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Residents press National City for public records and answers on harassment complaint
Summary
Multiple public commenters at the March 3 meeting accused city officials of withholding records responsive to Public Records Act requests and urged action on a sexual-harassment complaint involving a city employee. Councilmembers declined to discuss personnel matters in open session; city attorney later said closed session produced no reportable actions.
Several residents used the public comment period at the March 3 National City Council meeting to accuse city officials of withholding records and to press for action on an independent sexual-harassment investigation.
A public commenter listed specific communications and dates she said were responsive to a public records request, including emails and calendar entries involving a developer and city employees. "It is no surprise that under Ron Morrison's leadership, National City has a track record of violating the Public Records Act," one commenter said, urging the council to release communications dated April 22, 2024; May 29, 2024; Aug. 22, 2024; and Oct. 9, 2024.
Other commenters raised an independent investigator's recommendation to terminate a city assistant (named in comments) after sustained findings in a harassment probe and asked why the council had not acted on that recommendation. Those speakers repeatedly asked for transparency and records and said they would not "tolerate secrecy and corruption in local government."
Mayor Ron Morrison and staff declined to discuss personnel matters in open session, citing legal limits on public discussion of personnel investigations. Later in the meeting the city attorney reported that council met in closed session earlier in the evening and "took no reportable actions." The transcript does not record the production of the specific documents requested during the meeting, nor does it record a staff response providing those records.
The allegations raised by residents at the microphone were not resolved on the council floor. The council did not release the specific documents during the meeting; the transcript records repeated requests for the records and requests that the city comply with the Public Records Act.
