Otay Water District board member Hector Gastelum said he plans to put an item on the June 6 agenda to discuss the possibility of removing his censure and being placed back on committees.
For it to be on the agenda, Gastelum will have to make a request to Otay Water District General Manager Mark Watton.
Otay Water District’s Code of Ordinances state that the general manager prepares the agenda for meetings. Agenda items can also be requested.
“Agendas shall be based upon items requested by any board member or by others in the normal course of the district business, or as determined by the general manager,” as stated in the water district’s code of ordinances.
The Otay Water District board of directors censured Gastelum on April 19, 2017, for making controversial comments on his social media pages in which critics say he expressed an anti-Muslim sentiment.
In a series of tweets on Feb. 19, 2017, Gatelum called for more countries to be included in President Donald Trump’s proposed ban of people from Muslim countries.
The tweets also characterized Muslims in those countries as “subhuman” and “scum.”
In other tweets, he likened Muslims to rapists and murderers.
Gastelum has always maintained the position that his Tweets were always taken out of context.
Gastelum said he will ask for the removal of his censure because he believes enough time has passed.
“I didn’t agree with the censure from the first get-go but one year has been more than enough,” he said.
In an April 16 email, Gastelum asked board president Tim Smith if he could be put back on committees.
“It’s been more than a year since the censure and I want to be back in committees. Can you please put it in the agenda?” Gastelum asked Smith.
In his reply, Smith directed Gastelum to the Otay Water District, Code of Ordinances, Article I, Chapter, section I about placing items on the agenda.
When Smith was elected board president in January, he told The Star-News that he would revisit the censure in April by reviewing Gastelum’s social media conduct since the censure.
Smith said after reviewing Gastelum’s Tweets since the censure, he decided to keep Gastelum censured.
“It appeared as though he was doubling down on his comments about Muslims and reinforcing even what he had said almost a year ago,” Smith said.
Although the censure removes Gastelum from serving on any of the water district’s committees, it does not prohibit him from voting on water issues.
Gastelum, who is a mayoral candidate in Chula Vista, said asking for the censure removal is not a political ploy.
“The two are separate things,” he said. “This has nothing to do with my run for mayor.”
Water board members receive a stipend for serving on the board. They receive a separate stipend if they serve on committees.
he hasn’t even apologized for his tweets. that’d be step 1.