Livingston candidate can’t be city cop and councilman at same time, law says
A Livingston police officer who may have won enough votes to put him on the City Council would face a conflict of interest if he were to hold both positions, the Sun-Star has learned.
Preliminary results show Wapinder Kang placing second in the race for three open council seats. The top three finishers in the seven-candidate race will win the seats.
According to incomplete results, Kang is winning 18.8 percent of the vote. He trails Juan Aguilar Jr., who has 24.2 percent of the vote, and is ahead of incumbent Arturo Sicairos, who has 15 percent of the vote.
Thousands of mail-in and provisional ballots from across Merced County were yet to be counted as of Tuesday.
However, state code 53227 appears to prevent Kang from holding the office unless he were to resign from his police job.
The code states: “An employee of a local agency may not be sworn into office as an elected or appointed member of the legislative body of that local agency unless he or she resigns as an employee.”
“If the employee does not resign, the employment shall automatically terminate upon his or her being sworn into office,” the code says.
An employee of a local agency may not be sworn into office as an elected or appointed member of the legislative body of that local agency unless he or she resigns as an employee. If the employee does not resign, the employment shall automatically terminate upon his or her being sworn into office.
State code 53227 (a)
In the chain of government command, the police department is run by the police chief, who reports to the city manager, who, in turn, reports to the council.
The 30-year-old officer said he researched whether he could be on the council, and asked the question of city employees, but never got a clear answer. He said he’s keeping all of his options open until he can work it out with the city attorney.
“At this point, I’m not sure. That’s still out in the cloud somewhere,” he said Tuesday. “I’m trying to talk with my parents and family members to see what’s sort of best-suited for me and also best for the city of Livingston.”
Kang said he would ideally keep his full-time position as a city police officer and assume the elected office on the City Council, a position that, in 2015, paid just $3,600 per year. He hasn’t ruled out stepping out of the council race, but also is considering remaining on the council and finding employment elsewhere.
If he could hold both positions, he said, he’s prepared to recuse himself from any votes related to the department or police union.
“I believe that’s the biggest issue people will have is they basically don’t want me to give myself a raise,” he said. “I’d be willing to basically step out to where I’d have no say in it, just to be fair.”
However, more than half, about 57 percent, of the city’s $18.7 million budget goes to police-related funding, according to city records.
Livingston City Attorney Jose Sanchez said he expects to meet with Kang in the near future, though he declined to give an opinion on whether the code disqualifies the officer from being on the council.
“Those are, obviously, sensitive issues that the city will need to look at and consider closely in consultation with the council member-elect,” he said.
The fourth- and fifth-highest vote-getters were separated by just 20 votes as of Tuesday: Mario Mendoza with 13.2 percent and Alex McCabe with 12.6 percent.
Those are, obviously, sensitive issues that the city will need to look at and consider closely in consultation with the council member-elect.
Livingston City Attorney Jose Sanchez
Livingston’s City Council routinely makes decisions on Police Department funding and other police-related matters, according to Chief Ruben Chavez. He noted that, for example, this week the council will consider a contract for a school resource officer and funding of a security wall behind the police station.
Chavez also noted that he is Kang’s superior as the chief, and the City Council is the superior to the police chief.
“He’s got a lot of respect in the community, and that’s good for an officer,” Chavez said. “We want that connection with the community. We’ll have to see what the city attorney comes up with.”
The council typically swears in its new members at the next regular meeting after an election certification from the Merced County registrar of voters office.
California law requires the election to be certified by Dec. 6, the same day the council is scheduled to meet.
Thaddeus Miller: 209-385-2453, @thaddeusmiller
This story was originally published November 15, 2016 at 12:33 PM with the headline "Livingston candidate can’t be city cop and councilman at same time, law says."