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A Del Norte County proclamation commemorating World Refugee Day turned contentious Tuesday after resident Linda Sutter and District 1 Supervisor Roger Gitlin demanded removal of a reference to Rikuzentakata, Japan, Del Norte’s sister city.

Sutter and Gitlin cited California Fair Political Practices Commission rules on conflicts of interest involving supervisors Bob Berkowitz, Lori Cowan and Chris Howard. Sutter, who filed complaints with the FCC against Gitlin’s three colleagues in March, said they shouldn’t even discuss issues relating to Del Norte County’s sister city relationship with Rikuzentakata.

“They can’t vote on anything with the Sister City,” Sutter told supervisors. “They can’t talk about the Sister City. I’d like to see the proclamation scratch out ‘solidarity’ of the Sister City because the Sister City has absolutely nothing to do with what goes on in our county and our city. They’re across the sea.”

Though Rikuzentakata representatives asked Del Norte County elected officials to join them in commemorating World Refugee Day, according to Howard, who represents District 3, the proclamation isn’t specific to the Japanese community. Howard, Berkowitz and Board Chair Gerry Hemmingsen voted in favor of the proclamation. Gitlin with “extreme reluctance,” dissented. Cowan was absent.

On Monday, the Crescent City Council unanimously approved the World Refugee Day proclamation, though Sutter also demanded Councilors remove the reference to Rikuzentakata. Sutter also has pending conflict of interest complaints with the FPPC against Crescent City Mayor Blake Inscore, Mayor Pro Tem Heidi Kime and former Councilor Darrin Short related to the community’s relationship with Rikuzentakata.

Short will succeed Gitlin as District 1 supervisor in January.

The United Nations General Assembly created World Refugee Day on June 20, 2000 in honor of the contributions refugees have made throughout the world. Del Norte and Crescent City’s proclamation mentions the Hmong refugees that call the area home and are “helping build a vibrant and diverse community, contributing socially, politically and economically to our City and County.”

The proclamation also states the Crescent City Council and Del Norte County Board of Supervisors “will join in solidarity with our Sister City of Rikuzentakata…” to recognize World Refugee Day. As part of that recognition, Battery Point Lighthouse will be lit in blue lights June 19 through 21.

In Rikuzentakata, Ippon Matsu, the community’s Miracle Pine that stands as a testiment to its survival following the March 11 tsunami, will also be lit in blue, Howard said.

Before the Board of Supervisors’ vote, Sutter asked its county counsel, Joel Campbell Blair, to review a May 9, 2014 letter from the California FPPC general counsel Zackary Morazzini to attorneys for Union City, Menlo Park, Hayward and Santa Clara County regarding a trip mayors in those communities took to China and whether payment for travel, lodging and “subsistence” should have been reported as gifts.

According to Morazzini, 12 mayors were invited to travel to China with their expenses paid for by the nonprofit American Asian Economic and Cultural Association and the governments of the four cities in China the mayors had visited.

The estimated market value of that trip was about $5,000 per participant, according to the letter and involved investment and international trade between China and the Silicon Valley.

Morazzini’s letter concluded that payments for the mayors’ travel, lodging and subsistence are reportable gifts, but aren’t subject to gift limits because they “will be provided in connection with a legislative or governmental purpose by both a foreign government and a 501 (c)(3) organization.”

Though Gitlin wanted to share Morazzini’s letter and conclusion with his colleagues, agreeing with Sutter that a conflict of interest exists, he never got that far.

Hemmingsen, cutting Gitlin off, said Sutter’s conflict of interest complaints against Berkowitz, Howard and Cowan regarding the sister city relationship with Rikuzentakata has nothing to do with the World Refugee Day proclamation.

Gitlin shot back, accusing Hemmingsen of arbitrarily ignoring the potential conflict.

“You’re going to argue and interrupt me anyway so it doesn’t really matter,” Gitlin said. “I’m saying to you there has to be a change to this resolution that is being presented before this board in a few moments. And you’re ignoring that; it shows me extreme sublime ignorance of what is relative to this. What if the individual doesn’t know they’re in violation of the FPPC code?”

Howard, apologizing for the “confusion for the public and for one of our supervisors,” said most of Sutter’s complaints has to do with financial contributions and “linkages” between Del Norte County individuals and those in Rikuzentakata.

“There’s no financial benefit, which these FPPC guidelines that Ms. Sutter and Supervisor Gitlin bring forward,” Howard said. “I can see no financial connection. I can see no connection to Supervisor Berkowitz, Supervisor Cowan or Supervisor Howard, myself, from passing a proclamation and if Ms. Sutter or Supervisor Gitlin want to try to lobby the FPPC that there’s a connection financially in passing a proclamation in solidarity with our Sister City, they by all means should do so. But, this to my point, is strictly a proclamation on a very important day recognized around the world for the last 20 years.”

Though the spat between Gitlin and Hemmingsen drew condemnation from TAB & Associates owner Thomas Barnes and Crescent City resident Joy Newhart, Khou Vue, a member of the local Hmong community who was born in a refugee camp, thanked supervisors for their proclamation.

Vue said the proclamations passed by the county and city commemorates care for the Hmong families in the area.

“My family like all of the other Hmong families here in Crescent City were war refugees,” Vue said. “We left a place of familiarity and home and treading to the unknown, coming to America. (For) your recognition of the diversity toward all of us, I want to thank you. It warms all of our hearts here in Crescent City.”

Documents

• World Refugee Day proclamation

• FPPC letter Re: Silicon Valley Mayors' China Trip

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