicly lied to by the council member. He recommended the council member “save the tax payers and an extremely overloaded court systems a considerable amount of money and time” by resigning. District 2 City Council Member Becky Tuttle thanked residents for attending the meeting. She expressed hope in seeing constituents interested and desiring to be civically engaged. Miles read two Facebook comments. The first from Javan Andrew (no address given) read: “Mr. Clendenin needs to resign. As an elected official he is held to a high standard and represents all Wichitans. Any official who runs a false smear campaign and lies to the public about the involvement is not fit for public office.” The second comment was from John Moeder (no address given): “Just resign and save the taxpayers money on a recall election.” Public comment was concluded and Miles brought the conversation back to the DAB allowing an opportunity for CM Clendenin to address the group. CM Clendenin reported he was limited in responding to questions and making statements due to pending litigation. He confirmed that was him speaking on the recently released recording and said he looks forward to allowing the legal process to play out to tell his side of the story. He said, “I’ve heard everybody’s displeased with me one way or another. I thank those who have spoken up always. I’ve let a lot of people down, to say the least actually. I appreciate everybody’s comments for and against. Thank you.” Kapaun reiterated his desire to approach the matter cautiously and that the people of District 3 should decide if they want the council member to resign via a recall vote. Ruth echoed Kapaun and shared it is important to allow the legal process to play out and shared that the DAB has no authority to remove CM Clendenin—a recommendation to condemn is only rhetorical. Cerullo maintained a will to see DAB make a motion to explicitly address the serious and possibly criminal activity conducted by CM Clendenin. Michael Loop shared the belief that CM Clendenin is guilty by involvement and association with the situation. He lamented that CM Clendenin has been involved in good civic projects, and he is sorry to see this “misstep” destabilize his position. He suggested that only CM Clendenin knows the right thing to do, and DAB can merely offer guidance. Action Taken: Jared Cerullo made a motion to pass a vote of no confidence in CM Clendenin and further moved that DAB condemn his actions. Richard Ruth seconded. Motion PASSED 7-1-0. DAB members went on to explain their reasoning for their votes. Kapaun stated his vote against the motion was influenced by his desire to see the truth come out through the legal process. Ruth clarified that the DAB voted to condemn the actions laid out in the recently released audio recording in which three officials, including CM Clendenin, conspired to place blame on innocent individuals. He said the tape made clear that CM Clendenin approved the conspiracy plan in his own words. Ruth said DAB 3 • Oct. 28, 2020 • Minutes • Page 4 the direct admission of guilt about the specific matter does not need to be assessed in the court of law. Curello concurred. Catherine Johnson said her vote was motivated by a shared sentiment among neighbors that while CM Clendenin was previously respected and thought of positively, his recorded actions led to a breakdown of trust. Ronald Tracy stated he appreciates the work CM Clendenin has done in the past and feels the public needs more information to understand his role in the situation. Richard Ruth motioned to revisit the topic at the regularly scheduled DAB meeting on Wednesday, November 4, 2020 and requested it be added to the upcoming DAB agenda. Motion seconded by Ronald Tracy. Motion PASSED 8-0-0. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:41 p.m. The next District 3 Advisory Board meeting will be held virtually at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 4, 2020. The meeting will be conducted on the Zoom platform and live-streamed on the District 3 Facebook page. Information for accessing the meeting virtually and options for submitting comment can be found on the District 3 web page. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Guests Melody Stucky Brenda’s iPhone Gentry Thiesen greg hollm Rick Sroufe Kay Eli Higgins iPhone George Trish D Alex Simmons Becky Tuttle Natalie Holly Nelson Rustin Atkeisson Virgil Miller Jason.carmichael iPhone Levi Henry hoyth iPhonevicki iPad (8) Elena’s iPad Harold doublejdenver iPad (89) William S chuck Norris Barbara Brown jeffblubaugh Lonny Wright Lauren Hirsh 316****** • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Supporting Documentation Comments left on the District 3 Facebook livestream of the meeting can be read at the following link: https://fb.watch/1s7-v6yeTD/. DAB 3 • Oct. 28, 2020 • Minutes • Page 5 The two emails read into record and the comments left through the Zoom chat feature during the meeting are included as “2020-10-28 DAB 3 Attachment A.” • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Respectfully submitted, Maddy Campbell, Community Services Representative, District 3 DAB 3 • October 28, 2020 • Minutes • Page 6