A political scandal is brewing in Menlo Park, where three City Councilmembers are accused of secretly scheduling a closed session meeting at a time during which two of their council colleagues are unable to attend due to their full-time jobs, and without the knowledge or consent of Mayor Drew Combs, which breaks typical protocol.
According to the Almanac, which broke the story, Councilmembers Jen Wolosin, Cecilia Taylor and Vice Mayor Betsy Nash reportedly scheduled the mysterious meeting, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Beyond the public meeting agenda stating the closed session would be about the “public employee performance evaluation of the City Manager,” Mayor Combs, Councilmember Ray Mueller and City Manager Starla Jerome-Robinson told the Almanac they were unaware what the meeting is about. Sources within City Hall have stated they believe that the meeting is seeking to remove the City Manager.
Councilmember Wolosin denied there was an attempt to exclude council colleagues from the meeting, but declined to state why the meeting was urgent and could not be rescheduled, according to the Almanac.
In the wake of the Almanac’s report, councilmembers opened the special meeting Tuesday and a motion was immediately made and approved to move the meeting until 5 p.m. Wednesday.
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Photo courtesy of the City of Menlo Park
