The San Diego Board of Port Commissioners — the agency tasked with governing 34 miles of state tidelands along the San Diego Bay — will Tuesday vote on whether to censure and then remove its vice chair from her leadership position.
Sandy Naranjo, National City's representative on the board, is being tasked over alleged violations of the Brown Act, California's law that guarantees the public's right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies.
"Commissioner Naranjo breached her duty of care by levying serious allegations against a district employee that, upon prudent or even minimal inquiry, would have readily been discredited as false," the port board resolution on the item reads. "Commissioner Naranjo's failure to execute her duty of care critically undermines the confidence and trust of the district's staff in the board's leadership, exposes the district to legal liability and has the potential to compromise the integrity of the district."
The details were unclear, but the accusations claim Naranjo withheld information from the board regarding her claims against a district employee, failed to cooperate in disclosing external financial engagements and "breached her fiduciary duty of loyalty when (she) acted in furtherance of her own personal self-interests in retaliating against a district employee for doing their job at the expense of the district's best interests," the resolution reads.
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The board will vote whether to censure — officially reprimand or condemn — Naranjo, remove her from her position as vice chair of the board and prohibit her from holding any other district leadership appointments. The commission does not have the authority to oust her from the board.
Naranjo will have the opportunity to be heard and defend herself before the board meets to vote on the censure and removal from leadership. If she is removed from the vice chair seat, the commissioners will then confer as to who will replace her in that role.
