The Chula Vista City Council has joined in on the call for the resignation of Otay Water District Division 4 Director Hector Gastelum.
Gastelum, a former aide to Chula Vista Councilman John McCann, has come under fire recently for controversial social media posts that some people say express an anti-Muslim sentiment.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations and other groups along with community members have called for Gastelum’s resignation at Otay Water District meetings and on several occasions urged the Chula Vista City Council to take a stand against Gastelum.
On Tuesday night, the council voted 4-1 in favor of Gastelum’s resignation. The City Council cannot legally remove Gastelum from office, so the vote was a symbolic gesture.
Councilman Mike Diaz opposed the item, saying the council should not be the “political police” with what elected officials do or say outside the city’s jurisdiction.
“The guy is a politician and the way it typically works is if you think I’m doing a good job you reelect me, if you think I’m an idiot you get rid of me,” Diaz said. “That’s how it works. I just don’t see what good (calling for Gastelum’s resignation) does, we have no power over it and their board has already taken action. All it does is open up a can of worms.”
Last week the water district censured Gastelum and removed him from participating on any committees.
Diaz said he has not seen the controversial Tweets Gastelum made about Muslims, but said he defends Gastelum’s rights to free speech. Diaz, a Republican, said this is not a case of defending a fellow Republican in Gastelum, but rather about a person’s right to freely express an opinion.
Diaz becomes the first public official who has defended Gastelum as numerous groups and community members have spoken out against him. Just last month Mitch Thompson, a colleague of Gastelum on the Otay Water District, published an opinion-editorial in the Star-News asking for Gastelum to resign.
Gastelum called Diaz “courageous” for coming to his defense and agreed with Diaz that the council should not meddle in political business outside of its own.
“I think the Chula Vista city council should go back to what they do best, which is raising our taxes, not building the bay, not bringing a university and not balancing the budget, you know, the things they are known for,” Gastelum said.
In 2014, Gastelum ran for Chula Vista City Council. He lost in the primaries for a seat eventually won by then-incumbent Councilwoman Pat Aguilar.
In February, Gastelum posted a series of Tweets in which he called for more countries to be included in President Donald Trump’s Muslim ban. The Tweets also refer to Muslims in those banned countries as “subhuman” and “scum.”
Despite the city council’s action, Gastelum reiterated Wednesday said that he will not resign. He also said he will continue to express his opinions on social media.
Gastelum publicly spoke at the council meeting explaining the context of his Tweets. He said he’s even offered numerous apologizes that the public has not accepted.
Diaz said he clearly heard Gastelum apologize Tuesday and recognized Gastelum was not painting all Muslims with a broad brush.
Councilman Steve Padilla took the position to call for Gastelum’s resignation.
“Hector, I think you’re conflating people’s behavior with who they are based on their religious identity or traditional beliefs, and the reason so much of our community are hurt or offended is because you’ve done that,” Padilla told Gastelum at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
McCann said as a war veteran who fought alongside Muslims in Mosul, he does not agree with his former aide’s comments.
Gastelum said he worked for McCann from March 2015 through November 2016.
