No-confidence vote preceded Sebastopol police chief’s retirement announcement, union says

Citing low morale, poor leadership and a culture of unpredictable discipline, Sebastopol’s police officers union approved a no-confidence vote in Chief James Conner just over a week before the city announced the chief’s retirement last month, the union said Thursday.

City Manager Larry McLaughlin, Mayor Neysa Hinton and other city leaders were sent a letter about the Sept. 16 vote soon after it was cast, in which Sebastopol Police Officers Association members additionally insisted Conner either voluntarily step down or be removed from the position, the Sebastopol Police Officers Association said in a news release.

The police union argued employee morale took a hit after Conner stepped in as chief in November 2017, when he was tapped to replace his predecessor and careerlong mentor Jeff Weaver, the union said. Employees questioned Conner’s leadership and decision-making skills in the press release, but gave no specific examples of what led employees to lose their confidence in the new chief.

Sebastopol Officer Salvador Villanueva, the vice president of Sebastopol Police Officers Association, declined to explain what issues led members to cast the vote against the department’s leader, saying he would need to consult with a union lawyer before divulging additional information.

“Sebastopol deserves better,” the association news release said. “The poor example of leadership set by Chief Conner has trickled down and poisoned our ranks, and the culture of fear and capricious discipline has resulted in employees who would rather be anywhere else … but feel truly stuck.”

Conner defended his leadership, saying the no-confidence vote was being carried out by a small group of people in the department upset over several ongoing personnel issues, some that predated his time as chief. Rules that prevent the department from talking about internal personnel issues means employees are only getting “a part of the story from other members,” Conner said.

Conner declined to explain what those personnel issues were about, citing the need to maintain employee privacy. Conner began working in the department in April 1996 and made his way up the ranks, eventually becoming second-in-command to Weaver in 2015 when he was promoted to captain. That was his last rank before becoming chief.

“Because they’re confidential personnel matters, the department isn’t allowed to respond to criticisms that are misplaced,” Conner said. “(I’m) disappointed primarily because I had placed a good amount of faith in some of the members in the association that I thought were more reasonable. Unfortunately, there were a sufficient number of members of the (union) that they were able to pass that (vote).”

Villanueva could not confirm whether personnel issues motivated the no-confidence vote, he said. He described strong support for the motion but declined to say how many members of the union, which is made up of police officers, sergeants, dispatchers, records and a police technician positions, approved the move. The department staffs 25 full-time and volunteer members, 14 of which are full-time sworn officers, Conner said.

“A simple majority would have been fine, but it was an overwhelming majority,” Villanueva said of the vote. “We really want to make this a better place to work and live.”

The no-confidence vote, a rare show of defiance among the law enforcement profession, ultimately played a factor Conner’s decision to retire, speeding up the process by about a year or two ahead of when he had planned, he said.

He did not mention the no-confidence vote when interviewed about his retirement, which was announced in a Sept. 25 city news release, because the vote involved the personnel issues that he did not want to speak about publicly, Conner said.

“Bringing negative attention ... just gives the agency and the city a black eye,” he said.

Conner questioned why the union made the vote against him public given he was already set to retire Dec. 26.

Villanueva said the union intended to keep the vote as “quiet as possible” but published the news release after The Press Democrat inquired about the no confidence vote.

Dennis Colthurst, a former Sebastopol Police Department officer who retired in 2013 after a 34-year career with the department, said he was shocked by news of the vote.

Colthurst, who remains in regular contact with some of the agency’s current employees, worked under Conner for a few years beginning about 2011 when Conner was a sergeant, he said. He remembered Conner as an even-tempered and supportive leader, and when it was announced that Conner would take over as chief, Colthurst thought Conner would do a good job in the position, he said.

“Like any chief, he’s getting mixed reviews, but I wasn’t aware of anything this serious at all,” Colthurst said. “I’m sort of blindsided by this.”

McLaughlin, the city manager, said the city was aware of some of the issues raised by the employees in the four-page letter handed to him by union leaders on Sept. 18 because they had to do with matters discussed during labor negotiations, which wrapped up within the last two months.

Other grievances had to do with personnel issues that he could not speak about, he said. None had resulted in lawsuits against the city as of Thursday, he said. Both McLaughlin and Villanueva declined to provide a copy of the letter Thursday.

The city is turning to an outside recruitment firm to help with the hiring of the new chief, which will be open for anyone to apply, McLaughlin said. He expects that process to take about six months.

The city is having ongoing discussions with Sebastopol Police Officers Association leadership, as well as the team that worked on the labor contract, to address the issues outlined in the Sept. 18 letter.