Publicly released city of Delano emails reveal bizarre claims
ADelano city councilwoman claims retired police chief Robert Nevarez retaliated against a police office who is close to her. Vice mayor Veronica Vasquez claims the then police chief was “going after” the officer and accused Nevarez of “passive aggressive” behavior toward her. Further, she claims Nevarez kept her home under surveillance.
“I spoke with my family about the situation and it is of concern how the Chief has used City resources to watch our home,” Vasquez wrote in an email dated April 1, 2021.
This and other information was revealed publicly for the first time at the April 4 Delano City Council meeting, but not before attempts were made to quash it and keep it hidden from the public. So why release this information now? Let’s recap. As I wrote in an earlier column, Delano resident Mike Gutierrez made claims that Vasquez interfered in an internal Delano police investigation in which an officer had been reprimanded for inappropriate conduct. Further, Vasquez allegedly demanded city manager Maribel Reyna remove the reprimand from the officer’s file, but Reyna refused.
Shortly after, city councilman Joe Alindajao began calling for an outside independent investigation to determine if Vasquez had violated what’s known as the city’s “anti-interference” code, which states that the city manager shall take orders from the City Council as a body, not from an individual member.
To strengthen his case, Alindajao made a motion to have the City Council waive its attorney-client privilege and make public two internal emails on the matter. Before the vote was taken, Vasquez supporters urged the council not to release the emails, with some claiming it was nothing more than “political theater” and a bunch of “chisme” (gossip). Others said the public had a right to know if their elected leaders had acted for their own self-interests or for the benefit of their friends.
One of the emails released is the one from above in which Vasquez made the claims against Nevarez. Yet she never offered any proof, at least not in the email He said, “Nothing could be further from the truth.” He sounded taken aback by what I had read to him. “I can promise you that any allegations made about surveying or watching any councilmember are inaccurate,” he said. He concluded, “That said, I have moved forward and prefer not to dwell on something from the past. I still love Delano and respect the people.”
Nevarez was Delano’s police chief for three years and had a hands-on approach with the community, especially with immigrants. Nevarez said he could not comment on any internal investigation against a police officer.
The second email made public is from Delano City Attorney Rachel Richman dated April 2, 2021 and sent to Vasquez, City Manager Maribel Reyna and Mayor Bryan Osorio. It is blunt and warns Vasquez to stay out of specific employee matters.
“Those issues are not within the scope of elected officials’ roles and can expose the City or the individual councilmember to liability for acting outside of their scope and for improper interference in employee matters,” it reads. I first asked Vasquez about the allegations against her made by Mike Gutierrez back in December. Her response? “Those are false allegations by Mike Gutierrez,” Vasquez replied in a text message. The email written by Richman clearly shows otherwise, however.
According to Alindajao, the emails (read them at Bakersfield.com) shined a light on what was going on behind the scenes.
“The emails established several important facts; specifically, that she (Vasquez) was involved with a police officer and that the police department was conducting an investigation into that officer. Of course, the vice-mayor spun the investigation as simply a witch-hunt against her, but never acknowledging or addressing the conduct of the officer or her involvement in the investigation. Remember, an investigation would have provided much more information and context into the Vice-mayor’s conduct,” Alindajao wrote in an email. But the call for an investigation was voted down with a 2-2 vote. Mayor Osorio and Councilman Salvador Solorio-Ruiz voted against it, while Vasquez recused herself.
But many questions remain. What is the relationship between the police officer disciplined and Vasquez? Why was he disciplined? Why was Vasquez accusing the ex-police chief of retaliation and of spying on her home? Since there will be no investigation, we may never get an answer to these questions.
“I am confident that an investigation would have concluded in a finding that the vice-mayor violated the law,” Alindajao said. “Nevertheless, the effect of the process which began in December 2021 during open public session has had the effect of a censure on the vice-mayor and a win for those who advance transparency, accountability and ethical conduct.”
I called, texted and emailed Vasquez numerous times to ask her about this. To date, I have no response from the vice mayor. It’s not to late to come forth. Just call me.