Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ethics Oversight topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident repeats claim the city attorney was ineligible to practice; a council member publicly defends the attorney
Summary
A public commenter alleged the city attorney was recorded as ineligible to practice on July 15; a council member later said he had "full faith and confidence" in City Attorney Reuben Duran and stated there had never been a day he was not authorized to represent the city.
During public comment, Michael Rios repeated an allegation from a prior meeting that a record on July 15 showed the city attorney was not eligible to practice law in California and asked the council for an explanation. Rios said: "On July 15, it's recorded that the city attorney was not eligible to practice law in the state of California... I'd appreciate a response of some sort."
Later in the meeting, a council member responded directly to the concern. The council member said he had "full faith and confidence in our city attorney, mister Reuben Duran," and added, "I can tell you confidently there's never been a day that he has been legally authorized to represent the city of Ontario as our city attorney." The meeting record contains the allegation and the oral defense, but it does not include supporting documents or a clerk certification resolving the factual question raised by the commenter.
Ending: The exchange was recorded on the public record. The transcript includes the allegation and a public rebuttal by a council member; no documentary verification or follow-up investigation was presented during the meeting.
