Reso 2026-021 Discipline - Councilmember Aguilar

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25 background in public works and transportation and is therefore highly qualified for her position. Bowen recounted that during a recent meeting,16 Marquises informed the Council that in its present state, Lake Chabot Road was not safe enough to reopen. But Simon allegedly challenged Marquises’ recommendations. He stated that he is a civil engineer (implying that his professional experience should somehow override her Public Works expertise) and that he did not believe her conclusions. Bowen could not believe the manner that he addressed her conclusions when he allegedly stated, “She’s lying; she doesn’t know what she is talking about.” Bowen believes that his behavior towards Marquises is part of a larger pattern of his undermining and demeaning women in positions of authority. During the February 3, 2025, City Council Meeting, City Engineer Jayson Imai, and one of the Chiefs of the Alameda County Fire Department presented their findings and recommendations that due to safety concerns the road should not be reopened in its current state before repairs could be completed. Marquises explained that the soil beneath the roadway had washed away — that there was a void or gap underneath the seemingly intact surface, which could be hazardous for vehicles to drive over. Simon requested documentation, including photographs, to support the staff’s finding that one half of the road was missing due to erosion. He maintained that the road needed to be accessible to the public in the event of an emergency and questioned whether the past geotechnical studies found that the road was unsafe for drivers. Public Works Director Marquises, who has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, and a master’s degree in public administration, and is a licensed traffic engineer, recalls that there have been multiple meetings when they discussed the proposed reopening of Lake Chabot Road. She recounted that Simon has a tendency to send the most emails to staff, but Marquises noted that Simon, as an engineer, should have a better understanding of the engineering component of her work. Simon also asks the most questions about topics that have already been addressed in the reports prepared by staff that are submitted ahead of each meeting. Marquises’ teams consistently overprepare for these meetings in anticipation that he might put them on the spot with his questions, as he is prone to do. Her staff have to continually remind him that the answers to his questions have already been presented in prior meetings or are in the written materials that were provided ahead of these meetings. During the February 2025 City Planning Meeting, Simon asked the City Manager if the slides of the staff presentation were available to the public, even though as a City Council Member, he would have to know that these presentations and reports are always available for public scrutiny. During the February 2, 2025, City Council Meeting to discuss the reopening of Lake Chabot Road, Simon asked to review the photographs as proof of the road erosion, implying that he did not believe that the bottom half of the road had washed away. Afterwards, Marquises emailed the photographs that were previously presented at the prior Facilities and Transportation Committee meetings that Simon had attended. Simon also forgot that he previously requested community involvement in a project and then later questioned why this was even necessary.17 Marquises provided these examples of how Simon routinely engages in 16 Bowen did not provide a date for when this meeting took place, so it is unclear which meeting she is referring to since there has been a series of City Council regular meetings and Facilities and Transportation Committee meetings, when the staff presented reports on whether Lake Chabot Road could be safely reopened. 17 Robustelli recounted that the staff struggled with how Simon would subject them to cross examinations during City Council Meetings and put them on the spot, but Simon would never read the packet of materials provided to each Council Member before each meeting and then would raise issues that were not on the agenda. Robustelli explained to Simon that this was not only a potential violation of the Brown Act, but also when he sprung “gotcha” questions at staff during meetings on items not on the agenda, it made staff appear as if they were unprepared. Robustelli noted that he mostly hammered the engineering staff, consisting of both men and women, which does not evidence gender bias. Exhibit A Resolution No. 2026-021 Page 25