Los Gatos revokes commissioner’s censure over ‘rich, white, anti-housing men’ comments

Los Gatos Town Council voted Tuesday to revoke its censure of a planning commissioner after the American Civil Liberties Union threatened to sue the town for violating that commissioner’s First Amendment rights.

Mayor Maria Ristow said at the meeting that the council did not consider Commissioner Kylie Clark’s right to free speech when choosing her punishment.

“The process by which we came to the censure was not the smoothest, and we already know we need to look at our process,” Ristow said. “I really do think that the censure was too strong, but it’s where the council landed. The ACLU made a good point that we trampled the First Amendment rights of one of our residents.”

The council voted to censure Clark on Feb. 15 after several residents complained that an email she wrote to the state, blaming “rich, white, anti-housing men” for thwarting future housing development in town, was racist against White people.

The case caught the attention of the Northern California chapter of the ACLU, who threatened in March to sue the town if the censure was not revoked.

Town Attorney Gabrielle Whelan, who served on the committee that determined Clark’s punishment, recommended removing the censure. When asked about the likelihood of the ACLU filing a lawsuit, Whelan said it was a 100% certainty.

“I’ve had numerous conversations with representatives from the ACLU,” Whelan said. “I think the town would probably lose the litigation.”

Whelan said the lawsuit would potentially have cost the town upwards of $400,000.

Since Clark identified herself as a planning commissioner in her email to the state but said she was speaking as a private citizen, she is protected from being disciplined by current case law, the ACLU argued.

More than two dozen people spoke during the hours-long meeting Tuesday. Speakers got rowdy, and Ristow had to ask residents to stop applauding or speaking out of turn several times.

Shilpi Agarwal, legal director of the ACLU, said at the meeting that the town punished Clark because they did not agree with her comments.

“The town’s actions were unprecedented and wildly out of proportion with the handling of prior complaints,” Argwal said.

The council also voted to hire outside counsel to probe all its planning commissioners and councilmembers for potential conflicts of interest or biases after Councilmember Matthew Hudes voiced concerns about Clark’s role as assistant manager of advocacy and public policy at West Valley Community Services (WVCS) overlapping with her role on the planning commission. WVCS provides food, housing and support services to low-income and homeless people in South Bay communities including Los Gatos.

Whelan said she had already ruled out any conflict of interest ahead of the Feb. 15 meeting when council voted to censure Clark.

An advisory committee made up of Ristow, Vice Mayor Mary Badame, Whelan and town manager Laurel Prevetti determined Clark’s punishment.

The town’s policy committee will review the way it handles complaints made by citizens, in addition to working to clarify the town’s code of conduct, a process that started in March. Hudes, who serves on the two-member committee, said earlier that he won’t take part in discussions about clarifying the code.

Clark is in a relationship with Councilmember Rob Moore, who chairs the policy committee, and Hudes said it’s not appropriate for Moore to provide feedback.

Moore recused himself from Tuesday’s vote, and Badame abstained. Ristow, Hudes and Councilmember Rob Rennie voted in favor of revoking Clark’s censure.