Calabasas mayor
returns to
council
By Gregory Koteles
Staff Writer

Cheers and loud applause erupted in Calabasas City Hall when City Councilman Dennis Washburn moved to reconfirm the council’s trust in Mayor Janice Lee.

Quietly and without fanfare, Lee had taken her accustomed seat at the Aug. 1 meeting of the Calabasas City Council.

It was standing room only in council chambers, with about 60 people in the audience when the meeting convened. Tension and curiosity abounded as everyone waited to hear what Lee had to say.

Lee, who in an emotional outburst had previously resigned two weeks ago, put off her prepared statement until after the oral communication-public comment segment of the meeting. And the public did speak, many vocalizing their strong support and confidence in city government, and in particular, in their mayor.

Afterward, in a reserved, almost hushed voice, Lee spoke. "If this is my last address to you as mayor," said Lee, "I want this opportunity to tell everyone in my own words what my intentions were then, and are now, and state it clearly for the record, so there is no misunderstanding."

She apologized to the citizens of Calabasas, her colleagues and staff regarding her conduct at the previous meeting, saying that she had reached her "boiling point."

Said Lee, "I expect myself and our elected officials, and those in the community, to behave like adults, both on and off the dais … I don’t expect people to like each other who have opposing viewpoints. But I do expect them to show to each other and to the community a level of self restraint – and that includes me – for two evenings a month, for a period lasting approximately three hours … hopefully."

Lee then offered the other four members of the council a choice; to have her continue as mayor or step down from the role of leadership and serve out the remainder of her term as councilmember.

Boos and cries of "no" from the audience met Mayor Pro Tem Lesley Devine’s suggestion that the matter had to be placed on the agenda for the next meeting.

City Attorney Charles Vose reminded the council that they at any time could choose a new chairperson for the meeting, effectively allowing the council to respond to Lee’s question.

Washburn took the opportunity to make a motion reconfirming Lee as mayor, which was seconded by Devine.

City Councilman James Bozajian, calling for discussion, responded with a question of his own, asking Lee if she wished to serve out her term as mayor.

"Yes, I do," replied Lee.

A roll call vote was requested regarding the motion before the council, at which point City Councilman Michael Harrison stood up and left the chamber. His departure evoked boos and hisses from the audience.

Harrison later explained that his leaving was meant to indicate his abstention from the vote and wasn’t a protest.

"I wanted to abstain," said Harrison. "But I’ve been told [by the council and City Attorney] that abstaining means ‘no,’ so I had to leave the dais."

Though he didn’t wish to comment on the reasons for his abstention, Harrison said, "If she [Lee] runs all of our future the meetings the way she ran that meeting, then she will be an excellent mayor."

In Harrison’s absence, the remaining four councilmembers all voted to reconfirm Lee.

Calling the mayor "courageous," Washburn said last Friday, "I’m very glad that Janice did what she did on both occasions." Lee’s resignation, he said, caused the council to examine itself and its policies and forced a "stock-taking."

"What has happened in the past several weeks has been very healthful for Calabasas," said Washburn.

In her statement and later during the meeting, Lee suggested that a sergeant-at-arms be appointed, at least for a probationary period of 60 to 90 days, to maintain order during council meetings.

"Unfortunately, we’ve never had a sergeant-at-arms," said Lee in her address. "We don’t even have shock collars. When the majority of the council is out of control, outbursts like the one two weeks ago were pretty predictable."

When the meeting concluded at 11:30 p.m., Calabasas again had a mayor.