Quartzsite Council Terminates Town Manager Alex Taft

After weeks spent on what was likely administrative leave that violated the contract with Town Manager Alexandra Taft, the Quartzsite Council came out of executive session and voted to terminate her. There was no discussion or explanation.  Many speculate that Taft had been threatening a lawsuit. If she pursues one, she will be paying to defend her actions, instead of the taxpayers.

This is the most recent in a string of terminations that include Town Attorney Martin Brannan, Assistant Town Manager Albert Johnson. Planning and Zoning Director Nora Yackley, and Police Administrator Janet Brannan.

Quartzsite Town attorney files grievance over termination

Read the document here

In a tell all and sometimes fanciful recounting of the last year and a half, Quartzsite Town Attorney Martin Brannan has filed a complaint with the Arizona Personnel Board. He is basically alleging a hostile work environment, that ironically, he helped to create, and mental anguish related to a preexisting 50% disability for "post traumatic stress disorder".

Brannan states that he was too mentally ill to attend his own hearing before the Quartzsite Town Council, and despite he and his wife being well compensated as town employees he could not afford treatment. According to Brannans claim, “Dr. Franklin ordered me to go to the emergency room for an immediate psych evaluation as I had exceeded his ability to be of assistance… Not being able to afford the $250 co-pay for the local emergency room …I sent an email to Bruno explaining that I was not well.”

 Brannan is demanding severance pay, and will likely pursue civil damages, however, A.R.S. Section A.R.S. § 12-2202 requires that “Persons who are of unsound mind at the time they are called to testify shall not be witnesses in a civil action.” Likewise, Rule 35(a) of Arizona Civil Procedure states, “When the mental or physical condition (including the blood group) of a party [...] is in controversy, the court in which the action is pending may order the party to submit to a physical or mental examination by a physician or psychologist or to produce for examination the person in the party’s custody or legal control. The order may be made only on motion for good cause shown and upon notice to the person to be examined and to all parties and shall specify the time, place, manner, conditions, and scope of the examination and the person or persons by whom it is to be made.” It is not known if there are similar requirments for the Arizona State Personnel Board, or if any “testimony” Brannon gives in this matter or any other is even admissable.

He is demanding the following relief from the AZ Personnel Board:

1) That the State Personnel Board enjoins the Town of Quartzsite from terminating me with cause.
2) That the State Personnel Board orders the Town of Quartzsite to change the termination to a without cause termination and pay the severance owed as a result thereof.
3) That the State Personnel Board orders Laura Bruno to pay a civil penalty of up to five thousand dollars to the Town of Quartzsite general fund to be paid by Laura Bruno, not the Town of Quartzsite.
4) That the State Personnel Board finds that Laura Bruno committed a prohibited personnel practice against Complainant, who disclosed information that Complainant reasonably believed evidenced a violation of any law.
5) That the State Personnel Board orders Laura Bruno to pay a civil penalty of up to ten thousand dollars.
6) That the State Personnel Board orders the Town of Quartzsite to dismiss Laura Bruno.
7) That the State Personnel Board bars Laura Bruno from any future employment by the Town of Quartzsite.

Brannan's contract was terminated on October 30th,  "with cause" for the following reasons:
1. Violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys in the State of Arizona, including a conflict of interest in violation of Ethical Rule 1.7(a). You gave advice to Council of the Town  Quartzsite regarding personnel matters then initiated legal action against advised Council members for failure to follow advice.
2. Material Misrepresentation to Town Council and Violation of Town Procurement Code. Stating to Council on March 27, 2012 that there would be no authorization to use town funds in connection with a voter fraud investigation; You later claimed that you had authority to hire Mr. Humphreys to perform an investigation without approval of the Council for the expenditure and incurred expenses in excess of $8,000 on behalf of the Town without authorization from Town Council, in violation of Town Code Section 3-401H.
3. Attempted and actual abandonment of your position; Seeking to abandon your position by repeatedly requesting notice of constructive discharge from acting Town Manager Frausto; Abandoning your position by packing your belongings and not returning to work.
4. Intimidation of Acting town Manager and coercion to acquire her signature on a document purporting to recuse herself in regards to personnel matters.
5. Acting in violation of your duties of loyalty.

