Politics
Group attacks one of its own
Member of block grant advisory committee draws ire of colleagues over e-mail to council.
By Jason Wells
CITY HALL — The vice-chairman of a city commission charged with making millions of dollars worth of federal funding recommendations to the City Council came under renewed fire Thursday from his colleagues, who said his personal lobbying efforts had undermined the group’s integrity.
A special meeting Thursday for the Community Development Block Grant Advisory Committee was its first since April, when Vice-Chairman Gary Cornell caused a backlash among his colleagues after revelations that he had e-mailed at least two City Council members to increase two funding allotments in a list of final funding recommendations that he had earlier voted to support.
Committee members also took Cornell to task for his assertion in the e-mail that his colleagues were “not that sophisticated in the budget process.”
“The actions you took with that letter . . . served to undermine the integrity of the committee,” Zareh Amirian, a member of the committee, told Cornell at the meeting. “It’s an abuse of our trust.”
In his April 7 e-mail, Cornell urged the City Council, which has the final say on more than $500,000 in federal block grant allotments to local nonprofit social service organizations, to reinstate $35,000 for a city anti-graffiti program, and $45,000 for New Horizons Family Center.
He signed the e-mail using only his name, and not his title on the advisory committee.
While Cornell had insisted during the advisory committee’s February deliberations on a separate vote on the funding denial for the graffiti program — in which he was the lone dissenter — he later joined his colleagues in unanimous approval to send the final list, which included a $15,000 drop in funding for New Horizons, to the City Council.
The City Council on April 15 voted to fund the graffiti removal program through the general fund, and reinstated New Horizons at $45,000, citing a “broader purview” to massage the numbers.
Cornell sat stoic amid the criticism and sought to defuse the hard feelings with an apology, acknowledging that the language used in the e-mail “could have been better appropriated.”
“I do apologize for my language, and I hope that we can move on from here,” he said.
Amirian didn’t buy it, or Cornell’s explanation that his words had been misinterpreted, calling it a “semi-apology” that “doesn’t work for me.”
“It’s not a simple ‘Let’s move on,’” he told Cornell.
The advisory committee sought some assurance that the behind-the-scenes lobbying would not happen again, directing city officials to develop a code of conduct for future committee members concerning making recommendations.
While guidelines were fine, longtime committee member Efrian Olivares said it was “ultimately up to the individual.”
Despite earlier calls for Cornell’s resignation from his colleagues and City Councilman Dave Weaver, the issue was only vaguely referenced by committee Chairman Chang Lee, whose only authority would have been to hold a no-confidence vote.
Mayor John Drayman and others on the council have made it clear that any corrective action falls under their purview, and have warned the committee against going down that path.
Councilman Frank Quintero, who appointed Cornell to his post, said he would “absolutely” do so again in July.
“This is a democracy we live in, and everyone is entitled to give their opinions on the issues,” he said.
A special meeting Thursday for the Community Development Block Grant Advisory Committee was its first since April, when Vice-Chairman Gary Cornell caused a backlash among his colleagues after revelations that he had e-mailed at least two City Council members to increase two funding allotments in a list of final funding recommendations that he had earlier voted to support.
Committee members also took Cornell to task for his assertion in the e-mail that his colleagues were “not that sophisticated in the budget process.”
“The actions you took with that letter . . . served to undermine the integrity of the committee,” Zareh Amirian, a member of the committee, told Cornell at the meeting. “It’s an abuse of our trust.”
In his April 7 e-mail, Cornell urged the City Council, which has the final say on more than $500,000 in federal block grant allotments to local nonprofit social service organizations, to reinstate $35,000 for a city anti-graffiti program, and $45,000 for New Horizons Family Center.
He signed the e-mail using only his name, and not his title on the advisory committee.
While Cornell had insisted during the advisory committee’s February deliberations on a separate vote on the funding denial for the graffiti program — in which he was the lone dissenter — he later joined his colleagues in unanimous approval to send the final list, which included a $15,000 drop in funding for New Horizons, to the City Council.
The City Council on April 15 voted to fund the graffiti removal program through the general fund, and reinstated New Horizons at $45,000, citing a “broader purview” to massage the numbers.
Cornell sat stoic amid the criticism and sought to defuse the hard feelings with an apology, acknowledging that the language used in the e-mail “could have been better appropriated.”
“I do apologize for my language, and I hope that we can move on from here,” he said.
Amirian didn’t buy it, or Cornell’s explanation that his words had been misinterpreted, calling it a “semi-apology” that “doesn’t work for me.”
“It’s not a simple ‘Let’s move on,’” he told Cornell.
The advisory committee sought some assurance that the behind-the-scenes lobbying would not happen again, directing city officials to develop a code of conduct for future committee members concerning making recommendations.
While guidelines were fine, longtime committee member Efrian Olivares said it was “ultimately up to the individual.”
Despite earlier calls for Cornell’s resignation from his colleagues and City Councilman Dave Weaver, the issue was only vaguely referenced by committee Chairman Chang Lee, whose only authority would have been to hold a no-confidence vote.
Mayor John Drayman and others on the council have made it clear that any corrective action falls under their purview, and have warned the committee against going down that path.
Councilman Frank Quintero, who appointed Cornell to his post, said he would “absolutely” do so again in July.
“This is a democracy we live in, and everyone is entitled to give their opinions on the issues,” he said.
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