A divided National City council voted late Tuesday to censure a recently re-elected councilman, accusing him of inappropriate use of city funds and bullying.
Jose Rodriguez, however, defended himself by accusing council and community foes of targeting him.
Marcus Bush and Luz Molina joined Mayor Ron Morrison in voting for censure while Vice Mayor Ditas Yamane and Rodriguez were in opposition.
The action holds no real consequences – Morrison described it as a “light slap” – but the expression of public displeasure followed months of criticism that failed to deter District 2 voters who overwhelmingly favored Rodriguez in last month’s election.
Morrison, in outlining the alleged misdeeds of Rodriguez, who unsuccessfully ran against him for the city’s top job in 2022, cited use of city money for a 2023 community turkey giveaway, travel expenses to Sacramento and hiring loyalists or giving them city contracts.
“This is over a pattern of several things that by themselves may not be a matter for censure,” Morrison said. “But since there’s a pattern going over a long period of time, that’s the reason this is being brought up.”
The mayor also said Rodriguez used work performed by city contractors in campaign materials while making statements in the media or via online platforms that caused a “hostile environment” in the community.
In one such case, Liliana Armenta, a member of the city’s planning commission, in her statement of support for censure, said Rodriguez sent an email targeting her for posting signs or flags in support of President-elect Donald Trump.
The missive, while labeling his election opposition as “right-wing,” stated “no Trumpers in Our Backyard.”
Armenta and her daughter said the e-mail left them in fear. The commissioner accused Rodriguez of using his office to “foster a climate of fear and division within our community and my home.”
Supporters of Rodriguez on the other hand, many of them Spanish speakers and victims of the flooding in San Diego County early this year, opposed the censure. They said the councilman offered them aid and that they hadn’t seen other council members in their neighborhoods during the aftermath of the disaster.
In his defense, Rodriguez called the series of accusations – everything but the “kitchen sink” had been thrown at him, he said – an attempt to derail his council campaign. He was re-elected in November, however, with 73.3% of the vote.
He also rejected accusations that he hosted what were in essence campaign events while addressing community issues such as disaster assistance and affordable housing.
“Some people call that campaigning,” he said. “I call that doing my job.”
Rodriguez went up against Morrison and the incumbent two years ago in the mayoral race, and lost by less than 1% – trailing Morrison by just 68 votes.
Former Mayor Alejandra Sotelo-Solis finished third.
