Chaos, confusion continue with La Jolla Town Council’s actions

LA JOLLA In recent days wracked by internal dissension the La Jolla Town Council on July swore in five new trustees to replace members who resigned in protest over the policies and leadership style of the current president This majority up-to-date action came in response to weeks of infighting and serious disagreements among group members that have led various area members to call for the current council to be dissolved The current council has complained that specific of its members have been bullied and harassed at work for continuing to patronage the present council and its policies The July LJTC meeting was rare in numerous avenues For one the five new LJTC board members Arthur Myo Don Searcy Karan Gurung Kevin Healy and Simeon Rosas were sworn in by Jamul tribal elder Kenny Meza rather than by a city official as is customary The newly sworn-in members were also appointed by LJTC president Mary Soriano not vetted or elected by LJTC board members Also for the July meeting the group s bylaws were unexpectedly amended decreasing the number of council members from to seven That was done so that a quorum the number of members necessary to vote and take action could be satisfied with fewer board members present Previously LJTC s board comprised to members But the latest departure of eight trustees two dismissed by Soriano who ve resigned since April from the LJTC board has hamstrung the board because trustee defections rendered the group unable to achieve a quorum precluding their taking any actions On July Soriano defended the council s performance during her tenure We have so a multitude of accomplishments she declared noting as one example We filled potholes in La Jolla She also cited repairs made in the last few days to the Children s Playground at La Jolla Rec Center as another instance of positive developments made during her administration It s the unity of this council that s pulled together through all of this noted Soriano As council president my responsibility is to protect this council and our trustees We ve had several hardships lately We ve gone through quite a bit An official comment by the reconstituted LJTC board was then read into the record to address ongoing concerns of inappropriate conduct that has impacted our organization s ability to serve the locality Excerpts from that comment read The purpose of La Jolla Town Council is to promote the social cultural educational and environmental betterment of the society We respectfully request that you council critics discontinue all communications to current LJTC trustees and cease populace statements that may be detrimental to the organization LJTC has experienced ongoing disruptions that have raised concerns for our trustees well-being and our operational effectiveness These ongoing disruptions have unfortunately affected LJTC s ability to conduct business efficiently continued the official message We have experienced delays in presentations to our district and have had to modify meeting formats to accommodate these challenges Any and all harassment and bullying will not be tolerated by LJTC Moving forward LJTC remains committed to serving the La Jolla society with integrity and professionalism Let us just continue stated Soriano after the reading of the new group s official report We re just serving the area That s all that we re trying to do Several people from the audience including a couple of LJTC board members who have resigned spoke out against the current town council alleging selected of its actions have been done unilaterally and without the proper consent or authorization of the general membership The decisions that have been made here are wild commented LJTC trustee Cody Petterson who has been dismissed from the LJTC board It s honestly such gaslighting I m shocked All I ve ever sought for is that we have a populace discussion This is not an honest or transparent process You re going to have empty meetings because people are just not going to feel connected to this at all From the audience Catharine Douglass also expressed shock at the ongoing proceedings pointing out her surprise that pillars of the area have been called out by name publicly during LJTC board infighting One audience member pointedly petitioned the current council How can you appoint new trustees when there wasn t a quorum to do it Another person suggested this council debate is destined to ultimately end in legal proceedings La Jolla Town Council Established in La Jolla Town Council is a long-standing population association serving the residents and businesses of La Jolla It was initially begun to amplify La Jolla s voice to the San Diego City Council Renowned scientist Roger Revelle who was instrumental in founding UC San Diego played a key role in the council s formation and early expansion The council subsequently evolved from the unification of different civic groups in the group including its then chamber of commerce merchant association and conservation society LJTC acts as a liaison with the city on land use beautification crime and other pertinent population issues It also serves as a forum for area discussion and debate LJTC continues to be an working force in La Jolla holding regular meetings participating in society events and working with city bureaucrats The group is supported by volunteer members whose work is accomplished through numerous committees