Move to Fire Dana Point Councilwoman Gallagher Fails

A move to fire Councilwoman Toni Gallagher from the City Council because she hadn’t been to a meeting since April 23 died Tuesday night by a 2-to-1 vote.

The council had asked the city attorney to explore what options it had when a member misses repeated consecutive meetings. Although he determined that the member must obtain the council’s permission in advance, the panel voted to retain Gallagher.

“It comes down to pure nastiness to use some obscure law to punish me” for her opposition to the majority on several previous issues, Gallagher said Tuesday of the effort. “If I was on vacation in the Bahamas, it would be an issue. But I was not.”

Gallagher said her absences were due to whiplash and other medical problems from a car accident on May 9.

Mayor Karen Lloreda, who voted against retaining Gallagher, said she was presented with no information that could justify granting permission for her absences.

“I’ve had serious whiplash before,” Lloreda said. “I’m sorry, you get a collar and go back to work.”

But Councilman Bill Ossenmacher said he saw no reason why the council was even addressing the issue.

“In the four years since I’ve been a councilman, I have never heard of a council member asking permission to miss a meeting,” Ossenmacher said.

Ossenmacher and Councilman Harold R. Kaufman voted Tuesday to grant Gallagher retroactive permission for her absences. Councilwoman Judy Curreri was absent.

Gallagher’s absence came under question when the council lacked a quorum of three at the June 11 council meeting. At that meeting, at which the council was to vote on a proposal that the Orange County Marine Institute become a private entity, Gallagher was absent, Ossenmacher left and Lloreda abstained, leaving Kaufman and Curreri.

The council then asked City Atty. Jerry Patterson to explore what it could do to require Gallagher’s attendance. He found that state law requires council members to obtain council permission to miss meetings for 60 days or more. Patterson informed Gallagher and the council that her seat could be forfeited because she had not obtained approval from the council for her absences. On Friday, Gallagher responded by sending the city attorney a letter requesting the council’s retroactive permission to miss those meetings.

In her letter and argument before the City Council, Gallagher said she faxed notices before the last four council meetings that she could not attend due to her medical condition and telephoned the city clerk’s office to explain her absences.

“I have followed the letter and spirit of the law as I understand it,” Gallagher said.

In addition, she said, no member of the public or council ever objected to her absences.

Lloreda said the council may have to come up with a clearer definition of the council’s position on absenteeism to prevent a situation like Gallagher’s from occurring again.

“This was absolutely an unprecedented circumstance,” Lloreda said.