The Santa Ana City Council held a special meeting regarding allegations of administrative misconduct into Council Member Johnathan Ryan Hernandez on Oct. 28. The council voted 5-1 to continue the discussion at the regular city council meeting on Nov. 19.
City staff filed a formal complaint against Hernandez in 2023, alleging misconduct concerning over-involvement in the planning of the city’s Juneteenth celebration, the Chicano Heritage Festival and its Indigenous People’s Day celebrations. Investigators confirmed allegations of Hernandez attending planning meetings uninvited and confronting city staff regarding cultural competency, but did not confirm allegations of donation solicitation with the events, as reported by the OC Register.
City Attorney Sonia Carvalho announced that three out of the four allegations against Hernandez were confirmed by investigators at the Oct. 15 regular council meeting, also stated by the OC Register.
“[I am being] slandered and discriminated as a council member because of my advocacy to see Black people empowered,” Hernandez said at the Oct. 28 meeting.
“This is not a brown-Black issue, this is about what happened in that investigation,” Mayor Valerie Amezcua said in response to Hernandez.
Hernandez is accused of violating Section 408 of the city’s charter with “interference in administrative matters.”
The charter states that city council members may only “deal with the administrative branch of the city government solely through the city manager or his designated deputy, and neither the city council nor any member thereof shall give orders to any subordinates of the city manager, either publicly or privately.”
Violating the city’s charter is considered a misdemeanor.
Investigators also launched a concurrent probe against Amezcua. Amezcua was accused of “creating a hostile work environment” by former City Manager Kristine Ridge, according to the LA Times. Ridge alleged that Amezcua taunted her for not being able to speak Spanish.
Amezcua’s investigation was not discussed at the Oct. 28 special meeting. Carvalho announced that the allegations were not confirmed at the Oct. 15 meeting.
The city paid Ridge $651,939 in a settlement in October 2023 after Ridge filed a lawsuit alleging Amezcua’s contributions to the workplace environment and claimed she was pressured to give Santa Ana Police Union Gerry Serrano increases in salary.
“I just want to be clear on the reason why we’re here, this is not political,” Amezcua said during the Oct. 28 meeting. “This is the conclusion of the investigation of the report that was given to all the council members sitting up here tonight.”
Amezcua and Hernandez are up for reelection in the Nov. 5 general election. Council members took turns expressing their opinions on the investigation.
“[Hernandez] displayed an apparent bias against city staff,” Council Member David Penaloza said.
He told those at the meeting that Hernandez “would evade the investigator’s questions” in such a manner that would “greatly undermine his credibility.”
Hernandez responded by saying that he “advocated for [his] constituents.”
Hernandez made a Facebook post before the special meeting, apologizing to the community.
“We’ve delivered more housing, protections for renters, good-paying union jobs, new parks, police oversight and more,” Hernandez’s statement read. “I hope to work with city staff, community leaders and organizations to help these events continue, and I apologize that my involvement has been misconstrued as bothersome, which was never my intention.”
Council Member Phil Bacerra disagreed with Hernandez, saying that as council members, they can involve themselves with city activities without violating the city charter.
Council Member and Mayor Pro Tem Thai Viet Phan made the motion for the conversation to be continued during the Nov. 19 meeting, stating that it would give the council more time to review the report.
“I think that if there’s any action that needs to be taken, it should be taken that day,” Phan said at the meeting.
The findings of the investigation have not been made public at this time.
Noosha Taghdiri is a News Intern for the fall 2024 quarter. She can be reached at taghdirn@uci.edu.