Backers Seek to Reinstate Clerk’s Raise : Oxnard: Daniel Martinez’s supporters say he is a victim of petty politics. The City Council says its aim was fairness.

Rankled by the suspension of an automatic pay raise for Oxnard City Clerk Daniel Martinez, his supporters have embarked on a campaign they say is aimed at reversing that decision and restoring full independence to his elected position.

But City Council members contend that the effort is misguided, saying all they are trying to do is bring Martinez’s pay raise in line with those of other top managers.

Nevertheless, supporters say they have collected hundreds of signatures from residents angered by a City Council vote in November to rescind the city clerk’s pay hike for 90 days.

A lawyer for Martinez said this week that he will sue the city if his client does not receive the 5% pay increase by Jan. 12, the day after the City Council is expected to consider the matter.

Martinez supporters vow to attend that meeting and demand that Martinez be treated fairly.

“We feel that he is being attacked without good cause,” said Oxnard business owner Tila Estrada, who helped circulate the petition in support of Martinez. “It’s petty politics. They are questioning his ability to do his job, and that’s a decision that should be left to the voters.”

City Council members say their vote to suspend the automatic salary increase is not an attack against the city clerk.

Martinez and all other top managers are being converted to a “pay for performance” system of securing pay raises, council members said. They say the issue isn’t whether Martinez deserves a raise, but whether his raise should be automatic.

“My concern is that we had to stay consistent with our pay raises,” said Councilman Tom Holden, noting that the top raise given to other city employees was 3.5%. “There is no way I could justify a 5% pay increase.”

Since his election in November, 1992--when he unseated Mabi Covarrubias Plisky, longtime city clerk and wife of Councilman Michael Plisky--Martinez has been involved in a series of City Hall flare-ups.

He was openly critical of the city’s decision to hire Mabi Plisky to work in the Police Department’s crime prevention unit after her failed reelection bid. She was eventually removed from the position amid controversy.

A year ago, he came under fire from residents for failing to submit minutes of City Council meetings in a timely manner. Late last year, to fulfill a campaign promise, Martinez donated $2,750 of his $46,840 base salary to local charities, an unprecedented move for an Oxnard official.

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Even now, Martinez pledges to donate his raise--which would amount to more than $2,300--to charity. The issue isn’t money, he said, but the integrity of his office.

“I think some of the independence of my office is being threatened,” said Martinez, noting that the city clerk’s position as advertised during the election included an automatic pay hike. “I want them to respect the vote of the voters who elected me into office.”

In November, a week before they were scheduled to take effect, the Oxnard City Council voted 4 to 1 to temporarily rescind automatic raises for the city clerk and city treasurer, pending evaluations of the two positions that have yet to be done.

That decision only affects Martinez because City Treasurer Dale Belcher is already at the top of the pay scale.

Councilman Plisky--who has clashed with Martinez on a number of issues, including the criticism of his wife when she was hired by the Police Department--said no one is trying to undermine the independence of the city clerk’s office.

Plisky added that it is only fair that Martinez’s pay raise be tied in to his job performance.

“There shouldn’t be any problem if his performance is adequate,” Plisky said. “Maybe the fact that he is putting up such a fuss means his performance is questionable and maybe that’s a good reason for doing it.”

Mayor Manuel Lopez was the only councilman in favor of retaining the automatic pay raises, saying that anything less could jeopardize the independence of the elected positions.

He said the city clerk and treasurer were given automatic raises to free them from the political pressure of either the City Council or the city manager’s office.

Lopez also questions whether council members can suspend an ordinance, the highest form of law in city government, without amending it or adopting a new one. The ordinance laying out the pay guidelines was suspended by a simple council vote.

“You cannot undo an ordinance with a motion,” Lopez said.

That is also what attorney Mitchel B. Kahn believes. Hired by Martinez to battle City Hall, Kahn contends that the city’s vote was improper and that it undermines the independence of the elected office.

“I think they are playing around with the city clerk’s job,” Kahn said. “All we want them to do is play by their rules.”

City Atty. Gary Gillig has advised council members that the ordinance is written in such a way that it can be suspended or rescinded by council vote.

“I appreciate what Mr. Kahn is trying to do, but I think the case for his client is extremely thin,” Gillig said. “I would expect a court not to be very sympathetic to his position.”

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The Latino Coalition for Fair Representation, a Ventura County group formed in 1991 to lend support to Latino officeholders, has been reviewing the matter but decided Monday not to get involved.

Art Hernandez, co-chairman of the coalition and a member of the Rio Elementary School District board of trustees, said members of the group were concerned that Martinez’s office was being weakened by the council’s action.

“The feeling is that Danny has his legal representation and that there’s no point in getting involved,” Hernandez said. “I really believe all of the things are in place for everything to be worked out.”

Martinez said that is his hope as well.

“I’d like to get this thing settled; that’s still my main goal,” he said. “I’m just asking the City Council to do what’s right.”