City Council Votes to Possibly Censure Mayor Bobko

In a 3-2 vote Tuesday night, the Hermosa Beach City Council directed staff to draft a resolution censuring Mayor Patrick "Kit" Bobko for violating a city code of ethics when he declined to apologize to the city manager and public for circumventing protocol and undermining the city manager.

Council members Jeff Duclos, Howard Fishman and Peter Tucker voted for staff to draft the resolution after Duclos asked for the mayor to apologize for issuing a press release in support of one of the top two police chief candidates before the city manager had announced his selection. Bobko's press release was issued outside of the city's usual process for doing so, one in which an outside city-contracted public relations firm typically issues any press releases on behalf of the mayor, city council and city.

After each council member weighed in on Duclos' request for Bobko to publicly apologize at the meeting, Bobko heatedly declined to do so. Duclos then introduced the motion for city staff to draft the resolution censuring Bobko.

The draft resolution for censuring Bobko will return to council for an actionable vote on Sept. 24 since Bobko will not be at the Sept. 10 meeting.

At the end of the Tuesday night council meeting, Bobko remembered he would not be at the council's next regularly scheduled meeting of Sept. 10 for  "my trial on whatever the charges are, I've forgotten, not flossing regularly or making my bed in the morning and all the rest of it."

He then said, "So, gentlemen, if you would like to try me in absentia, like Slobodan Milošević or someone in The Hague, I invite you to do it. I'm sure it will be easier for you if I am not here but I have already determined that I won't be here.

"So, out of just due process that we seem so very concerned with, I would suggest that we move it to the second meeting in September so that at least I can be present for my lynching."

Followed by a notable silence, Councilman Fishman responded to the mayor's comments and council member Tucker's agreement to do so that he would "support that less the mocking and sarcasm from the mayor."

• Related: Mayor's Press Release Details His Endorsement of Police Chief Candidate
  
• Previously: Hermosa Beach Selects New Police Chief