Boulanger Censure May Not Be Possible

It is still unclear whether the Hercules City Council has the authority to censure Councilman Gerard Boulanger for pre-election . The possibility of a censure—a formal reprimand—was first suggested by Mayor Myrna de Vera at Tuesday's special City Council , where was sworn onto the council.

City Attorney Alfred Cabral responded briefly during the meeting, noting that censure probably would have to be discussed in an open council meeting. According to a Contra Costa Times article, after Tuesday’s meeting, Cabral said Boulanger could not be censured for anything he did before he was sworn onto the council.

When contacted by Patch Friday, Cabral, who is out of town for the weekend, said he will need to do more research and will have a response on the censure feasibility Monday.

Boulanger has been under fire for embellishing his professional, educational and political background during the campaign. Some residents have asked him to resign, while others want him to remain in the seat he took from in the recall election. The term is up in December 2012.

On Thursday, City Clerk Doreen Mathews could not confirm whether or not the council would be able to censure Boulanger, but she forwarded Hercules Patch the council-approved rules and procedures about censure, which states:

“Any deliberate assembly has the inherent right to make and enforce its own laws and to enforce its own rules and laws, including the discipline of a member of the deliberative body. The City Council shall have a right to discipline, censure and punish a member where a standard majority of the Council finds with support of the City Attorney that actions of a member are arbitrary and conspiring to the detriment of the City of Hercules. Such discipline, after the Council duly notices and publicly conducts its investigation can include, public censure, civil charges and in grave or extreme cases recommendation to the Hercules citizens at large for the removal of a sitting Council Member.  As a rule, such deliberative body including a City Council has no right to go beyond what is necessary for its self-protection.”

In an email Thursday, de Vera said she did not know whether the council had the ability to censure Boulanger. She saud if it is not, “(s)ince Gerard Boulanger is now a Council member, I am focused on working with him and will give him the same respect I give the rest of the Council. I will also make sure to help him succeed in becoming a great representative of the citizens.”

said she inquired about the censure after a letter from resident Glenn Abraham was read during public comment at Tuesday's meeting. Abraham's letter called for Boulanger's resignation. "If Gerard Boulanger were serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, he would be censured for his conduct during the election campaign, and his conduct after; if he were serving in the Senate, he would be censured or expelled. Under Hercules City Council Rules of Procedure, Section 4.7, the city council has the power to impose similar discipline. I ask that you do so," Abraham's letter read.

One known has been filed with the Secretary of State against Boulanger after the election. Shannan Velayas, a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State, said Thursday said she could not reveal whether or not any additional complaints about Boulanger have been filed.

If the person who files the complaint wants to make it public, “that’s their prerogative,” she said. Velayes added that all complaints filed with the Secretary of State's Election Fraud Investigation Unit will be investigated and, if necessary, forwarded to legal authorities.