220406 1636 Fwd_ OC Register Article from my FB pageFrom:Frances Marquez
To:Alisha Farnell; Fred Galante; Peter Grant
Subject:Fwd: OC Register Article from my FB page
Date:Wednesday, April 6, 2022 4:36:19 PM
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Frances Marquez <marquezfrances13@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Apr 6, 2022 at 2:49 PM
Subject: Fwd: OC Register Article from my FB page
To: Frances Marquez <marquezfrances13@gmail.com>
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Frances Marquez <marquezfrances13@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Feb 18, 2022 at 8:24 PM
Subject: OC Register Article from my FB page
To: <monacharlenesimpson@gmail.com>
I am grateful to my family, friends, neighbors and community members who helped me get
elected and have supported me through my first year. This article shines a light on my work on
the Cypress City Council. Your love and support over the years is greatly appreciated.
Love,
Frances
* * * * * * * * * *
"As Cypress weighs district voting, anger erupts at city councilwoman"
By SUSAN CHRISTIAN GOULDING | sgoulding@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: February 7, 2022 at 4:57 p.m. | UPDATED: February 7, 2022 at 5:34 p.m.
Depending on where and how you look at it, Cypress is either a quiet bedroom community or
a bustling center of commerce.
The north Orange County city is home to 50,000 residents, with a comfortable median
household income of about $93,000.
While small in size at 6.6 square miles, Cypress boasts a healthy tax base and a host of
employers – including UnitedHealth Group, Yamaha Motor, Costco, Home Depot, Los
Alamitos Race Course, Cypress College, Forest Lawn Memorial Park, several hotels and, as of
November, a 23-acre Amazon last-mile facility.
Still, heated disputes bubble beneath the surface. And sometimes they erupt.
In meetings, city officials openly bristle at newcomer Frances Marquez – who, they say,
introduces agenda items that are needlessly contentious, such as flying the LGBTQ Pride flag.
Three weeks ago, in an awkward outburst, Councilman Jon Peat angrily yelled at her about a
subcommittee committee from which she was excluded.
“I am tired of being scolded by you in public,” he said. “What gives you the right to sit here
and criticize all of us?”
At the podium, residents address the negative tenor of council meetings – noting the “bad
optics” of the four-member majority chiding the lone woman of color.
“I am appalled and shocked by how our City Council members treat one of their colleagues,”
said resident Brittney Cook, an insurance agent. “If I behaved like that in the corporate world,
I’d be fired.”
Residents complain that, with all the council members except Marquez living close together,
other neighborhoods are overlooked. They grouse about the huge Amazon distribution center
inserted on Katella Avenue near their homes, and a pay-to-use sports park now under
construction in another part of town.
Some denizens slam a no-bid extension of a trash collection contract, maintaining it was
swayed by conflicts of interest on the council.
And now, adding stress upon stress, the city must decide whether to carve out council districts
– with the alternative of a potentially expensive lawsuit.
Threat of litigation
Like a dozen Orange County cities before it, Cypress last September received a letter alleging
that its election system dilutes minority voices.
Currently, all Cypress voters decide on all five council seats. With districts, voters choose only
one council member who lives within their area.
The by-district method, intended to better serve groups with common interests, is generally
favored by the California Voters Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA).
Cypress’ threat of a lawsuit came from prolific Malibu attorney Kevin Shenkman, who
specializes in going after cities and school districts that still hold at-large elections.
Fighting CVRA violation claims in court has proved costly and fruitless for those that try.
Seven years ago, Anaheim spent $1.1 million before relenting to by-district elections. In 2015,
Palmdale backed down after forking over $4.7 million. Santa Monica has spent more than $8
million on still-active litigation.
Therefore, most cities – including Fullerton, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Tustin, Westminster
and Los Alamitos – grudgingly agree to transition to precincts rather than risk a burdensome
legal battle.
