Residents accuse advisory-board chair of harassment and urge better oversight; commissioners hear public complaints

Several residents used the meeting’s public-comment period to raise allegations of harassment, retaliation and insufficient oversight of city-appointed advisory boards.

Lorraine Galarza told the commission she served on the Community Development Advisory Board as parliamentarian and said she experienced threats and harassment from the board chair, Jim Young, who was appointed by Commissioner Rene Perez. Galarza said she reported an initial instance of harassment to the commission in May 2023 and said similar conduct recurred last week; she said the result was that she was removed from the board. She said the board reviews federal block‑grant applications and recommends allocations to local nonprofit groups and community programs.

Galarza: "My tenure on the board was marred by unfortunate circumstances due to threats and harassment from Jim Young, the chair of the board, and appointed to the board by you, Rene Perez. This harassment…