You already know about the resignation of Hearne PD Sgt. Stephen Yohner, a.k.a. “Sgt. Tallywacker,” so let’s shift the spotlight to one of the knuckleheads who helped make that fiasco possible: Interim City Manager John “Boy Wonder” Naron.
On Saturday I wrote about Boy Wonder’s fraudulent efforts to recall Mr. Jackson from the council, as well as the city’s efforts to railroad the councilman on a bogus criminal charge, but evidently Boy Wonder was undeterred. In response to an email from Mr. Jackson on Tuesday suggesting that Boy Wonder and Mayor Ruben Gomez had mishandled the Sgt. Tallywacker fiasco, Boy Wonder popped a cork and called for the council to reprimand Mr. Jackson. As you can see from his email below, Boy Wonder wants even more control over the information that comes out of city hall (and city hall was not particularly transparent in the first place).
That’s bizarre enough by itself, but Boy Wonder’s email could also be a criminal violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act if Boy Wonder and his Booger County Mafia allies were polling votes prior to a public meeting. Boy Wonder sent the draft email to the Mayor McCrooked, Councilman Emmett Aguirre, and Councilwoman Margaret Salvaggio, all of whom support Boy Wonder and have repeatedly blocked the council from firing him, and he also sent the draft to Councilwoman Martha Castilleja, who has repeatedly voted in favor of firing him.
Here’s the email verbatim:
Mr. Jackson,
I took a look and my foot is not even close to my mouth. You really should take a look at the city charter section 3.13.
INVESTIGATION BY THE CITY COUNCIL
The city council shall have power to inquire into the conduct of any office, department, agency, officer or employee of the City and to make investigations as to municipal affairs, and for that purpose may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths and compel the production of books, papers, and other evidence.
I never received a request from the council letting me know that they wanted to look into this matter. I would like to place special emphasis on the word council. Just because you DEMAND action does not necessarily mean that I have to proceed with your request. You know that you may put any item on the agenda as long as you meet the deadline. If you wanted to request that the council investigate this matter then you should have asked the council as a whole to vote on it. We could have then went down the path of hiring an attorney and holding a special meeting. I would also like to bring to your attention to the Amendment to Section 4.02(a) Department of Police.
The chief of police shall be the chief administrative officer of the department of police. He shall, with the approval of the City Manager, appoint and remove the employees of said department and shall perform such duties as may be required of him by the city council.
The chief and I handle employee issues. If we are not doing so then it is the job of the council to remove us by majority vote. The council was not established to handle the day to day affairs of the city, and considering you decided to go to the news with an unsubstantiated claim of misconduct, I can see why the people who wrote our charter made this clear.
Your question as to why you were not invited to hear the complaint filed by “the female officer” is easily answered. Her complaint is a sensitive issue that she did not wish to be made public. She chose who would sit in the meeting to hear her complaint. She chose those she could trust to keep her complaint confidential. You have destroyed the poor woman’s trust in her city in your quest to help your own alleged misconduct. You have spoken as a representative of our city and aired our supposed dirty laundry without the permission of your fellow council people. I would like to you to look into section 807 of the City of Hearne Personnel Policy.
1. It is the policy of the City of Hearne that the internal business affairs of the City, particularly confidential information about forthcoming City issues not approved by the City council and/or the City Manager for public disclosure, represent proprietary assets that each employee has a continuing obligation to protect.
2. It is the policy of the City of Hearne that contact with the media will be limited to designated elected officials of the City and designated employees of the City.
Did the council designate you as the spokesman for the council. In most cases the mayor, as the presiding officer, would be the designated spokesperson. If you wish to change this then perhaps you should have asked the council to vote on the issue.
Mr. Russ is not our city attorney and has not received any documents related to city business. He has not invoiced or made claim to represent the city in any manner. He is also not included in every email conversation had between you and our office.
It is my suggestion that the council formerly reprimand you in the form of a resolution and reestablish the designated elected official to speak with the media on sensitive issues.
Boy Wonder actually seems to think that individual council members have no right to voice their own opinions to the media. Maybe Boy Wonder has never heard of the First Amendment, or maybe he is getting his legal advice from Rusty Russ or John Paschall.
Incidentally, this is not the first time Boy Wonder has sent a bizarre, unprofessional email to a council member. Just read the condescending email that he sent to Councilwoman Martha Castilleja. And remember his sniveling complaint that his civil rights being violated because city council members insisted on discussing his poor performance in a public meeting. Seriously, what is wrong with this guy?
One more question: Am I the only person who has noticed that John Naron seems to have a hard time getting along with black people and women?
IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE AUDIT REPORT, DON’T PRETEND THAT YOU KNOW WHAT’S IN IT
In the comments section beneath my Saturday post, Hearne resident Chad Berlan repeated a familiar falsehood peddled by Mayor McCrooked and his cronies, namely that the city’s audit report found no wrongdoing. That can only mean one thing: Mr. Berlan didn’t read the audit report.
How about the evidence in that report that the mayor’s sister had written thousands of dollars worth of hot checks to the city for utilities, but her utilities were never disconnected? Or how about the free football tickets for former Councilman Michael “Sticky Fingers” Werlinger? Read the whole report, Mr. Berlan, then get back to me.
And don’t forget how city hall tried to sabotage the audit by declaring certain subjects off limits. If you want to find out, for example, why Hearne’s utility rates are so much higher than those of surrounding cities, then you need to vote against Mayor McCrooked, Councilman Aguirre, and former Councilwoman LaShunda White (a.k.a. “LaShunda Sellout”) so the audit can be completed without political interference.
Finally, a word about my client, Rodrick Jackson. Mr. Berlan and others have complained that Mr. Jackson is too belligerent in city council meetings. For that matter, similar complaints have been voiced against one of my other clients, Councilwoman Shirley Jackson. Do they play by the Marquess of Queensbury rules? Maybe not, but consider this: if you and every other black resident had been getting ripped off since Reconstruction by the same corrupt ruling class, you might get a little belligerent yourself.
04/27/2017