Shenkman’s missive, written on behalf of a Latino civil rights group, offers a laundry list of
Cypress’ purported vulnerabilities.
Although Asians comprise 35% of the city’s population – the same percentage as white
residents – the “complete lack of Asian representation” on the council “is revealing,” the letter
states.
Shenkman points to an Asian American candidate, Carrie Hayashida, who came in third for
two City Council seats in the 2020 election. Six months later, after a councilwoman resigned,
Hayashida and five other female applicants were passed over for Scott Minikus, one of two
men who applied.
Dragging its feet?
After receiving Shenkman’s notification, the council met eight times in closed session to
discuss next steps before calling a special meeting – announced on Christmas Eve and held
Dec. 27.
But instead of approving the creation of sample precinct maps, the council voted to hire a
consultant for $40,000 to solicit public input about whether even to proceed.
Questioning the $200-per-hour price tag, Marquez, a college professor, was the one “no” vote.
“We have a fiduciary responsibility to spend the money of taxpayers in Cypress responsibly,”
she said.
Cypress city councilwoman, Frances Marquez, who was elected in 2020 finds herself at odds
with the other council members over the city’s garbage collection contract. Sunday, February
6, 2022. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)
Some wonder if the city is procrastinating the inevitable.
“We’ve made it very clear to them that districts need to be in place in time for the November
elections,” Shenkman said. “They are running out of time.”
Shenkman speculated that the council’s desire to hold opinion-seeking forums “could be an
effort to orchestrate an AstroTurf uprising against districts.”
“When they waste millions of taxpayer dollars fighting a lawsuit they can say, ‘Our
constituents wanted us to,’” Shenkman said.
However, city watchdog George Pardon, a retired Cal State University administrator, does not
foresee a lawsuit.
“They’re just kicking districts down the road to get past the November election,” Pardon said.
“They have people in mind who they want to see elected, which might not happen in districts.”
George Pardon of Citizens for Responsible Development of Cypress, outside of the Cypress
city council chamber on Thursday, February 3, 2022. Pardon is the city watchdog and city
council critic who supports by-district representation. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange
County Register/SCNG)
But, Mayor Paulo Morales asserted, “We are absolutely not using the workshops to drag our
feet.”
“The majority of people don’t understand what districts are for and need to learn more about
them,” Morales said.
“I hear, ‘I’d only have 20% of the vote!’” Morales added. “I say, wait a minute, is that the end
of the world? That’s the way we do it with Congress.”
District elections can result in pitting allies against one another, depending on where they live.
Three seats will be open this year. Peat and Morales term out, and Minikus will be up for
election after serving 15 months as an appointee.
Asian American representation
One person planning to be on the upcoming ballot is Hayashida, the candidate who recently
placed third.
“I’m saddened that the council missed an opportunity to check off several boxes last summer
in its appointment: a strong candidate in the last election; the first Asian American
councilwoman; and someone who represents a neighborhood currently not well represented,”
said Hayashida, who works as a career coach.
“But I didn’t run because I’m Asian. I wanted to represent all of Cypress, and I still feel that
way.”
Melina Nagpal, a psychologist, also threw her name in the hat to fill the opening. “I didn’t
have a chance in hell,” she said, now laughing over her unsuccessful interview.
“One of the job requirements was that you had to be a ‘team player,’” Nagpal said. “They
didn’t want different viewpoints. It’s a tight-knit group with a lot of overlap.”
Morales and Minikus are both retired police officers. Peat is chairman of the Boys & Girls
Club of Greater Anaheim-Cypress, where Mayor Pro Tem Anne Hertz-Mallari serves as
president.
Whatever happens next, it appears that City Council meetings will, at least in the near future,
remain acrimonious.
At the Jan. 24 meeting, Peat requested that the Council consider a motion of censure against
Marquez for disclosing to the public closed session discussions.
In a brief telephone conversation, Peat declined to provide specifics, saying only, “We need to
keep our business among ourselves.”
Sent from my iPhone