SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Board of Port Commissioners, the agency tasked with governing 34 miles of state tidelands along the San Diego Bay, voted Tuesday to censure and then remove its vice chair from her leadership position.
The board also agreed to make a redacted version of its investigation report public.
Sandy Naranjo, National City's representative on the board, is being tasked over alleged violations of The Brown Act, California's law that guarantees the public's right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies.
"Commissioner Naranjo breached her duty of care by levying serious allegations against a district employee that, upon prudent or even minimal inquiry, would have readily been discredited as false," the port board resolution on the item reads. "Commissioner Naranjo's failure to execute her duty of care critically undermines the confidence and trust of the district's staff in the board's leadership, exposes the district to legal liability and has the potential to compromise the integrity of the district."
The details were unclear, but the accusations claim Naranjo withheld information from the board regarding her claims against a district employee, failed to cooperate in disclosing external financial engagements and "breached her fiduciary duty of loyalty when (she) acted in furtherance of her own personal self-interests in retaliating against a district employee for doing their job at the expense of the district's best interests," the resolution reads.
In a statement to CBS 8 ahead of the board's special meeting, Naranjo's lawyer Cory Briggs said in a statement,
"The port is clearly fabricating charges against my client and not providing evidence to back them up, all in hopes of marginalizing my client and dissuading the press from looking into the legitimate legal and ethical concerns she raised about a member of the port’s leadership team."
He told the board during Tuesday's meeting that the vote was an "obvious attempt to retaliate against my client because she dared to speak out against."
The board moved forward to censure, officially reprimand or condemn, Naranjo, remove her from her position as vice chair of the board and prohibit her from holding any other district leadership appointments. The commission does not have the authority to oust her from the board.
An attorney representing the Port of San Diego told CBS 8,
“The agenda sheet speaks for itself. Out of respect for this process, representatives of the Port of San Diego will not be providing comments prior to the scheduled meeting.”
During the meeting, the attorney representing the board told the board that "Commissioner Naranjo continues to exhibit retaliation in response to the district’s actions. Failure to hold officials accountable results in liability, disruption of operations and services to the public and ultimately, it really erodes trust."
The board heard from dozens of public comments - the overwhelming majority were in support of Commissioner Naranjo.
"These allegations are vague, opaque, meaningless and not only deprive Ms. Naranjo of constitutionally guaranteed due process rights but it strips National City of any meaningful representation on this commission," said Laura Wilkinson Sinton, who opposed the vote.
"This process lacks transparency, it is being rushed without sufficient notice to the city of National City and community members," said speaker Kelsey Genesi.
"The action is discriminatory, and will have an incredibly chilling effect on this community," said another speaker.
"There is an absence of specific information of the alleged wrongdoing. The port has the responsibility to ensure that the business of the port is done in an ethical, legal and transparent way," added another speaker.
Naranjo, who was sworn in 2021, represents National City. Those who spoke out against the vote said they believed the board’s action was premature and that Naranjo is a trusted community leader.
"This is not an attack solely on the commissioner but on the entire community that is historically been disenfranchised," said one speaker.
"Commissioner Naranjo has always been an outspoken and important voice for the environmental justice community in San Diego," added another speaker.
While the board acknowledged Commissioner Naranjo as being a fierce advocate for her community and environmental justice, they say this vote has nothing to do with that.
"What I think everyone will find when they look at this report with their own eyes is experiencing a feeling of shock, of the egregiousness of the conduct, I felt personal outrage with respect to the conduct, I felt tremendous concern for the organization," said chairman, Rafael Castellanos.
"Even if an official is achieving the policy goals for their constituents they must do so in a lawful manner," added the board's attorney.
Board members voted to appoint Danielle Moore for the vice chair role, but she declined.
A redacted version of the report is expected to be made public sometime Wednesday.
The Port of San Diego's special meeting on Tuesday marks another controversy involving the port's leadership. In July, then-CEO and President of The Port of San Diego Joe Stuyvesant was placed on administrative leave.
Following Stuyvesant's departure, former Port of San Diego CEO and President Randa Coniglio was named acting president and CEO by the board.
The circumstances and details surrounding the Port's internal investigation of Stuyvesant is still unknown.