Why he spoke up: Henry August's view
I got a call this morning from Henry August, the El Monte resident who called out Mayor Ernie Gutierrez on May 6 for allegedly shouting out vulgarities, and groping his girlfriend while he was drunk during a city event.
August wanted to know what number I called when I tried to contact him for a column that ran this morning. In the column, I write that some sources believe August's intentions for going public with these accusations were all political.
I told him that previous attempts to contact him had failed. August said that was because I had the wrong phone number.
"So what do you want to know?" he asked me.
I wanted to know why he chose to handle the situation by speaking in public.
Speaking up at the council meeting wasn't his first choice, August told me. He said that he tried to contact people in City Hall.
"I went to City Hall. I tried to talk to the City Manager, and he was too busy. I then tried to talk to (Emily) Ishigaki, and she never returned my calls," he said.
After getting the run-around, August said that he spoke with the city attorney, who told him that it was his right to speak at the council meeting if he wanted to. After that, August got a call from Mussenden.
"He wanted to handle it in house," August said.
For August, he said that this issue was never political, and he could care less about what the Mayor does in his private life.
"The whole point was his actions. It has nothing to do with his personal life or with politics. It was just that the behavior was an embarrassment to the city," August said.
Now, August said he believes that the city is trying to sweep the whole incident under the rug.
"Just consider the whole so-called investigation they've got here. I was interviewed for 45 minutes, but the questions were things like, "How is the commission going," August said.
The only type of censure August would like to see is banning Ernie from drinking at city-sponsored events.
"If he goes to a city function, he is not allowed to drink," August said. "That's all they have to do."
I know Hank pretty good over the last 30 yrs,he could have said alot more about the hole lot of them but did'nt, all he wants is to see the Mayor step up to the plate like a man and sat I was wrong THAYS IT.
To set the record straight, I happen to know that Emily Ishigaki did return Henry's phone call and was upset about what he said. This phone conversation took place before the Council Meeting where he made his comments.
You know no such thing. You are just sticking up for Emily. Her long nose just grows and grows. Just like her fantasy world she lives in. Too bad that someone else could of occupied that seat. Norma who ran for city council would of been a great new voice and come in with fresh ideas for El Monte. They are all too old anyways. Let's get some new blood into El Monte. Clean house, Start fresh.
Start Fresh...don't be fooled by the old cronies. Ernie, Emily and Norma were heavily financed by the police dept. They wanted Norma to replace Wallach, not Emily. We should have replaced Emily with that young guy that ran. He and Wallach were the only ones not bought and paid for by the police officer's assoc.
Would someone get Crazy Eddie W. off the internet and give him his crazy pills back. This story is played-out just like him.