www.montereycountynow.com OCTOBER 2-8, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 17 There’s something that happens in small-town civics. People who get involved in one thing participate in another. The Venn diagrams of local engagement have a lot of overlap. For instance, before he was a Salinas City Councilmember, José Luis Barajas was a board member of Salinas Valley Pride. He receives no financial compensation for this volunteer role meaning that technically, according to the California Fair Political Practices Commission’s conflict-of-interest rules, he can vote on matters related to the group. But when council was preparing to vote on Sept. 23 on community sponsorships, including $5,000 to Salinas Valley Pride, Barajas recused himself. “I found there to be no conflict, but in an abundance of caution and being mindful of community sensitivity, I wanted to make a clear delineation,” Barajas says. “This is setting a good example and a good bar.” It is an example others should follow. While FPPC’s conflict-of-interest rules focus on financial interest—ownership of property, sources of income— there is also the matter of public perception and integrity. It’s unfortunately not a bar that has been met recently in Carmel. In the ongoing saga of the 13,000-square-foot J.B. Pastor Building proposed for Dolores Street, recusals have been a major issue, standing in as a proxy for perceived opponents or allies of the developer, Esperanza Carmel. (A group of 11 people appealed the Planning Commission’s approval of the project, raising various grievances about land use and parking, kicking the decision up to City Council. Spoiler alert: Council eventually kicked it back to the Planning Commission, so the sixyear-long proposal continues.) Before a first hearing on Aug. 4, two councilmembers announced they had received campaign contributions from an appellant. Mayor Dale Byrne founded the nonprofit Carmel Cares, which received a $100,000 donation from Esperanza Carmel, so City Attorney Brian Pierik advised him to recuse as well. Those recusals threatened to shrink the number of voting members from five to two—too small for a quorum, as Staff Writer Pam Marino reported. One councilmember returned a portion of the campaign gift, putting him at the FPPC’s allowable threshold to participate in the vote, so a three-member quorum was formed, minus Byrne and Councilmember Bob Delves, who also recused. Byrne could have kept it classy and said simply that he wanted to maintain integrity, or at least the perception thereof. Instead he read a prepared speech arguing he should stay. “I have no financial interest in this matter and no legal or ethical conflict,” Byrne said. “It’s disheartening when honest public service is met with suspicion.” Another way of looking at it: It’s heartening when honest public service is met with expectations of clear, bright lines. When council revisited the topic on Sept. 8, Byrne read another speech, making the same points. “These tactics may very well succeed in the short term but they erode the trust we need in government,” he said. I’d argue it’s the opposite: Setting a high bar helps build trust in government. Carmel Cares is not a problem—in fact it’s a civic gem getting people involved in beautifying and improving Carmel’s infrastructure. The problem is that the same developer whose project was now before council had given a significant gift to the nonprofit. At a City Council meeting on June 30, council accepted a donation valued at the equivalent of $262,097 from Carmel Cares, plus 8,544 volunteer hours from March 2024-June 2025 on a range of projects making life and infrastructure in Carmel better. That’s to be celebrated. Pierik told Byrne point-blank then that it was necessary for him to disclose (but not to recuse) whether he served on Carmel Cares’ board before voting to accept the gift on behalf of the city. Byrne says he stepped down from the board last year when he began his campaign for mayor, and has continued on in an unpaid executive director role as Chief Caring Officer for the all-volunteer organization. Byrne feels frustrated that he is being forced to make a choice between his two roles. If his interpretation of how to maintain public trust is relinquishing his volunteer role, rather than disclosing it, that’s a shame. Sara Rubin is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@montereycountynow.com. Conflict Resolution Elected officials have a duty to avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. By Sara Rubin CHANNEL CHANGE…In Squid’s screen time, Squid has been watching season 1 of The Paper on Peacock, a mockumentary about a newsroom suffering from disinvestment by its corporate owner—a paper company for which the fictional Toledo Truth Teller newspaper is incidental and the more valuable asset is toilet paper. For a nonfictional corollary, Squid has been watching Channel 46, where until last week, KION included a lineup of local news anchors and meteorologists talking about local news and weather. That changed on Sept. 23 when owner News-Press & Gazette Company announced the Salinas newsroom was shutting down and all 13 employees were losing their jobs, and instead they would run content from KPIX, based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The news was announced to viewers by KPIX anchor Juliette Goodrich, who said: “I’m so excited to announce that we’re expanding our coverage,” with a focus on “delivering hyper-local stories.” Squid so far has seen a story about a San Mateo woman who has started a highway billboard campaign looking for a husband; stalking suspects arrested in Morgan Hill; an Oakland Police policy update on high-speed chases; the list goes on. Curious about those “hyper-local stories,” Squid visited the KION website, where until last week Squid could select local news by county—Monterey, San Benito or Santa Cruz—and instead just found options for “U.S./World,” “Entertainment” or “Money.” For a primer on the latter, Squid needs to look no further than the empty Salinas newsroom of KION/Telemundo. RAIN CHECK…Out of all the underthe-sea snacks to choose from, Squid’s go-to is shrimp-flavored popcorn. But Squid recognizes that’s not everyone’s favorite, too fishy perhaps. For some sweet-toothed humans on land, it’s strawberries, which besides being healthy and delicious, are a major economic driver in Monterey County. They maintain the top revenue-generating spot year over year, with a gross production value of more than $1 billion in 2024, a 15-percent increase from 2023, according to the annual crop report prepared by the County Ag Commissioner’s Office. However, the beloved crop is also kind of messy. Agricultural Commissioner Juan Hidalgo acknowledged this not-so-sweet news ahead of the rainy season, sending out an announcement on Sept. 22 warning farmers to protect their neighbors’ property from erosion and runoff. “The risk is much higher in sloping fields and those planted with strawberries,” Hidalgo wrote. “The plastic mulch that covers strawberry beds reduces rainwater infiltration, and increases runoff.” Squid, all too familiar with dusting off shrimp popcorn crumbs from Squid’s tentacles, wonders what sort of mess this has created for humans on land. THE LOCAL SPIN SQUID FRY THE MISSION OF MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY IS TO INSPIRE INDEPENDENT THINKING AND CONSCIOUS ACTION, ETC. “This is setting a good example and a good bar.” SEND SQUID A TIP: squid@montereycountynow.com
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