Brannan states that he was hired because "the Town was looking for a “hard-ass” town attorney", and that he "was advised the town was factionalized, but this was something of an understatement". According to Brannan, the recently released DPS report "provided information from which a reasonably prudent person could conclude that Gilbert did misuse the NCIC and ACJIS and did tamper with a witness. The Town was asked, however, to hold on to the information while it was reviewed by the AMRRP attorneys defending the federal lawsuit involving the seven employees, so no action was taken immediately upon receipt of the report." He claims the charge of witness tampering is being reconsidered for prosecution by the Attorney General's Office and discusses the reason that Gilbert and Sgt. Fabiola Garcia were put on administrative leave this summer, "Gilbert and one of his sergeants, a female with whom he appears to be romantically, or at the very least, inappropriately involved, had conspired to submit a time card for the charge which stated that she had worked nine hours and taken one vacation hour on a day when the Town knew that the sergeant was only in Quartzsite available to work for no more than six hours." This charge was subsequently stated by the town to be unsubstantiated and Garcia returned to work with QPD.

Brannan also claims that Councilman Mark Orgeron orchestrated open meeting violations, and that Orgeron's choice for "Interim Town Manager", CASA pension schemer Laura Bruno intimidated town employees, and engaged in prohibited personnel practices.

Council hires "interim" town manager, She lays off assistant town manager!

At today's 2 pm meeting of the Quartzsite Common Council, a continuation of yesterday mornings adjourned regular meeting, all members of the council except Patricia Workman followed Mark Orgeron's lead and voted to approve signing a six month contract with Laura Bruno, the former Chief Financial Officer for the Sacramento City Unified School District.

Bruno's resume supplied to the council left off in 2002, before her greatest achievement - the illegal pension scheme known as “CASA”. She is also involved with the Southwest Chapter of the American Coach Association rally at Rice Ranch in January. Records indicate they own a parcel in Quartzsite, on Emelia.

Temporary Town Manager Terry Frausto will revert to Town Clerk, and most items on the council agenda were adjorned to the next meeting, so the the new administrator could familiarize herself with them. According to Councilman Orgeron, Bruno's mission will be to audit the books and redo the town's ordinances.

Her first official act was to place Al Johnson, the towns unpopular Assistant Town Manager/Building Official on Paid administrative leave, but the actual reasons are unknown at this time. It is believed that his firing Gilbert without authorization or notifying the council or "town manager" may be the reason. Much the same as the ongoing situation with Town Manager Alex Taft, the woman Bruno is replacing for now.  Citizen's are eagerly awaiting an official explanation for Taft's paid administrative leave, and the council can't discuss that, as it was handled in executive session.

Interestingly, Bruno reports that Police Chief Gilbert is not fired after all, despite the press release from Johnson. Hopefully, an official press release explaining all of this from the town will be forthcoming.

UPDATE: A press conference was held and can be viewed at: http://youtu.be/cMrRaWkUfoM

See also:
http://bellforschoolboard.org/content/sacramento-schools-casa-case-reopens-old-wounds

http://www.calstate.edu/pa/clips2003/october/13oct/casa.shtml

Quartzsite Police Chief Jeff Gilbert fired!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

http://www.ci.quartzsite.az.us/Support%20Docs/Press%20Release%20Chief.html

Today, the Town of Quartzsite fired controversial Police Chief Jeff Gilbert for “gross negligence and willful misconduct”. See official press release above. 

Gilbert had been placed on paid administrative leave while under investigation by the Arizona Department of Public Safety for allegedly facillitating "the false presentation of a time sheet containing false information." Rather than follow the restrictions set forth for his leave, he chose to use his vacation days. According to the press release, he is currently in somewhere in Alabama.

The press release was posted to the town's website at  8:50 am. A three page letter included in the press release was sent by certified mail to Gilbert in Alabama, however it was reported elsewhere that, "According to Gilbert, Johnson talked to him on his cell phone at exactly 9:00 am today (Arizona time). There had been a previous call, but cell service was not available." 
  
The source also stated that the Town Council did not know Johnson had fired Gilbert. There was apparently an “incident” outside Town Hall where Town Attorney Martin Brannan was confronted by angry council members and citizens.

http://paloverdevalleytimes.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&subsectionID=747&articleID=17651

http://ktar.com/22/1574480/Vacationing-Quartzsite-police-chief-fired

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Embattled-police-chief-of-Quartzsite-is-fired-3860819.php

http://www.kvoa.com/news/embattled-police-chief-of-quartzsite-is-fired/

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_central_southern_az/other/quartzsite-fires-police-chief-jeff-gilbert-for-negligence-and-misconduct

Quartzsite videographer arested in town hall

Another critic of Quartzsite officials has been jailed in what appears to be retaliation. Local Realtor Doug Gilford has gained notoriety as the blogger and videographer who filmed the unlawful removal of Desert Freedom Press Publisher Jennifer Jones, from a June 28th town council meeting. The video has been viewed over two hundred thousand times on Gilford's YouTube channel.

