Trader Joe's was packed. Like one of the numbered pieces in a 3x3 puzzle, I awaited my turn to nudge my shopping cart forward into the single square of vacant space. And yet it was easy to pass the time, as I had almost two hours of Alameda City Council's November 6 meeting playing in my airbuds...

As the end of the agenda approached, Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft and Councilmember Malia Vella introduced their proposed "resolution to admonish" Councilmember Trish Herrera Spencer for her recent behavior while serving in an official city capacity.

Councilmember Herrera Spencer was not herself present in Council Chambers or remotely for the Nov. 6 Council meeting.

The four councilmembers who were present each demonstrated a divergent approach to the "resolution to admonish":

• Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft and Councilmember Vella presented the resolution with the calm precision of lawyers (their professional backgrounds). The mayor had asked in advance for more time than a typical agenda item, so their introductory remarks weren't rushed.
• Councilmember Jensen spoke with similar precision. But whereas the two councilmembers who introduced the referral saw clear evidence of public behavior on official city business in violation of the City Council code of conduct, Jensen saw an unclear situation. In her words:

"Here's my concern: My concern is not about whether Councilmember Spencer was attacked or whether she was drunk. I'm concerned about my colleague's health, and I'm hopeful that she will get medical or rehabilitation support that she needs. Councilmember Spencer has already suffered much in the court of public opinion, and I don't think a censure by members of this body will do anything other than to place blame that may or may not be warranted."

• While she did take an easy way out, Councilmember Jensen was also mindful in in her exactness and in what she did not say. (More on that in a moment, regarding Vice Mayor Tony Daysog's comments.)
• Jensen is among the councilmembers who have been serving in a public capacity in Alameda over multiple decades — including serving alongside Herrera Spencer on the school board. She knows Herrera Spencer and her M.O. as an elected official. She's also been the target of Herrera Spencer's actions as an elected official. While that deeper history may not be directly pertinent to the resolution at this City Council meeting, Jensen has more than earned the right to decide for herself when and how to engage with Herrera Spencer.
• I had joked with other council-watchers a few weeks ago that Vice Mayor Tony Daysog would likely be drinking from an oversized bottle of water throughout this Council meeting, so that when the "resolution to admonish" came up, he could suddenly need to leave Council Chambers for a long bathroom break... but I was wrong. Instead the Vice Mayor fully engaged. It sounds like he was even emailing constituents in advance of this meeting, offering a wide range of hypothetical excuses for Councilmember Herrera Spencer's behavior. During the meeting, he took the out-of-the-ordinary step of directly replying to a public comment during the public comment process. Whereas Councilmember Jensen spoke concisely to express how she would not be supporting the motion, Vice Mayor Daysog spoke in a fanciful manner. If his goal was to demonstrate that he "plays" on the same "team" as Councilmember Herrera Spencer, he may have succeeded in that respect — but at the cost of his credibility.

• While Vice Mayor Daysog sought to tie his conclusions to a ~4 minute video extract published on the East Bay Times website, the body-cam footage released by City of Long Beach involving their police and emergency staff encounter with Councilmember Herrera Spencer were much more extensive. In the penultimate moment of the meeting, Councilmember Vella offered to have the City Clerk show the entire video recording of 5 body-cams over course of ~23 minutes for Vice Mayor Daysog's information, along with additional relevant documentation. Just as Councilmember Jensen has earned the right to decide how to engage with the topic of Councilmember Herrera Spencer (deciding to step back from this particular situation), Councilmember Vella has also more than earned that right for herself (deciding to step toward this particular situation).
• Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft, deciding that enough had been said and enough had been heard, brought the item to a close:

"I knew this was a difficult motion to bring forward. It was the right thing to do. I believe that all the evidence does point to public intoxication. And it is also my first hope that our councilmember will recover, will seek help.

"And for those of you who want to support her, please consider those forms of support — rather than denial is what I heard here.

"Enough is said — I don't think we need to bring a motion."

This agenda item (and how holding the public discussion was the action) brought to mind an interaction between Councilmember Herrera Spencer and Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft on an entirely unrelated subject matter at the beginning of this year. To quote from the January 2, 2024 City Council meeting:

Councilmember Herrera Spencer: "My motion would be to decline the referral."

Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft: "The referral has actually [already] been heard this evening."