By a 4-1 vote, Traffic Commission Chair Brad Sheridan was removed from his position by Los Alamitos City council members during the July 6 meeting.
The vote came about after a discussion during the June 21 council meeting on whether or not the actions of Sheridan, who was seen holding up signs and using hand puppets during public comment criticizing the city’s choice of trash provider during the June 7 meeting, should be reprimanded for his actions.
Councilmember Dean Zarkos believed his actions may be in conflict with the State Bar’s Code of Ethics.
During the July 6 meeting, Zarkos called Sheridan’s actions “reprehensible and sophomoric.”
Councilmember Troy Edgar said Sheridan’s behavior while a speaker was at the podium during public comment was not professional and immature.
Sheridan, a civil attorney and six-year member of the commission, said his unspoken comments during the June 7 meeting were not made as an officer of the court but as a resident of Los Alamitos.
Threatening Sheridan with a letter to the State Bar, as the council was also considering, would hinder his ability to make a living, Sheridan said.
Several friends and supporters of Sheridan spoke out against the council taking any action against him during public comment.
Many of them said Sheridan was a good man with his heart and actions always for the betterment of the city. Jody Shloss said what the council was considering doing was simple retribution on someone that spoke out against them.
“If you chastise anyone, it should be yourselves for doing this,” Shloss said.
Fellow Traffic Commission member Larry Andrade said Sheridan’s comments were taken “way out of context.”
Council member Gerri Mejia said there was no documentation provided to the council on the alleged ethics violation.
Mejia criticized both Edgar and Zarkos for non-professional behavior during the same public comment that Sheridan was.
“When that poem was being read, you were cutting up as well,” Mejia said. “I simply saw (what was being done) as a sign of quiet disagreement,”
Mayor Marilynn Poe said that while she was concerned about Sheridan’s behavior, any decision to request City Attorney Sandra Levin to draft a letter to the Bar Association requesting whether Sheridan’s actions represented a violation of the Bar’s Code of Ethics must be further researched.
Poe said commissioners are looked up to and the chair should “be acting as a role model.”
After nearly 45 minutes of discussion, Mejia made a motion for no further action to be taken against Sheridan, which died for lack of a second.
Zarkos then made a motion stating because of Sheridan’s behavior to remove him from the commission and also to have city staff review the record and documentation to determine if further action is warranted. Edgar seconded the motion.
There was no further discussion about a replacubg Sheridan.
