Wasco City Council votes to remove Alex Garcia as mayor

Aug. 4—WASCO — The Wasco City Council voted to remove Mayor Alex Garcia from his position at a meeting Tuesday, a move which Garcia said was in retaliation for his unsuccessful attempt earlier this year to raise the Pride flag at City Hall.

The 4-1 vote, with Garcia as the lone dissenter, came after a fiery public comment section that pitted members of the community against each other. Some urged the council to show mercy to Garcia, who was pulled over in May on suspicion of drunken driving. Others said public officials need to be held accountable for their actions.

No comment, however, was more fiery than Garcia's. Just before the vote to remove him from his council-appointed position, he chastised the council for their attempt.

"Removing the ceremonial gavel from my hand now is not based on the substance of my leadership, but based on bigotry," he said. "This kangaroo court didn't convene until I made the apparent mistake of asking this council, the same council which praised my leadership, to openly affirm Wasco's LGBTQ members with nothing more than a small symbol of acceptance, a small rainbow flag."

In June, a proposal from Garcia to raise the Pride flag failed, a story that was picked up by the Los Angeles Times. Garcia said the council's embarrassment at having their votes written about in a national newspaper ultimately led to his downfall.

"All of this phony concern about my negative effect on the community came because of your shame of being asked to give an account of why you do not accept the LGBTQ community in Wasco," Garcia, who is openly gay, told the council.

But the councilmen characterized their vote as a consequence for Garcia's charges for alleged drunken driving, which was reduced to a single reckless driving charge a week before Tuesday's vote took place.

"Unfortunately as public officials, there's not a lot of people who trust us," said Councilman Vincent Martinez. "There are a lot of allegations that we are corrupt. There's a lot of belief that influential people can break the law and get away with it because they just hire high-powered attorneys and there's no consequences for their actions."

On May 21, a California Highway Patrol officer pulled over Garcia on suspicion of speeding on Highway 43. According to the officer's report, Garcia was subjected to two preliminary alcohol screening tests and two breath tests over a roughly 15-minute period, for which he blew a 0.07 percent first before three samples of 0.08 percent.

Garcia was initially charged with two misdemeanors for driving while under the influence for which he pleaded not guilty. However, he later agreed to plead no contest to the lesser charge of reckless driving in exchange for the court dropping the previous charges.

The plea occurred July 26, but was announced Tuesday, the day of the council meeting. Known as a "wet and reckless," the new charge allows Garcia to avoid time in jail and avoid the suspension of his driver's license.

He has already paid a $1,222 fine and has entered into a one-year informal probationary period, after which he could have the charge dismissed.

"The bottom line is this resulted in a $1,200 fine, and under the circumstances, we determined that was exceptionally favorable to him," Garcia's attorney, H.A. Sala, said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon. "Instead of fully litigating the case, we believe that exoneration, in effect, on the .08 count, the excessive blood alcohol count, was in his best interest."

Sala contended the councilmen seeking to remove Garcia from his position were acting for their own political gain, especially with Garcia's legal issues being effectively settled.

"Why are they continuing to proceed with an action to remove him unless there is some other political motivation?" he said. "The only motivation, in my view, is that it could be for the political gain or aspirations of other members. It could be for other improper motives. It could be because they view him as a rising star in the political arena."

Some members of the community saw it differently. On Tuesday, Brianda Rodriguez spoke out against Garcia keeping his appointment as mayor.

"I don't know if I'm actually disappointed in my mayor or if I'm actually disappointed in my community that is condoning these types of actions today," she said during public comments. "Consequences need to be made and they need to be made now. This is not about your sexuality. This is not personal. This isn't about race. This is about actions."

Garcia will remain on the City Council for the rest of his term. Mayor Pro Tem Gilberto Reyna was voted unanimously to become mayor. Councilman John Pallares was also unanimously voted to the position of mayor pro tem.

You can reach Sam Morgen at 661-395-7415. You may also follow him on Twitter @smorgenTBC.