Sandy Naranjo, the censured Port Commissioner from National City, has won support from her hometown City Council despite allegations she put the Port District at financial and legal risk for grilling the port’s top attorney in a closed session.
Calling itself “deeply disappointed” by the reprimand removing Naranjo from the vice chairmanship and committees, the National City City Council on Thursday said the Port Commission perpetuated “longstanding patterns of disenfranchising National City and its people.”
A news release from interim City Manager Ben Martinez added:
The timing of this action, just as National City was poised to take an active leadership role with the ascent of its Commissioner to the chairmanship of the Board of Commissioners, is of great concern. We find the board’s explanation for their timing to be severely lacking, and its decision to take such drastic and draconian action very disappointing.
The 240-word release blasted the board for denying Naranjo a leadership role “to which National City is entitled in the rotation of chair between the Port’s five member cities.”
The port rejects suggestions that its general counsel and ethics officer, Thomas Russell, has serious conflicts of interests, as Naranjo argued in a December meeting to review his performance.
The port says Naranjo retaliated against Russell for his looking into allegations that her now former husband, Andrew McKercher, proposed a “Pay to Play” scheme “whereby he attempted to leverage Naranjo’s role as a commissioner to help certain unions secure work on contracts with the district.”
On Friday, Naranjo attorney Cory Briggs told Times of San Diego that Naranjo appreciates the council’s support.
“They clearly recognize that the real motivation behind the Port’s illegal actions against her were driven by politics and a fear that she was on the cusp of making huge gains for National City, whose people the Port has abused for years and continues to exploit,” Briggs said via email.
“With the support of National City, Commissioner Naranjo will remain undeterred in her efforts to eliminate corruption at the Port and ensure that National City shares equally in the rewards that the Port has heretofore reserved only for the politically connected.”
Rafael Castellanos of San Diego, the Port Commission’s current chairman, said in a statement:
National City continues to have a voice and representation at the Port. Commissioner Naranjo remains a member of the Board with the ability to vote, consult with staff and meet with the public. As always, the Board is committed to all the projects that are important to National City including electrification of the National City Marine Terminal, emissions reductions technology and the Balanced Plan.
Also defending the port was Sonia Carvalho, an outside attorney representing the Port who detailed accusations against Naranjo at the Oct. 10 meeting where she was censured 6-0.
Carvalho said in a statement:
The Port of San Diego understands that the City of National City has the right to appoint one member of the Board of Port Commissioners. Like a City Council member, Board members have a fiduciary duty to the integrity of the Port and its commitments, and the well-being of Port employees and this action upholds that responsibility.
That’s why all six commissioners took a unanimous vote to censure Commissioner Naranjo for her retaliatory conduct against the Port’s Ethics Officer. While her own actions resulted in her losing the confidence of her colleagues for serving as a Board officer or on committees, she is still the city’s representative.
National City’s release noted it “remains committed to the work at hand and will seek to remedy its collaborative relationship with the Port to advance our shared interests and efforts, most importantly of which are the implementation of the National City Balanced Plan, addressing overdue corrective actions that negatively impact the health of our residents, and working toward the day when we will have more equitable access to our maritime areas.”
