Oakley City Council to vote on censure of Fuller, calling on him to resign

OAKLEY An Oakley councilmember is facing censure and a call to resign for bullying and retaliatory actions against city staff after a third-party analysis exposed that he had allegedly engaged in such activity George Fuller Ed D was reelected to the Oakley city council Courtesy of George Fuller On Tuesday the City Council is set to potentially take the action against Councilmember George Fuller The issue was initially raised in September when Mayor Shannon Shaw proposed it as a future agenda item Shaw who authored the censure resolution declared Fuller s latest conduct reflected a pattern of behavior directed not just toward staff but also toward other councilmembers elected authorities and constituents I think it s critical for people to understand why we re doing this The only reason this is coming about is specifically because of his actions toward staff Shaw described this news organization I want to make sure that I m letting staff know that we in the city of Oakley will not tolerate this behavior at any level up to and including ourselves We have to hold ourselves just as accountable as you would expect our city staff to hold themselves accountable Fuller was first elected in He represents District which covers particular areas in Creekside Park Dali Court Emerson Ranch Park and Riata Park His term expires in November When petitioned to comment on Tuesday s vote and accusations against him Fuller referred questions to his lawyer As of press time Friday no response was received from Fuller s representative While the City Council cannot remove an elected official unless a criminal conviction or other legal disqualification occurs it can take formal moves to express disapproval according to the city Along with a call for his resignation in order to protect the integrity of the City of Oakley and restore general confidence the resolution also encourages Fuller to participate in professional advancement on workplace harassment prevention and ethics Following assertions of bullying and retaliatory actions against staff Oakley initiated an independent third-party inquiry into the accusations While no details of that scrutiny have been made inhabitants as of Friday including who conducted the inquiry and at what cost a staff account stated that it was completed and detected that Councilmember Fuller engaged in bullying and retaliatory conduct Such conduct is inconsistent with the duties of elected office undermines the ability of staff to perform their work erodes community trust in the City Council and has required the City to devote notable time and financial materials to investigations and responses a staff record stated When questioned about the third-party research Oakley Assistant City Manager Danielle Navarro commented staff could not comment on the matter Per the supplemental statement the item is one being brought forth by the Mayor and staff is not commenting or providing input on the item noted Navarro in an email to this news organization The details of the inspection are not disclosable City Attorney Derek Cole noted that a censure is purely a political message about a member of an elected body by a majority of that body City administration and staff have not nor will not take any position on the proposed censure disclosed Cole Consequently they should not be inquired to participate in any way when the item is considered At Tuesday s meeting and prior to a vote by the council Fuller will be given the right to rebut the grounds for the censure proposed The populace will also be given the opportunity to comment and then Fuller will have additional time to speak