In the process of appointing San Juan Bautista City Council members to the region’s committees, Mayor Mary Edge may have violated the Brown Act, California’s open-meeting law. The act prohibits members of governing bodies from discussing issues concerning their local government outside of public meetings.
At the Jan. 21 council meeting, Edge revealed her appointments of members to various boards and committees.
“I took the liberty of calling everybody and asking what they would like to [do],” Edge said at the meeting.
City Manager Don Reynolds told BenitoLink on Jan. 28 that Edge asked him if it was okay before calling the council members.
Reynolds said City Attorney Deborah Mall was attending training sessions most of the week prior, and might not have had time to comment on the issue. However, he said he discussed it with a Wellington Law Offices attorney, where Mall is employed. Reynolds said the attorney was unsure if it was a violation because Edge was not comparing preferences on a certain issue.
Mall told BenitoLink on Jan. 28 that she did advise Edge before she called council members. She said staff typically “polls council members so that there isn’t an appearance of impropriety.”
Additionally, Reynolds and Mall said if there was a violation, Edge resolved it by disclosing it to the public at the meeting.
“In hindsight, we wouldn’t follow the same process again,” Reynolds said.
Edge did not respond to BenitoLink’s request for comment.