Pleasanton attorney resigns, council votes down appointment of police chief, administrator

Pleasanton City Council member Sandy Haynes, center, explains her position on a vote at the city council meeting on Monday, May 4. City Attorney Jacklyn Paletta, left, resigned her post effective immediately after the council failed to vote on her reappointment by Mayor Mathew Young. (Photo by Roger Sims / Linn County Journal)

By Roger Sims, Journal staff

linncountyjournal@icloud.com

PLEASANTON – It was a Monday night "massacre" Pleasanton-style earlier this week. The Pleasanton City Council meeting was marked by spending more than an hour and a half in 11 separate closed-door sessions to discuss non-elected personnel.

The Pleasanton mayor makes annual appointments during the first meeting of May, appointments that then require the council's approval. But not all of his appointments were received positively.

At the end of the evening on Monday, May 4, City Administrator Becky Hegwald still remained employed, and so did Police Chief Tristan Snyder, but their long-term prospects with the city were still up in the air.

City Attorney Jacklyn Paletta, however, submitted her resignation toward the end of the meeting after a motion to consider her reappointment by Mayor Mathew Young died from lack of a second. The resignation was effective immediately.

Facing the imminent loss of her appointment, though, Paletta remained gracious, according to the mayor.

“She was kind enough to make some suggestions,” Young said on Tuesday following the meeting. He said he expects to have a candidate to appoint at the council’s next meeting on May 18.

Young’s appointments of Hegwald and Snyder still stand and they will go into effect at the end of 45 days unless the council votes to pass a resolution deeming either of them unfit or unqualified for their jobs.

The appointments of both Hegwald and Snyder failed on a split 2-to-3 vote with Councilmembers Alex Wills and John Bowley voting to approve the appointments and Councilmembers Rochelle Schreckhise, Sandy Haynes and Kenny Stark voting them down.

The options are that Young withdraw his nominations and submit new appointees, the council can reconsider its votes and approve the appointments or the council can deem the appointees as unfit or unqualified.

Young said he has no intention of withdrawing his appointees. He indicated that it would be difficult for the council to justify calling the two long-term employees as unfit or unqualified.

The decision on Hegwald comes on the heels of her notification to the council at the April 20 meeting that she plans to retire in August. Paletta pointed out that August was further away than the 45-day mark that would make her appointment approved unless the council passes an unfit or unqualified resolution.

Here are the mayor’s appointees that received council approval (all on 5-0 votes except where noted):

• Candy Houtman, city clerk

• Jeff Wisdom, fire chief

• Missy Sherman, city treasurer (4-to-1 with Schreckhise voting against)

• Morgan Watts, municipal court clerk, and deputy city clerk on a separate 4-to-1 vote with Haynes abstaining

• Kartman Highley, police officer

• Zach Ross, probationary police officer

• Patrick Brazeal, part-time officer

• Kevin Goodrum, part-time officer, approved 3-2 with Schreckhise and Haynes voting against

• Achilles Ferrell, part-time officer

• Adam Smith, part-time officer

Before making appointments to the city’s planning and zoning commission, Young made a plea for residents to consider being on that commission. He said two city residents were needed as well as one resident who lived in the growth area around Pleasanton.

Appointments to the planning commission included:

• Missy Sherman, resident, three years

• Wesley Dumcum, resident, three years

• Stewart Baker, resident reappointment, three years

• Teresa Miller, outside city limits, two yearsß