After the pomp, circumstance and debate that followed the first election of Steve Knoblock to the position of mayor pro tem, he retained the same role he possessed heading into the Tuesday, Feb. 7, San Clemente City Council meeting after a second vote.
With the council deciding earlier Tuesday night that it would use a simple majority of those participating to determine a vote, it was Knoblock himself, Mayor Chris Duncan, and Councilmember Mark Enmeier out of the five who sided with him.
“This is disappointing that we’re here,” Duncan said. “We’ve got city business to take care of, we’ve got people who are interested in the decisions that we’re going to make here, and we’re debating something that’s meaningless.”
Councilmember Victor Cabral, who agendized the election, gave background on his decision.
He cited what he called “surprising” of Duncan, championed by the Democratic Party of Orange County, and the Orange County GOP-backed Knoblock supporting each other in their respective bids for mayor and mayor pro tem.
Cabral claimed that Duncan and Knoblock agreed on a backroom deal, and that he had been told of the deal after the election.
“It happens,” he said. “That’s the reality of politics, and (we are), in a sense, politicians. It was a surprise to me because I really didn’t think it happened at this local level.”
Knoblock later denied Cabral’s claim, calling any discussion of such an agreement “foolishness.”
He added that when voting for either Duncan or Councilmember Gene James for mayor, he told James ahead of time that he couldn’t support James for multiple reasons. That left Duncan as the lone remaining option.
“There was no deal for me to support Chris, and no deal for me to be pro tem,” said Knoblock.
Duncan also said he was disappointed in the “accusations” lobbed by Cabral and that he hoped such actions would never happen again.
In asking for Enmeier’s support, Cabral pointed out the custom of the highest vote-getter in the preceding election being appointed mayor pro tem, and that he was someone who would strictly focus on local issues unlike Knoblock. The latter point was a reference to Knoblock’s proposed resolutions regarding abortion and election safety.
James agreed with Cabral’s point about earning the most votes in the 2022 Municipal Election and affirmed his position that he felt Cabral won the first council-leadership election in December with a 2-1-2 vote.
James then nominated Cabral for mayor pro tem, and Knoblock submitted his own name for the second nomination.
Enmeier likened the second vote and its debate over what he felt was merely a title to a situation involving a group of high school-aged “mean girls.”
“I want to show the community that someone on the left (and) someone on the right can work together, that we can put national differences aside and focus on city issues,” Enmeier said. There was no reason for him to change his vote for Knoblock, he added.
Knoblock said that when he abstained from the first vote involving Cabral—instead of voting “no,” out of respect—he couldn’t see someone “who had been on the council for five minutes” taking the pro tem spot over someone with more years of experience.
Regarding Duncan’s vote for Knoblock, Duncan said he respected Knoblock’s lengthy service on the council and he wanted to give the opportunity for Knoblock to hold the mayor pro tem title for a year.
Duncan referenced a similar situation in which he defended James’ position as mayor pro tem in 2021 despite James’ involvement in a recorded confrontation with a sheriff’s deputy, as he didn’t see the need to hold multiple votes on a “nominal” title.
“I have to come out that same way here,” he said. “I don’t want to set a precedent of relitigating nominal titles over and over again instead of doing the city’s business.”
Similarly to Enmeier, Duncan said he wouldn’t change his vote.
Cabral spoke up to say he agreed with Duncan and that he didn’t expect the vote to change, but that he thought it was important for the public to see a mayor pro tem election under the new rules.
“I do want to make sure that the rules were clarified, and that we had a vote under those new rules, and that’s a success,” he said. “I will continue to work with you (Duncan), and all of you, and I think we are going to get along well, and I think we’re going to work well together.”
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