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 went so far as to include the use of the f word ... Instead of receiving the safeguards one would expect, I now find myself facing retaliation and being removed from this board entirely." (Lorraine Galarza, public comment)

Other speakers echoed concerns about transparency and accountability. Robert Leftwich said it is "appalling" that a person he described as a victim was removed from a board while the city had taken no apparent public action, and he urged staffing an ethics commission and an avenue for citizens to raise complaints outside the city’s internal reporting structure. He said he had seen two recent board members removed from separate boards and suggested the city needs independent oversight.

Ron Lozano criticized the commission’s conduct in broader terms, calling for change in leadership and criticizing perceived "appeasement" of bad actors. Raymond Reyes urged transparency and oversight and said elected officials must be held accountable.

What Galarza said about the advisory board Galarza described the Community Development Advisory Board as the entity that reviews federal block-grant applications and recommends allocations to local nonprofits (she named Loaves and Fishes and Family Crisis Center as example beneficiaries). In her remarks she identified Sandy Alvarez as the Community Development director and named Assistant City Manager Josh Ramirez as a senior staff contact.

No formal action recorded The commission did not take formal action on the statements during the meeting. The public-comment period is set aside for remarks; the mayor noted that commission members may not respond or deliberate on topics not on the agenda. Galarza’s remarks and the other speakers’ comments were recorded in the meeting transcript, but no specific investigatory or corrective action was announced on the record.

Why this matters Citizens’ charges of harassment and retaliation on an advisory board touch on the handling of federal grant recommendations and the integrity of appointed boards. Several speakers urged either that the city staff or commissioners provide independent avenues for complaint and that an ethics commission be actively staffed and available for citizen complaints.

Speakers and roles - Lorraine Galarza — identified herself as a District 1 resident, former Community Development Advisory Board parliamentarian and current president of a neighborhood watch; she also serves on the CASA board (public comment). - Robert Leftwich — resident (public comment). - Ron Lozano — resident (public comment). - Raymond Reyes — resident and local business owner (public comment).

Follow-up The transcript shows no immediate commission response other than standard acknowledgment and moving on with the agenda. Commissioners or staff may place oversight or personnel items on a future agenda if the body chooses to act.