Reso 2026-021 Discipline - Councilmember Aguilar

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22 Aguilar claimed that Lopez told him that Cameron was rude towards a reporter from the Telemundo television network -- that Cameron “was dismissive and wouldn’t give the reporter the time of day.” Aguilar conceded that he did not know what transpired between Cameron and the reporter and was unaware of the City’s policy prohibiting staff from speaking to reporters. Simon explained that he had advocated for Eric Engelbart for the City Manager position because he was talented and sharp. However, when questioned about whether he was familiar with Engelbart’s qualifications for the position, he conceded that he had not bothered to review Engelbart’s resume or performance evaluations before he recommended that Engelbart be considered. When queried about whether he ever discussed with Engelbart if he was interested in the position, Simon stated that he could not remember if he did. He also did not even know Engelbart’s title at the time or the fact that he was working in a position that was two levels below that of the City Manager. He also could not recall what information he had received or reviewed about Cameron’s background or qualifications before he made his recommendation. When queried about whether other City Council Members had discussed their experiences working with Engelbart, he initially responded that he did not recall discussing this subject with them but then acknowledged that Viveros-Walton did not have positive feedback about her experiences working with Engelbart. Despite this, he persisted in advocating for Engelbart to be considered. Simon also stated that he did not recall whether he discussed with Engelbart his interest (or lack thereof) in the City Manager position before Simon put forth Engelbart’s name to be considered. Simon tried to justify his decision to push forward with Engelbart even if he was not ready to undertake the role by explaining that Engelbart may have simply “needed a nudge” towards advancing his career.15 Simon never bothered to 1) review Engelbart’s qualifications for the position or compare them with Cameron’s; 2) examine Engelbart’s management experience, skills, or abilities and his suitability for the position; or 3) gauge Engelbart’s interest in the position or capacity to take on the role before he proposed that Engelbart be considered for City Manager. Therefore, Simon presented no legitimate basis for his pushing the City Council to consider Engelbart, who told members of the City Council that he was not interested in pursuing the position due to his family obligations. Simon also claimed that an email from Tiffany Treece, who was an Environmental Services Coordinator, raised concerns about the City’s lack of compliance with hazardous materials protocols or regulations. He claimed that afterwards, Treece was reprimanded in the Plant Manager’s Office “at Janelle [Cameron’s] direction.” An examination of the emails as quoted above reveals there is no reference in Tiffany Treece’s email to her being disciplined at Cameron’s direction. Indeed, there is no record in her personnel file of any disciplinary action that was taken against Treece. Further, there is no reference in Treece’s email to a reprimand for identifying City facilities that were allegedly out of compliance with respect to hazardous waste. Simon never bothered to discuss this incident with Cameron or to verify the accuracy of this account. Yet, he claimed that this incident raised concerns about Cameron’s ability to lead and explains why he voted “no” when she was being considered for the Interim City Manager position. Cameron stated that she always supports whistleblowers and had never received the email from Treece so had no knowledge that Treece or anyone else had ever been subjected to disciplinary action as a result of Treece’s email. Cameron produced a November 15, 2023, email she received from Treece raising concerns about her communications with the Plant Manager, who she accuses of mischaracterizing messages and attributing them to Cameron as the source. Since Treece was never disciplined and there is no evidence Cameron was behind 15 Exhibit A Resolution No. 2026-021 Page 22