As Cypress ponders county vote, anger flares with female city councilwoman – Orange County Register

Depending on where and how you look at it, Cypress is either a quiet bedroom community or a bustling commercial center.

The northern Orange County city is home to 50,000 residents, with a comfortable median household income of around $93,000.

Despite its small size of 6.6 square miles, Cypress boasts a good tax base and many employers – including UnitedHealth Group, Yamaha Motor, Costco, Home Depot, Los Alamitos Racecourse, Cypress University, Parks Memorial Forest Lawn, several hotels and, as of November, a 23-acre Amazon last mile facility.

However, these heated disputes bubble beneath the surface. And sometimes they erupt.

During the meetings, city officials openly scoffed at newcomer Frances Marquez – who, they said, introduced unnecessary controversial agenda items, such as flying the LGBTQ Pride flag .

Three weeks ago, in an awkward outburst, Councilmember Jon Peat angrily scolded her about a subcommittee she was disqualified from.

“I get 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 addressed the negative tone of council meetings – noting the “bad optics” of the four-member majority chilling the lone woman of color.

Resident Brittney Cook, an insurance agent, said: “I am appalled and shocked at the way our City Council members treated one of their colleagues. “If I behave like that in the corporate world, I’ll be fired.”

Residents complain that, with all council members except Marquez living in close proximity, other neighborhoods are looked down upon. They gossip about Amazon’s huge distribution center on Katella Avenue near their home and a pay-to-use sports park currently under construction in another part of town.

Some people refused to renew their garbage collection contract without a bid, a contract maintained affected by conflicts of interest within the council.

And now, adding strain upon tension, the city must decide whether to cut out council districts – with the alternative being a potentially costly lawsuit.

Threat of lawsuits

Like dozens of Orange County cities before it, last September Cypress received a letter alleging that its electoral system dilutes minority voices.

Currently, all Cypress voters decide on all five council seats. With districts, voters choose only one council member who lives in their area.

The regional approach, to better serve interest groups, is often advocated by the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA).

Cypress’s threat of lawsuit comes from Malibu attorney Kevin Shenkman, who specializes in pursuing cities and school districts that still hold large-scale elections.

Fighting CVRA violation claims in court has proved costly and fruitless for those who try. Seven years ago, Anaheim spent $1.1 million before moving to county elections. In 2015, Palmdale retraced after making more than $4.7 million. Santa Monica has spent more than $8 million on ongoing litigation.

As a result, most cities – including Fullerton, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Tustin, Westminster and Los Alamitos – are more reluctant to agree to the transition to constituencies than risk a heavy legal battle .

Shenkman’s article, written on behalf of a Latino civil rights group, provides a list of purported vulnerabilities of Cypress.

Although Asians make up 35% of the city’s population – the same proportion as white residents – “the complete lack of Asian representation” on the council “is revealing,” the letter said.

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 council member resigned, Hayashida and five other female applicants were referred to Scott Minikus, one of the two men who applied.

Pull its legs?

After receiving Shenkman’s notice, the council met eight times in closed session to discuss next steps before convening a special meeting – announced on Christmas Eve and held on Sunday. December 27.

But instead of approving the creation of sample area maps, the council voted to hire a consultant for $40,000 to solicit public opinion on whether to proceed.

Questioned about the $200 per hour rate, Marquez, a university professor, is a “no” voter. “We have a fiduciary responsibility to spend taxpayer money in Cypress responsibly,” she said.

Some wonder if the city is delaying the inevitable.

“We’ve made it very clear to them that the counties need to be there in time for the November election,” Shenkman said. “They’re running out of time.”

Shenkman speculated that the council’s desire to hold opinion forums “could be an attempt to orchestrate an AstroTurf uprising against the counties.”

“When they waste millions of taxpayer dollars fighting a lawsuit, they can say, ‘Our voters want us to do the same,” Shenkman said.

However, city watchdog George Pardon, a retired Cal State University administrator, did not anticipate a lawsuit.

“They’re just pushing counties down the road to getting through the November election,” Pardon said. “They’re thinking about the people they want to see elected, which may not happen in the counties.”

However, Mayor Paulo Morales insists, “We absolutely do not use the workshops to pull our legs.”

“Most people don’t understand what counties are for and need to learn more about them,” says Morales.

“I heard, ‘I only have 20% of the vote! ”” Morales added. “I said, wait a minute, is it the end of the world? That’s how we do it with Congress.”

District elections can pit allies against each other, depending on where they live.

Three seats will be opened this year. Peat and Morales expire, and Minikus will run for office after 15 months as the appointee.

Representative of Asian Americans

One person expected to appear in the upcoming vote is Hayashida, the candidate who just finished third.

“I am saddened that the council missed the opportunity to tick several boxes last summer in its appointment: a strong candidate in the last election; first Asian-American congresswoman; Hayashida, who represents a neighborhood is currently underrepresented,” said Hayashida, who works as a career coach.

“But I don’t run because I’m Asian. I wanted to represent all of Cypress, and I still feel that way. ”

Melina Nagpal, a psychologist, also throws her name in the hat to fill the opening. “I didn’t stand a chance in hell,” she said, now laughing at her unsuccessful interview.

“One of the job requirements is that you have to be a ‘team player’,” says Nagpal. “They don’t want to have different points of view. It’s a tight group with a lot of overlap. “

Morales and Minikus are both retired policemen. Peat is president of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Anaheim-Cypress, where Pro Stamp Mayor Anne Hertz-Mallari serves as president.

Whatever happens next, it seems likely that City Council meetings will, at least for the foreseeable future, remain lively.

At the January 24 meeting, Peat asked the Council to consider a proposal criticizing Marquez for disclosing to the public the deliberations during the caucus.

In a brief phone conversation, Peat declined to provide specific details, saying only “We need to keep our business running.”