Letter: A higher standard applies to elected officials

Captain Jensen, thank-You for Your service. You are 100% correct that, “the toxic environment will continue to exist” is spot on. Unfortunately, the “toxic environment” is not the creation of CC Person George Weiss, as Your LTE seems to suggest.

The toxicity of Laguna City Government comes in the form of two City Council Members passing the mayoral torch “back and forth” stifling, and in affect abducting the Mayoral position for their own objectives. Bob Whalen and Sue Kemph have had a “stranglehold” on the Mayoral position and have abused their position for years with the full support of the former City Manager. Case in point, Whalen has served as Laguna Beach Mayor for five terms starting in 2015, then concurrently in 2019; 2020; and 2021!

Sue Kemph has served as Mayor beginning in December of 2022, handing the Mayoral baton back to Whalen in 2023. How long can we as citizens allow this abuse of power to go on? It is time that we as citizens voice our opposition to this ongoing monopolization of the Mayoral Office in Laguna Beach. The “Toxic Environment” that You speak of has been created by Whalen, Kemph, and the former City Manager through their manipulation and poor decision making on multiple issues of concern to Us the Residents of Laguna Beach.

The many missteps of Whalen, Kemph, and CM DuPuis that have been exposed by CC Person Weiss and the concerned residents of Laguna Beach. We the Citizens of Laguna along with the wise and proper input by CC Person Weiss are the reason that a multitude of troubling Council decisions were allayed.

As You professed, “Act honorably, You will be held personally accountable if You act improperly”. This advice should be taken by Mayor Whalen and CC Person Kemph when they are asked to assist in the selection of our next Mayor of Laguna Beach.

Mr. Jensen’s letter to the editor is so rife with conjecture, misplaced accusations, and bald-faced oversights that his judgment has to be called into question.

Apparently, Mr. Weiss’ criticism of the corruption and mismanagement of City government has caused Mr. Jensen to misconstrue reasonable opposition to Ms. Dupuis’ favoritism, lack of transparency, unethical behavior and ineptitude for something Mr. Jensen prefers calling “creating a toxic work environment.” As a City Manager, criticism comes with the territory. And Ms. Dupuis couldn’t handle it.

From the purchase of the Ti Amo non-fire station for $2.7M without an appraisal ($400,000 more than a previous offer) only to divulge after the sale that the site was too small because it couldn’t service an emergency medical unit (something the fire department had been talking about for about two years) . . . to Ms. Dupuis’s botched and potentially hugely litigious bungling of the Hotel Laguna invasion, exposing yet again her special treatment favoritism for Mo Honarkar (how many millions might that cost us?) . . . to the sneaky attempt to sell the library out from under residents (something only Mr. Weiss alerted the public to) . . . to her attempted abuse of power, including her refusal to release her traffic stop body cam footage and her resulting taxpayer-paid legal bills – the list unfortunately goes on and on and on.

A brief aside . . . Funny thing – during the four years Peter Blake was ranting and raving, throwing temper tantrum and insulting and intimidating residents, we never saw a letter from Mr. Jensen about Blake creating a hostile environment.

Ultimately, the hugely overpriced severance package that the City Council agreed to may well be worth it, considering what other legal battles and financial problems Ms. Dupuis’ continued service could have cost us.

Mr. Jensens appears to think exposing and opposing Ms. Dupuis’ unethical, inept and costly behavior goes against his vaunted values for “acting honorably” and “being responsible for the stewardship of public funds.” Just the opposite.

Mr. Jensen also apparently thinks a person is guilty until proven innocent, because the City Manager’s verbal, unproven, harassment complaint (which was never legally filed) could well be seen as a smear tactic on her way out the door – a way of trying to save a little face, extract as much cash out of the severance deal as possible (claiming such false charges being a frequent crooked exit strategy by many), and smear the one City Council member who questioned her mishandling of governance. Looking at it that way, one could say – well played, Ms. Dupuis . . . sleazy, but well played.

The unproven complaint and accusation could also be construed as a cover-up for Bob Whalen, Sue Kempf and Peter Blake for their relentless push to appoint Ms. Dupuis in the first place, knowing she was not fully well-qualified, but would do their pro-development, pro-business, pro-tourism bidding. Similarly, certain members of the City Council could even now feel they would politically benefit from smearing an opposition Council member.

If Mr. Jensen thinks Mr. Weiss created a toxic environment, he’s wrong. It was already there. Damning the one who exposed it won’t change it.

Mr. Jensen,

Thank you for this letter. This shouldn’t be taken lightly and everyone should understand the costs associated. Whether Councilmember Weiss was the cost or not, the community lost $500,000…the same amount they just approved for a community garden after decades of seeking that funding. Therefore, $500,000 does not come easily.

I hope that the DA follows up on these serious complaints. Not only is it interference in government, violation of the Brown Act by Mr. Weiss on numerous occasions, but potential participation and coordination in violations of the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act, which is why Ms. Dupuis called out the individuals that she did. Not only was her job impeded, but her and other’s civil rights may also have been impeded by this extraordinary relationship between Weiss and these self-appointed activists.

