West Covina council adopts ordinance letting council remove commissioners with or without cause

The West Covina City Council on April 15 adopted an ordinance amending section 2-67 of the West Covina Municipal Code to allow commissioners to be removed with or without cause by a council majority.

Councilmembers who supported the amendment said it creates an additional accountability mechanism; opponents said it risks politicizing volunteers. The 3-2 vote followed more than an hour of public comment and an extended council debate.

Councilmember Brian Gutierrez moved adoption of the ordinance and Mayor Pro Tem Lopez Viado seconded. In roll call, Councilman Cantos and Councilwoman Rosario Diaz voted no; Gutierrez, Mayor Pro Tem Lopez Viado and Mayor Wu voted yes. The motion passed 3-2. The adopted text adds language that commissioners “shall serve at the will of their appointing council member and can be removed with or without cause at any time,” and preserves a separate “good cause” standard for removal by an affirmative vote of at least four council members.

Supporters argued the city already has removed commissioners in the past when concerns arose and that the change formally aligns the code with that practice. Opponents — including several public speakers during oral communications — argued the amendment would chill civic participation by allowing political retribution and urged a narrower fix, such as amending the definition of “good cause.” Members of the public cited the existing code’s list of examples of “good cause” (felony convictions, crimes of moral turpitude, misuse of city property, falsifying records, and a sustained written finding of harassment or discrimination) and asked the council to amend that language rather than adopt a carte blanche removal power.

The city attorney read the full text of section 2-67 into the record during the meeting and several residents quoted that language during public comment. The council’s action overturns the Planning Commission’s earlier handling of the item and will become part of the municipal code following the city’s ordinance-adoption process. Councilmember Gutierrez filed a written statement for the record explaining his vote.

The vote and the council discussion followed a widely attended public-comment period. Several speakers urged the council to protect volunteer commissioners from political interference; others said council oversight needed strengthening. The council directed staff to publish the adopted ordinance as required by law.

The ordinance affects all city commissions whose members are appointed by council members; the amendment does not create any immediate personnel actions and instead changes the city’s removal standard going forward.