Mayor Kicks Councilman Off Water Panel : Feuds: Poor attendance by 12-year veteran Jim Monahan, a pro-growth member of the slow-growth council, was cited as the reason.

A feud between Ventura City Councilman Jim Monahan and the new slow-growth council majority has exploded with Mayor Richard Francis’ expulsion of Monahan from the city’s Water Committee.

Francis on Monday cited the councilman’s poor attendance record as the reason for his removal.

“It’s clear that he has his priorities in a different place than the rest of the council,” Francis said. “Our Water Committee is a crucial one, and we have committee members who want to participate.”

Francis said he will take Monahan’s place on the committee at today’s key meeting with the Casitas and United water districts to discuss a joint project to build a pipeline to import state-owned water from Lake Castaic. He said he has not decided who will be Monahan’s permanent replacement on the committee.

Monahan, a pro-growth advocate who has sided with business and development groups in opposing the city’s stringent water-rationing policies, said the mayor’s action is politically motivated.

“I think the political motivation is there, but I don’t know exactly what it is,” Monahan said.

Monahan acknowledged that he has missed many meetings and that he has left early from others. But he said he has been the council’s voice of reason on water issues.

The councilman has been an advocate of importing water from the State Water Project in Northern California while most council members say they are not yet ready commit to the idea. And he has steadfastly opposed the moratorium on new water hookups adopted by the council in March, saying his colleagues are manipulating the water crisis in an effort to halt growth in the city.

Monahan, a 12-year council veteran, has been increasingly at odds with his six colleagues since three environmental candidates were swept into office in November, giving slow-growth forces their first majority since the early 1970s. Monahan ended up a distant fourth in that election and barely held onto his council seat.

Soon after the election, Monahan stopped talking to rookie Councilwoman Cathy Bean. He said she is the main reason he leaves early from Water Committee meetings.

“Cathy doesn’t understand her job,” Monahan said. “She should take time to talk to the city staff and do her homework and research instead of wasting the City Council’s time by asking all those questions during meetings.”

Monahan said he has a busy schedule and must leave early because Bean’s questions cause meetings to drag on unnecessarily. He also said he gets frustrated at meetings because Bean and the third committee member, Vice Mayor Don Villeneuve, oppose state water importation and thus spend most of their time looking for alternatives.

Monahan winces and rolls his eyes when Bean frequently asks staff members for clarifications.

For her part, Bean accused Monahan of sexism for making her the target of his contempt.

“I think he takes it out on me, No. 1, because I’m a woman,” Bean said. She also said he feels animosity toward her because she received 4,000 votes more than he did in November and is at the opposite end of the political spectrum on growth issues.

But Bean said she and Monahan never have engaged in a direct verbal confrontation.

Monahan dismissed the sexism charges as ridiculous, saying he has worked effectively with several councilwomen during his council tenure.

Monahan’s dismissal from the water committee climaxed a week of tension between him and his colleagues.

After a heated exchange with Villeneuve at a council meeting last week, Monahan said, “I’ve had it with you guys.” He stormed out of the council chambers midway through the meeting and did not return.

The next day, the council met for a study session to discuss what it termed, “Visions for Ventura’s Future,” and Monahan was the only no-show.

“When Jim didn’t show up . . . that sent us the signal that he is less than interested in participating” in the city’s decision-making process, Francis said.

When Monahan was informed later that Councilman Gary Tuttle’s vision for the city includes an environmental program to help California condors proliferate, a giant desalination plant and bicycles replacing cars on city streets, Monahan said: “I don’t know what Gary’s been smoking.”

Tuttle, in turn, accused Monahan of being “close-minded.”

On Wednesday, Francis said he met with Villeneuve and City Manager John Baker to discuss Monahan’s attitude and attendance record.

After discussing the matter with the other two officials, Francis said he decided to replace Monahan if the councilman didn’t show up for the water committee meeting that night. Again, the mayor said, Monahan did not attend.

Monahan said he always has a good reason for missing a meeting. He said he has missed several meetings because of health problems. He said he missed the workshop to discuss visions for the city because he had previously scheduled meetings with the St. Patrick’s Day Parade organizing committee and with the Ventura County Fair board.