Doug, I am curious how many times it needs to be reiterated to You the multiple shortcomings of CM Dupuis’ short stint as the CM of Laguna Beach. You never seem to address the issues that Jerome Pudwill continuously brings to light. Having said that I must ask You, do You, did You, advocate for the dismantling of our Library? Are You a proponent of Laguna Beach purchasing property without doing the research and analysis required by the CM? Is this function not the very nature and duty required for the position of a CM? Do You believe that the Parking Structure on 3RD Street would have been a wise location or a wise (not a purchase) investment for our City Government to make. Do You believe that the CM did not use undo influence in “name dropping” and suppressing video of her traffic stop. Until You fess up and address these issues it is just You exhibiting a serious lack of perceptiveness on Your part. Until You answer these questions Your responses in this column as in others lack any credibility.

Doug, just saying things over and over again is getting You nowhere. Why can You not see the obvious? Dupuis is gone. It is on her, it is due to her own failings. The convenient scape goat of George Weiss is just cover for Dupuis by Mayor Whalen and CC Person Kemph on her way out the door with the Taxpayers cash.

As has been stated earlier, the inconvenient truth is, Dupuis, Blake, Whalen & Kemph all believed that they would be able to firmly control Laguna Beach politics and they were put on notice by the Citizens of Laguna Beach. The dismantling of the Mayoral back & forth baton toss should be the end of that sad chapter in Laguna politics.

I believe the voters will put an end to the Whalen/Kemph/Blake/Dupuis era and move forward with a CC, Mayor and a “qualified” City Manager who will do the “Citizens of Laguna’s work” and put an end to the Pro-Development, Pro-Tourist agenda that was our prior council and prior City Manager. It could not happen too soon!

Jerome,

I think the voice you think you had in this community was inflated by those that fanned the fire under you on Next Door. Fortunately, like you, many of them have been silenced on that site finally. Little did you know, that before they came to you to run for council, they came to me. I was wiser and saw the signs of mansonism just like the Ti Amo talking points. I guess you missed the part at the last council meeting where George Weiss actually thought that 12 million dollars was still a great use of money for the Village Entrance. I hope you run again.

Criticism of elected officials is part of being elected, abuse of those that are employees is not. The price that our city has paid for a compensation package is cheap compared to the ongoing lawsuits triggered by the same folks that encouraged you to run for City Council. This group has a strong hold on you and they are not only dividing our city, but they are slowly destroying our city.

Our city cannot afford millions of dollars in personnel lawsuits. Our city cannot afford millions of dollars in lawsuits when the state sues our city for mandatory housing just like they did against Huntington Beach because people like George Weiss and his followers think that we can create initiatives that prevent building of housing.

There is simply a misguided amount of energy by a few folks in the city, when the energy can be spent doing more productive things. We all agree that Caltrans is not doing its job in preventing congestion in our city that hurts our quality of life but also creates pollution. We also should not deny that the Coastal Commission is also adding to this same problem and while mandating beach access is hurting the quality of life for residents, wildlife, and hurting the environment. Maybe Councilmember Weiss should write about this in one of his emails so that way you can start talking about it.

Mr. Morgan, you have no idea what you are talking about. I was against the Third Street parking garage and I do not think you have any idea of the history of the library and how it came to be. I have never met you but I’m willing to do so in any such forum you wish and dispel any conspiracy theories you seem to have in mind.

Let’s get back to reality!

Doug, this forum suits me just fine, thanks. Please try to stay on topic. I mentioned a scant few of the former CM’s failures during her tenure in her position as CM. Please note that the “few folks in the city” (Your words) are doing productive things. Us “few folks” might take exception to Your assertion that You are “wiser”.

Thank-You for establishing that You were “against” the 3RD Street Parking Boondoggle perpetrated by Dupuis, Whalen, Kemph and Blake. Congratulations on getting “one” right.
Please enlighten me on how the “history of the library and how it came to be”. I assume you know something not available to people less “wise” than You.

It would helpful if You would answer the questions posed and let others in town decide whether You are “wise” or just another self interested peddler of the false narrative that City Manager Dupuis performed her duties in a proficient and capable manner.

I think the Brown Act allows anyone the right to criticize both elected and appointed officials here in California. At any public hearing btw.
That’s a simple concept tied into 1st Amendment rights.
Imagine a world where just because someone gets elected they surrender that right.
Unless maliciously intentional hence subject to litigation, and I myself haven’t seen all of the evidence still to be uncovered in MOM’s litigation nor the actual depositions/disclosure docs, then there’s no case to be made regarding said intent.
If whatever Weiss said was so obviously slander and/or liable, litigation could be filed.
If Ms. Dupuis waived that punitive right, then her case was extremely weak and she settled for a lot less than her purported value was according to those criticizing her dismissal.
This could have been her platinum parachute.
All of that retirement stuff was totally manufactured: Maybe she had to spend more time with the family, the usual canard?
Everyone seems to think she got a ransom amount of $$$…..more like go away $$$.
And all of that handwringing? CM’s are a dime a dozen.
She got her dime, time to move on…….unless of course now even Laguna has become Trumpsville, prolonging the agony at the disadvantage of our community.
I’m actually more curious about Whalen & Kempf, their roles.
If indicted, then we’re in Wonderland or Oz.
Both are career politicians propped up by special interests, their agendas masquerading, disguised as public interests. Commerce 1st, everybody else runs a distant 2nd.