UPDATE (Wednesday, Jan. 4): Dispute strips Moreno Valley councilman Giba of 2 posts
Moreno Valley Mayor Yxstian Gutierrez has suggested excluding Councilman Jeffrey Giba from committees for the coming year, a move Giba called “political.”
His recommendations for 19 appointments – which will go to the council for a vote Tuesday, Jan 3 – include posts for council colleagues Victoria Baca and David Marquez but none for Giba, though the council is short one member.
This year, committees included all five council members. Members represent the city on regional agencies and council subcommittees. Appointments to agencies such as the Riverside County Transportation Commission and the March Joint Powers Authority bring a $100 per meeting stipend.
The mayor can make recommendations, but the council has the final decision.
Giba is now vice-chairman of the March authority board, which oversees reuse of former military land. He was in line to become chairman in 2017, but Gutierrez has suggested that he continue on the board and Baca join him. Giba said his serving on the board would be an important regional leadership role for the city.
“I believe I’ve done an excellent job for the city and region, otherwise I wouldn’t have been selected as vice-chair of this important body,” he said.
In an emailed response provided by city spokeswoman Kimberly Sutherland, Gutierrez said his recommendations were based on who he felt would best represent Moreno Valley.
“As mayor, I only recommend members to regional assignments that support the city’s interests, including my platform for progress and growth,” he said.
Gutierrez’s email did not explain why he felt Giba could not do so. The two have clashed on different issues in recent months.
Gutierrez also proposes to take Giba off the Western Riverside Council of Governments board and nominated himself and Marquez for the board.
Jamil Dada, who has been involved with March for 30 years and is chair of the authority’s redevelopment oversight committee, said he was disappointed to hear that Giba could be removed due to what he called personal politics. Dada called it “juvenile, amateur behavior.”
A city representative as the chair would be a tremendous advantage for Moreno Valley and an opportunity it might not get for another few years, Dada said.
The city has had a rocky relationship with the authority in the past, suing it in 2014 under former Mayor Tom Owings. Giba, Dada said, has worked to repair trust while Gutierrez has not been very active with the authority.
“If we want to do the right thing for Moreno Valley and its citizens Jeff Giba was the right person because he earned that spot,” he said.
Giba said he didn’t know the reasons behind the snub but suggested that he had “outshined” Gutierrez.
“You have to ask him that question,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on. It’s obviously some political issues of some kind.”
During his tenure, Giba worked with Supervisor Kevin Jeffries to introduce a proposal earlier this year on how to deal with the authority’s eventual disbanding. He also traveled to Washington D.C. for talks on the possible sale of its golf course to the Riverside National Cemetery.
Giba said he’s never missed a meeting in two years, while Gutierrez has been frequently absent.
The March authority’s minutes show that, while Giba attended all 15 meetings this year, Gutierrez was at four. Gutierrez did not attend meetings for the first six months of the year, went to two in July, one in September and one in December.
His attendance record at Riverside County Transportation Commission meetings has been spotty. Minutes show he was at 10 out of 16 meetings this year. Former Councilman Jesse Molina took his place as his alternate at two meetings. The city had no representative at four meetings.
Molina also served as the alternate to the March authority four times. Other times, Giba cast two votes, which the authority allows members to do if one representative is absent.
Giba said he eventually asked Molina to show up “just in case” because Gutierrez didn’t tell them in advance if he would attend.
Despite his absences, Gutierrez often reported at council meetings on those agencies’ activities.
“He was reading the minutes and the information given to him,” Giba said.
Gutierrez, who works as a teacher, said he couldn’t attend some meetings and events because of his job or because his schedule was double-booked. The authority’s switch from morning to afternoon meetings is “more feasible for my schedule,” Gutierrez wrote.
He has nominated Baca to replace him on the transportation commission.
“My appointments have been carefully designed to put Moreno Valley’s strongest foot forward, particularly on regional agencies,” Gutierrez said.
Contact the writer: 951-368-9558 orighori@scng.comTwitter: @ImranGhori1
