Carlton Jones urges Tulare residents to 'out-love' him, replaced as mayor

In a time of turmoil, the Tulare City Council opted to turn to some familiarity in hopes of getting back on the road to normalcy.

Council members agreed — during a lengthy meeting Tuesday night — to name David Macedo as the mayor, replacing the controversial Carlton Jones.

“I was surprised that I was chosen as the mayor," Macedo said. "That wasn’t the path that I thought we would go."

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Macedo served as mayor prior to Jones and is in his 20th year on the city council. He doesn't plan to run again this fall, when his term is up.

“There are some issues that we need to take care of, but the first big thing is just getting back to how we did things in the past," he said. "That’s what Tulare needs right now.”

Although it was slated as the fourth item on Tuesday’s agenda, getting to the reorganization of the city council took hours. 

At the last council meeting, 40 people spoke during public comment. Many of them voiced their displeasure with social media comments made by Jones on agriculture.

Residents spoke for more than an hour.

On Tuesday, 39 people spoke during the public comments portion, and it was primarily split between support for Jones and those upset with Jones.

Tuesday’s comments portion lasted twice as long, including a 13-minute speech by Jones.

Jones addressed those who questioned his leadership and his motives. He also touched on his remarks about agriculture on social media.

He said he is a major proponent for agriculture and understands that agriculture sets the foundation for Tulare.

Jones said that the farmers didn’t disagree with his concerns about agriculture, but they disagreed with how he delivered his views.

“I am not going to apologize for who I am or for what I said … I can apologize for the way I said it,” he said.

He also had a message for those who believe he is not looking out for the best interests of Tulare.

“Here’s your challenge: Out-love me … Beat me at loving this city,” Jones said.

There was also a note of contempt from Jones for those who threatened to boycott Tulare businesses if he remained as mayor.

“You’re the worst part of this city,” Jones said.

Once the public comments portion was done, though, council acted swiftly in determining if Jones would remain mayor.

Before making his motion to replace Jones with Macedo as mayor, Councilman Jose Sigala gave a brief history on why he’s been aiming to reorganize the city council for the last six months.

Tuesday’s reorganization item was his fifth attempt at the matter. Sigala was tired of the verbal bashing he received from Jones since joining the city council after being elected in 2016, he said.

Jones seconded Sigala’s motion to name Macedo mayor.

The council unanimously approved the motion, then voted to keep Maritsa Castellanoz as the vice mayor.

Macedo and Jones exchanged seats on the dais, and after a short break that included most of the overflowing crowd leaving.

Council members went back to business.

A city in the red

Council unanimously approved the 2018-19 fiscal year budget.

The council committed to using its General Fund reserves to make up for any deficit, a figure that currently sits a little north of $1 million. The city has $16 million in reserves.

Macedo’s appointment as mayor wasn’t the only big news of the night, though.

There were several major items announced at the end of the closed session.

Fire Chief Willard Epps will remain the interim city manager until a new council is elected this fall and seated in December.

“Willard is very good at getting people working together," Macedo said. "People respond to him. We have a lot of confidence in what Willard is doing (as interim city manager).” 

The two city council seats that will be up for election on the November ballot are District 2, currently held by Castellanoz, and District 4, currently held by Macedo.

Macedo has said in the past that he does not plan to seek re-election, although he's said that before. He is 5-for-5 in winning city council elections.

“What happened (Tuesday) does not change my thoughts about not running. (Being named mayor again) only encourages me that it’s time to step down,” Macedo said. “Twenty years is a long time for one person to be on a city council. It’s time for new ideas.”

When asked if the city would opt to wait on naming a new police chief until a new city manager is appointed, Macedo said that the council would like to discuss the issue with interim police Chief Barry Jones.

Macedo noted that the council is quite happy with how Barry Jones has handled the police department since former police chief Wes Hensley was placed on paid administrative leave in September and subsequently fired by former city manager Joseph Carlini on March 20.

“Barry has done a fantastic job," Macedo said. "He’s got an awesome command group.” 

The city council also severed ties with city attorney Heather Phillips and her law firm, Goyette & Associates.

When Phillips was named city attorney in May 2017, Macedo was the lone dissenting vote against her hire.

It was a consensus from the panel in removing Phillips as the city attorney. The contract with Goyette and Associates expired June 5.

“We need a city attorney that is experienced in municipal law,” Macedo said.

Macedo confirmed that the city council will eventually issue a request for proposal for a new permanent city attorney, but they would hire an interim city attorney as soon as possible.

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