Yesterday afternoon, around 3:30 Gilford was at the counter in Town Hall, filing an open records request for town hall feed surveillance tape when Assistant Town Manager Al Johnson confronted Gilford.  Apparently feeling threatened, Gilford set his camera on the counter but didn't hit record, when suddenly Johnson snatched it from across the counter. When Gilford called for police assistance, he ended up being arrested instead of Johnson.

Gilford was booked into the La Paz County jail on charges of harassment, trespassing, and false reporting to law enforcement. He was released on $500 bond. Mayor Ed Foster and Doug's wife Teri picked him up at time around 8pm last night.

Since filming the now infamous Jennifer Jones video, Doug Gilford has been assaulted with a barrage of misdemeanor charges. He was charged with three counts of harassment and noticed to turn himself into the La Paz County Jail for asking Councilman Winslow a question about the town council's failure to put embattled Police Chief Jeff Gilbert on administrative leave, following criminal allegations by 80% of his department.
See: http://www.youtube.com/user/1qtown#p/u/34/KAEE5Rl0Pz0

When Gilford showed up at his arraignment this week, he was informed that he was being charged with ten additional misdemeanors for harassment, disorderly conduct and false reporting to law enforcement, for complaints he had filed against town officials. He will be arraigned on all thirteen charges on September 13th, at 10am,  in the Quartzsite Magistrate Court, under Judge Karen Slaughter.

Gilford has been for driving around town with a large sign directed at the Quartzsite Town Council that reads: "GO QUIT RESIGN!"

He has no prior criminal history, and is best known for his volunteer work with the homeless with his wife Teri.

For more information, follow Doug's blog at: http://qtown.us/blog/

AZ Republic exposes all

Dennis Wagner's in depth story makes front page.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2011/07/17/20110717quartzsite-arizona-political-feud-continues.html

8:42 am | 92°

July 17, 2011 |

Quartzsite's bitter political feud continues

35 commentsby Dennis Wagner - Jul. 17, 2011 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

QUARTZSITE - The mayor called a Town Council meeting, but five of the six council members didn't show up.
So the mayor denounced them as cowards.
The town manager was inexplicably absent.
Several police officers attended the meeting in May to read a statement asking that the police chief be investigated. They alleged abuse of authority, including the arrests of numerous political enemies.
They never got a chance to speak, however, because the building inspector who recently had been promoted to assistant town manager suddenly made an announcement:
"City Hall is closed, and this meeting is over."
About 120 concerned Quartzsite residents, as colorful and raucous as a "Jerry Springer Show" audience, were brusquely ushered outside under threat of arrest.
Such scenes are becoming commonplace in Quartzsite, "The Rock Capital of the World," where the old saying "you can't fight city hall" is being severely tested.
In the past two weeks, more than 85,000 people have watched a YouTube video showing a local newspaper publisher handcuffed and hauled out of the council chambers as she talked about free speech. Council members, who said they received death threats, convened a secret meeting and declared a state of emergency. The mayor and other critics condemned those moves as illegal and pleaded for state investigators to intercede.
But long before the video went viral and the media trained a spotlight on Quartzsite, town government here was already helter-skelter.

