San Bernardino City Councilmember Kimberly Calvin violated city rules and created an “uncomfortable” work environment at San Bernardino City Hall, according to a personnel investigation released by officials on Thursday, Dec. 7.
Calvin, who represents the 6th Ward, has been on the council since December 2020. Her seat is on the March 5 presidential primary ballot and her term ends in December 2024.
Calvin could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.
A majority of the council voted to release the report in closed session late Wednesday.
“The report speaks for itself and I hope the voters of San Bernardino take this seriously,” Councilmember Ted Sanchez said Thursday evening.
Since reaching the council dais, Calvin has been a vocal advocate for her ward and the city. She has not shied away from expressing her frustration over issues with the Carousel Mall redevelopment, lack of shelter for homeless residents and the behavior of other elected leaders.
On Thursday, the city released an that followed a complaint filed by an unnamed city employee. The complaint alleged that Calvin violated San Bernardino’s rules prohibiting councilmembers from circumventing the city manager and making direct requests of staff.
“Claimant indicated he had been subjected to an unfavorable work atmosphere and, as a result, he began to document incidents that he felt rose to the level of misconduct,” the summary reads in part. “Claimant also alleged that Ms. Calvin has contacted him and other City staff directly, and made requests that exceeded the authority of a City councilperson which in essence circumvented the city manager.”
The report expresses some sympathy for Calvin, calling her “a highly engaged councilmember (who) was able to articulate a vision for her ward that she felt would address the needs of her community.”
However, the report continues, “it appeared that her desire to enact positive change would at times create an atmosphere that was not conducive to an efficient and collaborative workplace and may have violated City rules.” The report notes that she had signed an agreement to comply with the city’s harassment policies shortly after being sworn in as a city council member.
According to the report, Calvin “repeatedly” contacted staff directly for information and requested documents or further research on subjects, as well as gave them direction on their work assignments. According to the city’s municipal code, councilmember requests beyond simply answering questions must go through the city’s chain of command. The investigation report says that emails show that Calvin contacted staff directly on multiple occasions.
“The facts in this matter also indicated that many of Ms. Calvin’s interactions with City staff were not on behalf of the city council as a body; rather, she was at times acting unilaterally to make personal requests of her own,” the report reads in part.
The report notes that the investigation found several people who had interactions with Calvin that appeared to be misconduct under the city’s municipal code.
“There is clearly a very highly charged political atmosphere within the City as a result of Ms. Calvin’s interactions with City staff,” the report reads in part. “Several witnesses expressed that they have experienced negative physical reactions to the stress that they attribute to Ms. Calvin’s behavior.”
The unnamed employee also alleged that city emails may have been forwarded directly to community activist Treasure Ortiz, who received the documents without going through the California Public Records Act process. Investigators were not able to confirm who had sent Ortiz the documents and that evidence suggested that the documents had gone through several employees’ hands before reaching Ortiz.
On Thursday, Ortiz said she had no idea what documents the investigation was looking into and hadn’t known there was an investigation at all, prior to being contacted by a journalist.
“Councilwoman Calvin doesn’t forward me or send me anything,” Ortiz said. “I have thousands of public records from submitting (requests) through the process that’s required by law.”
She said the investigation was attempting to make Calvin into a “scapegoat.”
“Councilwoman Calvin has the most integrity and ethics of anyone sitting on that dais,” Ortiz said.
The council voted 5-0 in closed session late Wednesday to release the executive summary of findings presented by JL Group, the firm hired to examine the city employee’s complaints. Calvin, who had been present for most of the open meeting, left before the closed session due to a “family emergency,” Mayor Helen Tran said Wednesday. Councilmember Ben Reynoso also was absent from the closed session, though he participated in the open meeting.
Tran could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday afternoon.
Investigators sustained three of the four complaints against Calvin, according to the summary, agreeing that:
- Calvin created an uncomfortable work environment for the unnamed employee;
- Calvin created an uncomfortable work environment for other staff or city council members;
- Calvin violated city rules regarding communications and directions to staff.
Investigators did not sustain the allegation that Calvin forwarded city emails to Ortiz.
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