Valley town city manager used police to pressure tenant in rental dispute. That was wrong

Atwater City Manager Lori Waterman owned a rental in town that she decided to sell. So far, so good — it is not uncommon for city officials to own and sell properties in the cities where they work.

She had rented the home to Sandra Rahn, a former employee of Atwater’s recreation department. Last November, when Waterman needed a home inspection done to close the sale, she and Rahn got into a tussle over the inspector entering the home before Rahn had moved out.

Again, that is not necessarily unusual. Landlord-tenant arrangements usually need to be worked out.

But what made the situation newsworthy was how Waterman chose to put pressure on Rahn. In one instance, a city police officer showed up with Waterman to confront Rahn. “The chief called us to be here,” the officer says. “This isn’t a matter you guys should even be dealing with,” she says in response.

In a second video, Atwater Police Chief Mike Salvador arrived at Rahn’s front door. “I’m just here to try to facilitate this and get this over,” he is heard saying.

Wait a minute. Police officers and the chief go to a citizen’s home on behalf of the city manager and her personal business?

Rahn has filed a claim against the city, alleging that Waterman used her position to leverage police as “her personal enforcement agency.”

The claim cites violations of emotional distress, false imprisonment, assault and protections against unreasonable search and seizure under the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment and the California Constitution.

Special help for city manager

Waterman did not return a reporter’s calls, but said in an email that the situation with Rahn was “a personal and civil issue as a property owner and taxpayer in Atwater, not as the City Manager, nothing different than any other resident.”

That is clearly spurious. What other Atwater resident could call the police chief to help encourage a tenant to hurry up and move out?

And who is the police chief’s boss? Waterman.

Rahn told Sun-Star staff writer Abbie Lauten-Scrivner that the confrontation with Waterman and the officers left her feeling intimidated. “I had cops standing on my lawn,” she said. “I was humiliated by that. I’m not a troublemaker.” She has since moved out of Atwater.

It is easy to understand how Rahn would have felt challenged. For his part, Salvador was calm and nonconfrontational at the front door. Still, he was in uniform, and another officer can be seen several steps behind the chief.

Ethical standards

The International City/County Management Association, a group that promotes high standards in the profession, has a code of ethics with 12 tenets. The 12th one says this: “Public office is a public trust. A member shall not leverage his or her position for personal gain or benefit.”

Waterman has a lot of explaining to justify using the police chief and other officers in her dispute with a renter. She must show why city staff time was needed in her personal business dealing; she should have hired a private attorney to mediate the matter with Rahn.

But Waterman chose to use the chief and other staff, and has tried to pass it off as something available to anyone. To make matters worse, the city attorney’s office has to handle the legal claim filed by Rahn. That means more taxpayer expense for something that never should have involved city staff in the first place.

At a minimum, this is a clear ethical violation, and should be investigated by the Merced County civil grand jury. Atwater residents should demand better from their officials, be they elected or hired. The ICMA’s ethical code puts it exactly right: “Public office is a public trust.”

Waterman lost sight of that fact, and should apologize. The city attorney would be right to settle with Rahn as soon and as cheaply as possible. And the Atwater City Council needs to consider whether Waterman is qualified to continue as city manager.

This story was originally published June 3, 2021 at 5:00 AM.