Elk Grove Mayor’s Special Meeting May Cost her Position

Scherman could be ousted as Mayor An audio recording of the first 90 minutes of this meeting will be posted this evening. The city clerk&...

Scherman could be ousted as Mayor

An audio recording of the first 90 minutes of this meeting will be posted this evening. The city clerk's office did not recorded the discussion following the meeting. Mayor Scherman, Council Member Pat Hume, City Manager Laura Gill, City Attorney Susan Cochran, Police Chief Robert Lehner and City Clerk Jason Lindgren were present during the meeting.

A special meeting called by Elk Grove Mayor Sophia Scherman yesterday afternoon may end up costing her position as mayor on the Elk Grove City Council.

Scherman had scheduled the special meeting to start at 5:00 pm and because only two members were present, the meeting was unable to officially convene. Vice Mayor Steve Detrick and council members Jim Cooper and Gary Davis were unable to attend citing the short notice given by Scherman and previously scheduled obligations.

After the opening statement, City Manager Laura Gill read a joint letter from Cooper, Davis and Detrick saying they convene a special meeting on Wednesday, July 28 to discuss removal of Scherman from her position as mayor. Below is the complete statement:

Joint statement by Vice-Mayor Steve Detrick, Council Member Jim Cooper, and Council Member Gary Davis:

“The residents of our great city have high expectations of their City Council. One of these expectations is that we work together, as a Council, on their behalf to move the City of Elk Grove forward. This is particularly true when it comes to protecting our residents against sex offenders. We must have a united front against these criminals in keeping the community safe.

“As you can imagine, we were surprised when we received notice last night that Mayor Scherman had called a Special Meeting of the City Council - for consideration of a matter that is already on the agenda next week. Furthermore, the meeting is being held at 5 p.m., while most residents are just leaving work. Calling last minute special meetings at times inconvenient to the public is a deceitful behavior of the past. It must not be repeated.

“Had the Mayor consulted with the rest of the City Council, as every Mayor has done the past 10 years, she would have known we are out of town or unavailable. In fact, each of us asked her to reschedule this meeting and she has refused. This act not only impedes our ability to work together as a Council, but oversteps the bounds of the office of the Mayor. And, frankly, does a major disservice to the public we are sworn to represent.

“Therefore, in conjunction with the Brown Act and Elk Grove City Policy, we are calling a Special Meeting of the Elk Grove City Council for Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 at 6 p.m. The purpose of the Special City Council Meeting is to discuss the role of the Mayor and also to consider the appointment of the Mayor for 2010.”
If the council does move to remove Scherman as Mayor, she would still retain her position as a council member.

After hearing Gill's reading, Scherman was visibly shaken and said little other than "I don't believe in threats."

Although the meeting was adjourned, several people in the audience were given the opportunity to speak on the reason behind the special meeting - concern over a residential facility on Cheer Court housing juvenile sex offenders.

While extensive testimony was offered by city officials including Elk Grove Police Chief Robert Lehner and City Attorney Susan Cochran, no actions could be taken.






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5 comments

john 11 said...

It is about time that someone does something about this. We are a city that is governed by 5 people not one. She has caused a lot of problems for the council.

Malleus Codex said...

As I have advised so many times in the past.....VOTE HER OUT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!! We need a local ballot measure to impose lifetime term limits on the City Council and the Planning Commission so that we don't just keep recycling these losers! Be on the lookout for Lindsay and Tim Murphy entering the race soon!!!!!

Josie said...

I couldn't agree with you more! This behavior has to stop...it has gone on long enough. You cannot run city business or any business for that matter with such behavior.

I just noticed that there is a post about this meeting not being recorded last night beyond the Adjournment for " Lack of a Quorum". Near the end of the meeting last night a resident asked if the meeting had been recorded and was told "Yes". Obviously you had to be more specific in your question to get a correct answer.

There was as much or more conversation about the "Brown Act" last night than "protecting our children", that the few of us in attendance came for.

Sarah Johnson said...

Why was only the first 90 minutes recorded? If that is the case, it was beyond that time when I asked Sophia specifically if the meeting was being recorded and she said, "Yes, absolutely!" THis is all so shameful, I just want to give up!!

Josie said...

If I understand correctly the meeting was recorded "by the city" only through the period when the EGCC did not have a quorum and could not hold an official meeting and the official meeting was adjourned. I believe Mr. Gougherty, personally recorded the 1 1/2 hrs. that is spoken about. I heard you ask if the meeting was being recorded and you were told "Yes" which was very near the end. Obviously you were told an untruth as I have just recently learned also. Think that's another flip-flop for Ms. Scherman!

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