City Leaders Declare Peace After Years of Political Rancor

After years of political rancor, allegations of corruption, heated exchanges during city meetings, a spate of ethical complaints lobbed across the City Council dais, and campaign season arguments that ended in police calls and one attempted citizens arrest, Los Alamitos city leaders tried to declare peace Monday night.

In an effort to ease tensions, the City Council voted to back off a series of dueling complaints against one another over compliance with California’s open government law. Most significantly, the council voted to withdraw legal prosecution against Councilman Warren Kusumoto for allegedly leaking details from a closed session council meeting about the city’s ongoing trash contract lawsuit. The council also issued an apology to Kusumoto for ‘overreacting.’ The gesture tempered hostilities between competing factions on the council Monday night, but the peace is tenuous.

For his part, Kusumoto is skeptical of the newfound good will.

“You know I know all this peace and love is all nice and all, but I want to say the City Council and the city attorney took it way too far.”

By a 3 to 1 vote last month, the Council voted to prosecute Kusumoto for a Brown Act violation after he publicly recused himself from closed session council meetings, citing his disagreement with fellow council members over strategies for handling a lawsuit over the city's trash contract.

Kusumoto said he tried to take the accusations in stride but after hiring an attorney to defend himself, he’s angry with fellow council members for elevating the issue to a legal matter.

“I laughed about it, but now I am upset. I really am,” he said. “How do you unring the bell? I don’t think you can. Who knows what anybody’s true intentions are. I want to believe they’re good. But I am going to be skeptical.”

Mayor Troy Edgar attempted to make amends.

“I would like to personally apologize to Councilman Kusumoto,” said Mayor Troy Edgar. “I would just like to put this behind us.”

“We’ve lost the way, and this is just indicative of the problem,” added Edgar. “We’ve got to be a little more intellectually honest about what this is about because it goes a lot deeper.”

Similarly, Councilwoman Marilynn Poe acknowledged longstanding quarrels behind the current dysfunction on the council.

“If we are going to call a truce, I think we have to call it all around,” said Poe. “My point is that it works both ways. There has been mud thrown and allegations made against everyone up here.”

Poe said she has been the subject of complaints to the Fair Political Practices Commission and was named along with Edgar and Councilman Kenneth Stephens in a lawsuit filed by Kusumoto’s supporters accusing them of corruption for awarding the $24.5 million trash contract to a company that was not the lowest qualified bidder. A judge threw out the allegation, but the damage to the reputation is done, added Stephens.

“We have had a division on this council for the past three years that I have been up here. Things have been pretty divisive all along, and I don’t know why,” he said. “Some of the best ideas we have had up here have been split votes.”

City Attorney Sandra Levin, who wrote the staff report alleging Kusumoto’s Brown Act violation and recommending prosecution in response, took on some of the blame for the situation.

“I will offer an apology to all of you,” she said. “In hindsight, I probably should have been more vocal on the dangers in heading down this path.”

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