ANTIOCH – Metropolis Supervisor Cornelius “Con” Johnson has been positioned on administrative go away, the Antioch Metropolis Council determined Tuesday night.
The council vote was introduced when council members emerged from a closed session assembly — and got here as a shock to Johnson, who stated he was out sick Tuesday.
“I don't know what’s occurring,” Johnson advised the Bay Space Information Group after the choice. “I wasn’t there in closed session, so this can be a shock to me.”
Mayor Lamar Thorpe and Councilmember Tamisha Torres-Walker have been absent when colleagues Michael Barbanica, Lori Ogorchock and Monica Wilson voted to put Johnson on go away. Torres-Walker later referred to as for a nationwide seek for his alternative to start instantly.
The Metropolis Council appointed Johnson, a former San Francisco police commander and longtime Antioch resident, as town supervisor in October 2022, awarding him two-year contract value $266,400 a yr.
The explanations behind his go away are unclear.
Over the weekend, this newspaper reported that town’s spokesperson blamed Johnson for a quote he offered to a Bay Space TV information station. It turned out that it was falsely attributed to police Chief Steven Ford. The police chief demanded — and obtained — a retraction from the information outlet.
Johnson later fired town’s contracted public data officer, Rolando Bonilla, who claimed he was solely doing what Johnson requested of him.
When requested on Tuesday night, Johnson stated he “can’t speculate” about whether or not the council’s vote to put him on go away had something to do with the false assertion attributed to Ford.
“I simply don’t know,” he stated.
He additionally questioned if the self-discipline motion was correctly placed on the council’s agenda, as required underneath state legislation.
“If it was a personnel challenge, it could have needed to be on the agenda, after which really would have been taken behind closed doorways on that challenge, nevertheless it wasn’t on the agenda,” Johnson stated. “So I don’t know what occurred … I don’t understand how somebody can take motion like this with out me being there, with out me being knowledgeable.”
An e-mail to Metropolis Legal professional Thomas Smith was not instantly returned.
“I’m fairly certain they'll name me tomorrow and let me know what’s occurred and I can have a chance to reply,” Johnson stated.
Whereas Johnson is on go away, Human Sources Director Ana Cortez will function appearing metropolis supervisor. Final week, Assistant Metropolis Supervisor Rosanna Bayon Moore left to take a job as Piedmont’s subsequent metropolis administrator.