This time, City Council votes to censure Mayor Mann

Menifee Mayor Scott Mann (right) recused himself from voting this time on a motion to censure him made by Matt Liesemeyer (left). Menifee 24/7 photo: Kristen Spoon

Considering for the second consecutive meeting a motion to censure Mayor Scott Mann, the Menifee City Council Wednesday night voted 3-0 with one abstention to approve such a censure.

The censure came two weeks after the council voted 3-2 against such action, with Mann participating in the vote. This time, considering a similar action placed back on the agenda by council member Lesa Sobek, Mann recused himself from voting and left the council chambers. Sobek (below left) and Matt Liesemeyer once again voted in favor the censure, and after considerable debate, Mayor Pro Tem Greg August this time voted in favor as well. Council member John Denver abstained from voting.

The censure is a formal reprimand but carries no real punitive action against Mann, who has admitted to using nearly $45,000 in funds from prior election campaigns for his personal use, resulting in a $60,000 fine from the Fair Political Practices Comission. Mann remains the city's mayor heading into the Nov. 8 city election, in which he is running for re-election against Neil Winter.

It was that six-day proximity to the election and the fact Mann's penalty from the FPPC won't be formalized until Dec. 15 that led August and Denver to argue once again that no censure should be given at this time. Ultimately, however, both said they acknowledged the fact Mann has admitted the wrongdoing and the public outcry from residents speaking at council meetings and on social media.

"What makes the decision on our part so difficult is the FPPC's decision to announce a proposed settlement and fine prior to the commission's vote to finalize the settlement," August (right) said in his opening statement during the discussion. "The purpose, according to the FPPC, was to inform the public before the election --- not for us to take any action against one of our colleagues. The FPPC decision, in my opinion, is putting the cart before the horse."

In response to August's statements, Sobek said she believed that a censure should take place to show the public that the city council is united in its stance against Mann's actions.

"There were comments made at our last meeting about people making mistakes," she said. "Yes, people do make mistakes, but as elected officials, we also have a responsibility to have integrity. Since the last council meeting, not only has the reputation of the mayor been talked about, complained about, pointed fingers at, but it's also been talked about all of us, individually ... there's been fingers pointed at our city staff. It's unfair because I believe the majority of us on the council do the right things for the right reason.

"While the situation is unfortunate to Mr. Mann and his family and to the City of Menifee, we as elected officials have as our primary responsibility to represent our citizens with honesty and integrity. From the response I've received from many citizens, he has created an issue of trust. "

Denver agreed with August, however.

"I want to make sure everyone understands that this has absolutely nothing to do with the finances of the City of Menifee," said Denver (left). "We could have a unified vote on this if we wait until we hear what the attorneys have to say. This may be between two attorneys. They may have settled on something to avoid sending this to the DA."

Comments made by Liesemeyer seemed to be a turning point in the discussion.

"A censure is a formal condemnation of an individual whose actions run counter to the group's acceptable standards," Liesemeyer said. "In this case, the group is the City Council. The standards that were violated were the Code of Ethics in that he failed to comply with the law. It has nothing to do with the outcome of the FPPC decision.

"A no vote on this censure would signify that you condone the behavior of Scott Mann and his illegal actions. He should not be allowed to represent this City Council as any mayor would typically do."

Liesemeyer said Mann called him a week ago, pleading with him not to discuss a censure again, and indicating he might pursue legal action against the city if such action was taken by the council.

"I find it absolutely incredulous that a sitting mayor would threaten to sue his own city in an attempt to not cast more negative light on his actions," Liesemeyer said. "He indicated we are violating his due process."

Liesemeyer then asked city attorney Jeffrey Melching whether he believed that were the case and Melching said no.

The FPPC's findings against Mann, detailed here on Oct. 14, have resulted in criticism of Mann and others on the city council on social media and among public speakers -- four of whom spoke out Wednesday night against Mann and against the council for not censuring him in the prior meeting. Menifee 24/7 has received hundreds of comments regarding the Mann issue in recent weeks -- virtually all negative.

The controversy also seems to have had a dramatic effect on the upcoming election -- at least among Menifee 24/7 followers, In an online reader survey being conducted by Menifee 24/7, as of midnight on Wednesday, 758 readers have responded to a question about who they would vote for in the mayoral race. The results: 591 for Winter, 53 for Mann and 114 undecided.

State Senator Mike Morrell and Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez publicly asked Mann to resign as chairman of the Riverside County Republican Party and Senator Jeff Stone asked him to resign as mayor. Mann has done neither.

At the Oct. 19 special meeting on this same subject, Mann remained on the dais and voted against the motion to censure. When August said at the start of the meeting that he was surprised to see Mann there, the mayor replied, "I'm the mayor and I have a right to be here and run the meeting."

This time, Mann's actions and his explanation changed.

"After whatever the discussion council and action is, I have a potential financial conflict of interest on that item based upon my service on RCTC (Riverside County Transportation Commission)," Mann said. "Based on the advice of private counsel, advice of the city attorney and advice of the Fair Political Practices Commission, I am going to recuse myself."

To watch Menifee 24/7's recording of our live broadcast of the meeting, visit our Facebook page.