Raucous infighting

There may be debate as to who is right or which side is winning. But it's undisputed that municipal business has become a sideshow to infighting that disrupts nearly every town department and meeting.
Mayor Ed Foster, newspaper publisher Jennifer "Jade" Jones and most of the police officers in Quartzsite say the Town Council and police chief ignore Arizona's public-records law and misuse police power to silence their critics.
"There's a cabal running Quartzsite," Foster said, "and I'm about to take it down."
Council members and the police chief, in turn, say their critics are simply a bunch of agitators trying to stir up trouble.
By last Sunday, six days after the video was posted on YouTube, the political firestorm was so heated that council members announced plans to conduct future meetings without public notice and to prohibit comments from citizens.
Foster said that decision was made in violation of Arizona law. "I refused to be a part of an illegal meeting behind closed doors," he said. "I announced the meeting was canceled, but they went right ahead."
The incident is just the latest in a circus act that for years has paralyzed the town: dysfunction and distrust fueled by a historical feud, recall attempts and allegations of public malfeasance, abuse of power and government secrets.
In the past three years alone, Quartzsite has been through five mayors and a trio of recall elections. (Foster, who has been mayor since 2010, is facing a recall vote next month.) The municipal government is buried in costly lawsuits.
And at least 10 Quartzsite activists, including the mayor and four past council members or candidates, said they were charged with petty crimes after criticizing the Town Council and Police Chief Jeff Gilbert.
Foster, who leads the anti-establishment group, has asked the Arizona Attorney General's Office, the state Department of Public Safety and the Arizona Ombudsman's Office to investigate public malfeasance. A DPS probe is under way. The attorney general closed one inquiry but has been asked to take on another. The ombudsman found that the Town Council violated state public-records laws.
"They make up laws as they go," Foster said of council members. "They think they're a kingdom here, and because we're a small town, they've gotten away with it.
"I've been trying to find out where all the money goes in this place. But the town manager won't even speak with me, . . . and the council passed a law that says I can't get any reports." The resolution passed by the council instructs town staff members not to give the mayor any documents unless the entire council approves the release of information.
Jones, who publishes a newspaper known as the Desert Freedom Press, has been arrested four times on at least a dozen charges. In one instance, she was jailed for disturbing the peace after flipping her middle finger at rivals in Town Hall.
Last month, as Jones attempted to make a statement about freedom of speech during the council's public-comment session, she was handcuffed and hauled out of the chambers.
Video of that incident has been viewed by thousands on YouTube. While the mayor insists that Jones is authorized to speak, council members vote to silence her. Police move in, pry the microphone from her grip and drag her away.
"They put me in some kind of police hold with my arms in the air like chicken wings, and they jerked me up in the air," said Jones, who was taken to a hospital for an elbow sprain. "It's absolutely crazy. Finally, someone outside of Quartzsite is seriously looking at this," she said of recent media attention.
Even most of the police force balks at such arrests. In May, 10 of the town's 14 sworn officers passed a no-confidence vote against the chief, alleging in a written statement that he uses "bully tactics" to intimidate members of the community "if they disagree with his methodology and political affiliation."
The Quartzsite Police Officers Association asked the state Department of Public Safety and Arizona's Peace Officer Standards and Training agency to investigate. In a written statement, association leaders alleged that the chief uses restricted justice-system computers "to find 'dirt' on political candidates." They also said that officers are "ordered to make traffic stops and arrest/cite citizens who the chief believes are against him."
Chief Gilbert would make only a brief statement to The Arizona Republic: "I will certainly be cleared of any of the allegations, any of the criminal allegations."

Political intrigue

Motorists might avoid Quartzsite completely if Interstate 10 didn't cut right through its barren heart on the way to LA.
The town, 130 miles west of Phoenix, is a retirement haven with one of the nation's most geriatric populations, a place where abundant idle time may contribute to political intrigue.
In the summer, heat mirages shimmer over empty RV parks and the population dwindles to about 3,600.
In the winter, more than 200,000 snowbirds flock to town for a few weeks of sunshine, swap meets and gem shows.
There's a local bookstore where the male proprietor wears nothing but a G-string. At the political hot spot, known as "Main Street Laundromat and Eatery," you can get a shower for an extra six bucks.
That business is owned by Councilman Jerry Lukkasson and his wife, Michelle, who directed the most recent recall campaign, targeting Mayor Foster. Councilman Lukkasson acknowledged that endless political wars interfere with town business and cost a fortune.
"I'm so tired of the negativity," he said, "but I know I'm part of it."
In fact, municipal politics got nasty almost as soon as the town incorporated two decades ago: Rex Byrd, who would become the town's second mayor, was accused of a 1993 murder-for-hire plot against his political rival, Richard Oldham, the first mayor. Byrd was found guilty and spent six months in prison before the conviction was overturned because of contradictory witness testimony. Then he resumed his post at Town Hall.
Councilman Jose Lizarraga, a longtime resident, said that incident drew early battle lines in Quartzsite's otherwise non-violent version of the legendary Hatfield-McCoy feud.
"You have such a long history of hate in this town between one side and the other," Lizarraga said. "It was the Byrds and Oldhams, and that division line is still there."
Today's council meetings, often packed with colorful residents aiming video cameras at one another, resemble Jerry Springer shows.
Warring newspapers and Internet blogs mingle factual reports with rumors. Jones' competitor, Shanana "Rain" Golden-Bear, puts out a publication known as the Desert Messenger. The rivals have vilified each other in print, spied on each other, filed criminal complaints with police and obtained orders of protection in court.
Their spat, and the town's other high jinks, might seem comical except that people are going to jail, reputations are getting ruined and public money is being squandered.

