Reso 2026-021 Discipline - Councilmember Aguilar

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18 Ultimately, Simon’s and Aguilar’s behavior undermined Bowen’s work and the Council’s ability to prioritize issues and allocate resources for the coming year. Aguilar’s hostile and offensive behavior crossed the line into abusive conduct and created a hostile environment, which was noted by other witnesses interviewed as part of this investigation. Aguilar’s relentless “personalized, demeaning comments” constituted inappropriate criticisms of Bowen’s work and targeted her for simply doing her job. Simon’s remarks were less profuse and personally targeted at Bowen, but they nonetheless compelled the City Council to postpone consideration of Bowen’s submitted priorities and created the wrong impression that the City was only presenting her ideas for consideration. F. Bowen Suspects that Aguilar Set Her Up to Be Physically Violated at the National League of Cities Conference and Then Attempted to Besmirch Her Reputation By Telling Others She Was Really Intoxicated That Night, Implying That Her Behavior Might Have Been A Contributing Factor The week before the City Council’s censure vote, Bowen, Ballew, Gonzalez, Azevedo, and Aguilar attended the National League of Cities Conference which took place in Tampa, FL. On the evening of November 13, 2024, Bowen, Ballew and Gonzalez attended a reception at the Hotel Bar. Bowen ran into the immediate Past President of the CA League of Cities, Daniel Parra, who is a current Council Member for the City of Fowler, CA, with whom she had been acquainted in a strictly professional capacity for years without incident. Bowen recounted that within five minutes of chatting with Parra, he placed his hands on the top part of her arms, drew her closer, and then kissed her on the lips. Up to that point, their conversation had been entirely professional, so Bowen was shocked by his unwelcome behavior. Stunned, she remarked in disbelief over what he had done, “Did you just do this??” Bowen recalled that Parra immediately grabbed his belongings and left. Bowen believes that Aguilar, who had been standing nearby, likely saw what happened. Aguilar immediately walked over to Gonzalez and said, “Xouhoa is really drunk and making a scene. You gotta get her to leave.” Although Bowen, Ballew, and Gonzalez had a few drinks beforehand, Ballew clearly recalled that none of them had exhibited any obvious signs of intoxication that night and noted that he had not observed any signs that Bowen was drunk that night. Gonzalez observed Bowen walking into the restroom. About 10 minutes later, Aguilar approached him and was emphatic that Gonzalez “needed to take Xouhoa [Bowen] home. She is drunk.” Gonzalez was standing in a separate area from Bowen and Parra, so he had not witnessed Parra’s interaction with Bowen. Gonzalez did not question why Aguilar told him that he needed to get Bowen out of there right away; he immediately went to look for Bowen. Bowen was speaking to someone at the time and Gonzalez grabbed her arm and told her, “We need to go.” After Gonzalez and Bowen walked out the door, Bowen became visibly upset and started to cry. He recalls that Bowen told him that Parra had run his hands up and down her body and kissed her. He described Bowen as distraught and inconsolable, so he did not doubt that Bowen was telling him the truth. Gonzalez recalled that Bowen was crying and upset for several hours afterwards. Ballew, who had previously served as a Captain in the Police Department, had experience investigating sexual assault crimes. Based on his prior police work and dealing with victims of sexual assault, he believed that Bowen’s visibly distraught reaction and demeanor was entirely consistent with that of victims who have reported being assaulted, so he believed her account of what transpired that night. In his view, she must have been violated for her to react that way. Bowen recalls asking Gonzalez how he knew about what had just happened since he was not in the vicinity when it occurred and she recalls that he said that Aguilar told him to get her to leave right away. According to Bowen, Gonzalez told her that he thought Aguilar might be up to something when he said to get Bowen out of there right away. Exhibit A Resolution No. 2026-021 Page 18