Rick Badillo and Gino Borgioli join David Gerard in voting against resolution
Published in the February 17 – March 1, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life
To view a video of Gerard’reading his statement opposing his censure, click HERE
By Marty Cheek and Robert Airoldi
Photo by Marty Cheek
David Gerard, center, the subject of a censure resolution, speaks during the Feb. 2 school board meeting. The censure, that called for his resignation, failed to garner the needed four votes as Gerard joined fellow board members Rick Badillo, left, and Gino Borgioli, right, in voting against the resolution. It failed with a 3-3 vote.
After a series of often emotionally-charged comments coming from individuals on both sides of the issue, members of the Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Trustees delivered a 3-3 split vote on a resolution to censure member David Gerard.
Shortly after the vote, the Feb. 2 meeting came to a surprisingly abrupt end when two Morgan Hill police officers took trustee Rick Badillo outside and questioned him — based on a call from an individual — on suspicion of carrying a concealed gun into the board chamber without a permit.
The censure resolution was written to officially condemn Gerard for his controversial communication with a parents activist group last year.
Gerard confirmed he wrote the emails, which contain what many characterize as mean-spirited, racist and sexist comments about several of his fellow board colleagues and district administrators. They were sent to members of the Parents for Positive Change group, which last summer started a recall campaign to oust board president Bob Benevento because of the board’s vote to move sixth grade students to middle schools.
The emails are considered an ethical breach and a possible legal violation of California state code preventing government agency resources use for political campaigns, according to one expert.
Armando Benevides, a San Jose-based lawyer who serves as a spokesperson for the parents activist group, told board members he could not support the resolution for censure of Gerard because he said it was a flawed document.
“The resolution smacks more of hostile partisan politics than a serious attempt to address the issues and concerns that arise from Trustee Gerard’s actions. The resolution twists facts and improperly imputes motives arising from subjective speculation, distortion of fact, exaggeration, imputation of hostile intent and reflects a hostility that goes beyond a reasonable conclusion that can be drawn from the private emails that were written by Trustee Gerard,” he said. “The drafters of the opposed resolution obviously disregarded the plain evidence that Trustee Gerard intended these emails to be private, exclusive communication to the recipients. The thrust of the resolution appears more driven by opposition to Trustee Gerard’s political inclination.”
Ida Cazares, a parent with a child in the district, also spoke to the board against the censure: “Mr. Gerard did nothing illegal. All he did was talk smack.”
In support of the censure resolution was retired MHUSD teacher Pam Torrisi who addressed her comments to Gerard from the podium.
“I have to say that in the past I’ve dealt with boards that I have not agreed with to the point I got up and walked out of a board meeting because I did not like what they did. But I’ve always respected them,” she said. “I do not respect you. And the other two board members, I have to say that your emails were morally and ethically wrong — and you know that. But to talk about women that way, I have to ask the other two board members: if that was your wife, your daughter, your sister, would you still think it’s OK?”
The resolution would have required that Gerard no longer be authorized to participate on any committee or organization as a representative of the school district. It would have also required Gerard to receive written approval from the superintendent prior to meeting with, calling or emailing district employees regarding school district-related business. The resolution also asked Gerard to resign from the board.
Trustee Woolf told Gerard during the discussion on the resolution that he made himself “totally ineffective” as a board member.“Your actions will not go away just because time passes. This community, our students and employees will not forget your crude, hurtful and insulting statements now or any time in the future.”
Trustee Ruebusch said she was “dismayed” that Gerard had several opportunities to personally apologize to her for his comments in the emails. The emails were published after the Morgan Hill Times filed a Public Records Act request. Morgan Hill Life filed a similar request shortly after.
Trustee Borgioli questioned the content and the factual accuracy of the resolution, saying he believed 22 out of the 38 items were inaccurate. Gerard used the MHUSD email server portal without intention, he said, and that should be reflected in the resolution. The released emails were also “private, confidential material” and not public documents, he said.
“It was, in my opinion, ignorance and an inadvertent mistake on the trustee’s part to do that,” Borgioli said. “The censure motion attributes that he intended to use the Morgan Hill portal. I can’t believe that would be true. I don’t see anybody in their right mind who would use a public portal for that. I have to conclude that that’s a mistake.”
Trustee Badillo called the resolution “a political witch hunt” by the three board members and suggested that Gerard would learn from his mistakes.
“I don’t condone the actions, but yet I respect his opinion and the right to free speech,” he said. “I’ve defended this country for many years and I know what life and death is, I’ve stood in harm’s way, and this is nothing more than political satire and a mistake — a gregarious mistake, but it’s not the end of the world.”
In his defense, Gerard read a 25-minute statement. He reminded the board of his bout with colon cancer several years ago and also suggested one reason he ran for the board was because he was inspired by the volunteers who searched for Sierra LaMar, the 15-year-old Sobrato High School student who went missing in March 2012.
“We have a choice to make, to continue to bicker among ourselves and ignore each other’s ideas and perspectives and to continue to call for members to be recalled or resign, or to make a different choice, to reject this divisiveness and do a reset to reiterate our resolve to serve the learning needs of all students,” he said.
He also read an apology to the community: “I am sorry for my inadvertent use of the public server for what I intended to be private communication to private individuals. I certainly did not intend any offense to anyone. However, the decision by certain individuals to widely publicize these documents created deep sorrow, hurt and embarrassment to the various individuals named in these documents as well as to me.”
Roger Knopf, who is a member of the Committee for Positive Governance, described the resolution tie vote as “predictable” and questioned why Gerard was able to vote against his own censure.
“It’s sad because the votes show allegiance to a disgraced co-conspirator rather than taking a stand against the proven bad and unethical behavior of a fellow trustee’s bullying, degrading name-calling and conspiring to disgrace fellow trustees and staff, thus condoning that bad behavior,” he said. “It is becoming clear with the passing of each board meeting that our community deserves better and that we the people must in June fill the vacant board seat by electing an ethical person that understands the essentials of good governance and the importance of civil discourse.”
Benevento said the tie vote was not surprising and believes Borgioli and Badillo “essentially condoned” Gerard’s behavior by voting against the resolution.
“That trustee Gerard would spend nearly 25 minutes pontificating, deferring, denying, deflecting and basically obfuscating the real issue is bad enough,” he said. “That he would solicit sympathy by discussing his medical history and by invoking the name of Sierra Lamar is beyond comprehension and lacking in class.”
At the June 7 election, voters will decide on a new board member to replace Amy Porter Jensen, the trustee who abruptly resigned Oct. 28 due to stress from “harassing” email correspondences and phone calls from a member of the Parents for Positive Change group.
Following the censure vote, the meeting was interrupted when two MHPD officers detained Badillo after the department received a call stating he was carrying a concealed weapon. Badillo told the officers that the item inserted in his back waistband was a Leatherman utility tool assembly. Police are not releasing the name of the caller.
The school board voted to close the meeting after the disruption.
