Border-crossing journalism from the Sacramento Valley
David Welch, speaking for the Butte County Democratic Party, today called for a special election to replace two former Chico City councilors: Scott Huber and Kami Denlay.
The Democrats say the council election should be combined with the “attempted recall of the governor.” See our story “Chico in turmoil” for more information on the town’s political drama and homelessness crisis — photo and reporting by Karen Laslo.
This is what a political crisis looks like: Two City Council resignations in seven days. A barely-used emergency shelter for homeless residents that was erected by the city on a remote lot. Social media threads where commenters use terms like “trench warfare” to describe local politics.
The second City Council resignation came June 27 when first-term Councilor Kami Denlay announced she was stepping down — only seven days after her colleague, Scott Huber, had resigned. That leaves two vacancies on the seven-member panel – an unprecedented event, at least in recent decades.
The resignations — from councilors at opposite ends of the political spectrum on the issue of homelessness — come as Chico, bitterly divided over how to manage the problem, approaches a July 2 deadline imposed by a federal judge for action on an emergency shelter.
Councilor Scott Huber has stepped down from the Chico City Council after being subjected to attacks on social media and giving up a temporary summer job out of state.
“…given the tone and content of online discussions I genuinely fear for my family’s well-being. For all of these reasons I resign my Council seat, effective immediately,” Huber says in the June 21 letter.
“It is with regrets and sadness that I submit my resignation from the Chico City Council. Regrets that the community I love and only hoped to serve has become toxic for me, sadness that as hard as I tried modeling civil discourse and respectful treatment of people from the dais, I have clearly failed at changing anyone.”
The Chico City Council, in a special Tuesday meeting, after several failed motions adopted a preliminary plan for spending more than $22 million in American Rescue Plan funds in a 5-2 vote.
A Council majority agreed to remove a jobs training program designed to get unhoused people into the local workforce when they adopted the plan brought to them by City Manager Mark Orme, who called it a preliminary “framework,” or a “road map.”
Roughly, the plan allocates about 50 percent of the funds to improvements in infrastructure, 30 percent to government services and 20 percent to local businesses.
ChicoSol Editor Leslie Layton was honored June 3 for her November story, “An election ends Gridley’s political slumber” by Ethnic Media Services (EMS), a network that supports news outlets serving diverse communities.
In order to recognize the work of ethnic news outlets in 2020, EMS and California Black Media ran a statewide contest that attracted more than 235 entries in eight languages.
Stories by Layton and contributor Dave Waddell were also recognized in the 2020 California Journalism Awards contest run by the California News Publishers Association (CNPA). Layton’s Gridley council story placed fifth in statewide election coverage among digital publications, and Waddell’s story, “Conflict of interest in Stephen Vest killing probe?” placed fifth in investigative reporting.
Sometimes change happens quietly, and sometimes there is a quiet — almost imperceptible –shift in consciousness on a social issue that surprises.
A vigil held on this Memorial Day to remember people killed by law enforcement officers and encourage police reform was organized around the belief that messages can sometimes be heard best when people are quietest. About 50 people gathered for the “Say Their Name” vigil organized by Concerned Citizens for Justice (CC4J) at the Bidwell Park One Mile.
They were encouraged to fan out around the pool to quietly stand with a placard in honor of someone who had been killed by a local law enforcement agency. But the turnout for an event that had been set up quickly was surprisingly high, prompting some to wonder if there should have been an agenda that included more activity.
