Chico in turmoil with shrinking City Council

Councilor Kami Denlay resigns
by Leslie Layton | Posted June 28, 2021

photo by Karen Laslo
Councilor Kami Denlay resigned June 27.

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. read more