PASADENA : Councilman Holds Off Move to Censure Him

Proclaiming that “the same fire burns in my heart,” as in those who protested during the Los Angeles riots three months ago, flamboyant Pasadena City Councilman Isaac Richard briefly held off a move by his colleagues to censure him, but almost immediately set off another attempt.

Councilman Jess Hughston’s motion to censure Richard for antisocial behavior at first failed for lack of a second on Tuesday. Later in the same meeting, Hughston got a second as Richard continued to berate Mayor Rick Cole. A vote was put off until Aug. 11, when all seven council members will be present.

The imbroglio was continuing from the previous week, when Richard cursed Cole as a “bigot” during an argument over a proposed inquiry into the handling of 911 calls from the home of the city’s black chief of police. Cole, who as chairman of the meeting was precluded by city tradition from seconding the motion, said nevertheless that Richard had violated a city code of conduct requiring “effective, courteous and cooperative working relations.”