WESTMINSTER City Council on Wednesday delayed a decision on a proposed code of ethics and conduct again, this time to the May 22 council meeting (OC Tribune photo).
By Jim Tortolano
A decision on a proposed code of ethics and conduct for elected and appointed officials was again delayed at Wednesday night’s meeting of the Westminster City Council.
After a contentious discussion that lasted for more than an hour, the council voted 4-1 – with Councilman Sergio Contreras opposed – to continue the matter to the May 22 council meeting. It was previously continued from the March 27 meeting.
Much of the conversation among council members was a back-and-forth between Contreras and Councilwoman Kimberly Ho.
She objected to the code of conduct on two grounds: that Johnson was an appointee of Councilman Tai Do to a city commission and would not be an objective source for the writing of the code, and that the document was too specific.
“This is a total conflict,” she said of Johnson’s new role and complained that the document was too long and detailed. “It needs to be broad. I would like to have a general statement.”
That began a testy exchange between Contreras and Ho.
“You’re not making any sense,” Contreras said.
“I don’t want a detailed statement that details every step a council person could take,” she replied.
“This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard from an elected official,” chimed in Do.
Contreras and Ho kept up their near-dialogue until a motion to approve the code of conduct was made and seconded. But that was overtaken by a substitute motion to delay consideration again to next month.
“I just want to make it clear why I voted against this,” said Contreras. “We’re just going around in circles,” he said, adding that “the community is judging us for this.”