Citations, warnings

Foster, a former Marine who became a snowbird after retiring as an engineer at the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., got his first criminal citation in 2009, before he became mayor.
He says he was accused by police of disorderly conduct after a verbal disagreement with a Town Council candidate. Charges were dropped by the prosecutor.
Chief Gilbert initiated another case against Foster in March 2010 for "false reporting of an emergency" because Foster's newspaper, the Mineshaft, questioned the quality of local water. The prosecutor again refused to press charges.
A month later, police investigated Foster for allegedly campaigning too close to a polling site. He denied the allegation, and charges again were dropped.
Foster ran for mayor as a reform candidate last year and won. Before he took office, incumbent council members so distrusted him that they adopted an ordinance wiping out his powers as the top elected official. They also began holding sessions away from Town Hall, which earned a letter of warning from the La Paz County attorney for violating Arizona's public-meeting law.
In March, a recall campaign was launched against some incumbents. Prior to the election, council members adopted an ordinance banning candidates who owed money to the town. Christina Kohn, a staff attorney for the Goldwater Institute, a Phoenix-based government watchdog organization, said town leaders other than Foster simply ignored letters warning that the ordinance is unconstitutional.
"It didn't seem to matter to them," Kohn said. "That seems to be part of a larger pattern of lawlessness going on in the town."
Foster, the mayor, said Alexandra Taft, the town manager, refused to give him basic information on expenditures and employee salaries. He complained to the state Ombudsman's Office, which investigated and agreed that Quartzsite was in violation of the Arizona public-records laws.

Harassment alleged

Publisher Jones' battle with the town began three years ago and stemmed from a series of disputes with zoning officials and police over her pet-grooming business, A Fur Salon, located at a swap meet.
Jones says town inspectors and police trespassed, assaulted her husband and launched a harassment campaign. Police reports dispute those allegations and accuse Jones of instigating confrontations.
As a series of follow-up incidents escalated into criminal charges, Jones pursued a federal restraining order that says police made false arrests "as a tool for political retribution." One day after municipal officials were served, Jones was arrested as she arrived at a meeting in Town Hall, charged with obstructing governmental operations and making a false report to law enforcement.
"I just kept pushing, and they just kept pushing back," Jones said. "None of the charges against me have come to court."
Numerous other activists tell of being cited or arrested for minor offenses after taking sides in the political feud. For self-protection, they began monitoring police radios, carrying video cameras and dialing 911 to request sheriff's deputies as witnesses whenever they were confronted by town officers.
Former town prosecutor Matt Newman said he refused to press charges in many of the misdemeanor cases and was summarily dismissed by the council without explanation. "I was saying that the criminal law is too important to use for political purposes," Newman said. "There were several cases where I said, 'No, I'm not going to file complaints.' "
Robert Wechsler, director of research for City Ethics, a non-profit group that advises local governments on ethics issues, said there is a "serious disrespect for laws and rights" going on in Quartzsite. "Outside authorities will have to be brought in to investigate what has happened and to get the town government working," he said. "It's important to recognize that this is an institutional problem, not an individual problem. For example, if it were simply an individual problem, the police chief would be long gone."

'Nothing invested'

In interviews, two council members said Foster, Jones and other critics are just naysayers out to wreck Quartzsite.
"All they're trying to do is stir trouble," Lukkasson said. "They have nothing invested in this town. After they've created all of the havoc, they can just pull up their sewer hoses and move out."
Lizarraga, who was appointed to the council, said he despises Foster because the mayor criticized incumbents during an election campaign and previously tried to remove Lizarraga from his position. "I'll tell you straight out: I don't like that man," the councilman said. "I believe his ethics are questionable."
In interviews, Lizarraga and Lukkasson said they do not care if some council meetings are deemed unlawful or if public-records laws are broken. Nor do they believe accusations against the police chief. In February, they extended the police chief's contract and increased his pay.
Dissidents and police-association leaders said they want an independent state investigation.
Foster answered the Town Council's emergency declaration with an editorial in his newspaper that says the council members "are going to be exposed no matter how many crises they attempt to manufacture in an effort to avoid disclosure."
"And there's one significant difference now: The world is watching."

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2011/07/17/20110717quartzsite-arizona-political-feud-continues.html#ixzz1SNUjfR2U

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