The Stockton City Council is scheduled to decide today whether one of its members flipped an obscene hand gesture at someone in the audience during a January meeting or was merely using his middle finger to rub the corner of his mouth.
If the answer is the former, it will likely result in a vote to censure Councilmember Brando Villapudua. He is alleged to have violated rules regarding conduct and decorum.
Censure is meant to embarrass a member through a public shaming by his or her peers. Beyond that, a censure doesn’t do much because it does not typically result in any other penalties or removal.
More than anything, today’s exercise may clarify how competing factions stack up on the deeply divided council.
The censure was requested by Vice Mayor Jason Lee and Councilmember Michele Padilla, who was censured by the council in November for her misuse of public funds. They submitted a complaint to the city clerk alleging Villapudua violated council policies by making the gesture.
Their primary evidence is a short video posted to the 209 Times website. It came during a heated debate at the Jan. 9 meeting in which City Manager Harry Black was ousted. The video shows Villapudua, who represents District 5, raising his right hand and wiggling his middle finger to rub the corner of his mouth.
A censure ad hoc committee comprised of Mayor Christina Fugazi and councilmembers Mariela Ponce and Mario Enríquez was formed and agreed that the action amounted to “a derogatory hand signal” directed toward a member of the public. A censure vote was recommended.
With two members having filed the complaint and three members concurring as members of the the ad hoc committee, Villapudua’s censure would appear to be virtually assured on the seven-member board. The vote will be taken during today’s City Council meeting, which begins at 5:30 p.m.