South Gate Continues Down Bizarre Path

Andrew Pasmant says he loves his job as South Gate city manager. And after 22 years in various City Hall posts, it seemed only a court order could keep him away.

In fact, that’s exactly what it took in that blue-collar city in southeast Los Angeles County, where local politics seems to get weirder by the month.

It wasn’t enough when the City Council voted in December to place Pasmant on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into possible wrongdoing. He said the vote was illegal and vowed to show up for work anyway.

Then, the council sought and recently obtained a restraining order to keep him from conducting his official duties. Now Pasmant is fighting that too.

“If you think I’m going to sit back and take it, you’re wrong,” he said Wednesday.

Besides, Pasmant said that as long as he is getting his $130,000-a-year salary, he should earn it.

He won a minor legal victory Wednesday when a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that his attorneys can subpoena city employees to determine if the council vote to place him on leave was valid. But that was just a prelude to an upcoming full trial.

Pasmant also won a moral victory Wednesday when the South Gate Optimist Club named him “Optimist of the Month.” Members of the service club said they admired him for remaining upbeat in the face of his current tribulations. Since he is at least temporarily banned from his City Hall office, he will have to hang the Optimists’ plaque at home.

The feud is only the latest for the community of 90,000 residents and many factories that has recently gained a reputation as home to some of the nastiest and strangest politics in the region.

South Gate voters last year were inundated with anonymous mailers that falsely accused one councilman of being a child molester. Shortly after, someone shot and wounded the 64-year-old mayor in what many believe was an assassination attempt.

The restraining order approved Jan. 19 prohibits Pasmant from entering City Hall to perform his duties as city manager and from interfering with staff. It does allow him, however, to attend public functions such as City Council meetings as long as he sits in the audience with the rest of the public.

City officials have declined to discuss the alleged wrongdoing that prompted the council to place him on administrative leave.

But in a letter to Pasmant, City Atty. Richard Raynor said the council is looking into whether Pasmant bypassed proper procedures in obtaining a city car. The letter said the council is also investigating whether Pasmant authorized improper audits and whether city employees have “performed adequately and professionally under your supervision.”

In an interview, Raynor declined to elaborate on the allegations. But he noted that the city has hired an auditor and an investigator to look into the charges.

Pasmant says the council majority wants him out of City Hall because he has opposed efforts by those council members to micromanage the city.

“They can’t substantiate the allegations,” he said.

He said he is willing to provide any documents or testimony to prove he has done nothing wrong.

In fact, he insisted Dec. 22 that the council meet in public session to discuss the allegations. The council, nonetheless, took up the matter behind closed doors, with Mayor Raul Moriel and council members Xochilt Ruvalcaba and Maria Benavides voting to place Pasmant on leave. Councilman Henry Gonzalez voted no.

Pasmant’s attorney, Gregory Petersen, says the vote was illegal because one councilman, Hector De La Torre, a supporter of Pasmant, was never notified of the meeting.

Pasmant says the council placed him on leave because it could not get the four votes required under his contract to fire him. Without the four votes, Pasmant says, the council can fire him only if he is found guilty of committing a crime or an act of moral turpitude.

De La Torre says the allegations are an attempt to find a reason to fire Pasmant. “All that stuff they came up with after the fact,” he said.

Ruvalcaba, who voted against Pasmant, declined to discuss the matter, citing the advice of the city attorney. But she dismissed Pasmant’s allegations that the council majority has tried to micromanage.

“Rest assured that when the facts come out from the investigation, justice will be served,” she said.

Pasmant grew up in nearby Lynwood and has worked at South Gate City Hall since 1976, most of the time as the head of the community development department. He was promoted to city manager in July 1997.

Ironically, since he was placed on leave, Pasmant said he has been informally helping residents, business owners and others by telling them how to navigate the bureaucracy in City Hall. He even meets people at their homes to offer advice.

“I have been telling them where to go and how to get things done,” he said. “I’m a public servant, so I’m going to do anything I can to help.”