‘Eager to participate’

West Covina City Council met last night, and among the items on the agenda was a request by Councilman Steve Herfert to discuss Mayor Roger Hernandez’s recent inquiry about being quoted in city press releases.

As Councilwoman Shelley Sanderson explained it, this was not intended to be an attack or “gotcha Roger” moment. It was just an attempt to clarify the city’s policy, she said. She added that the reason Hernandez had not been included in any of the recent press releases was because there have not been any grand openings of businesses since he’s been mayor, and all of the times former Mayor Sherri Lane had been quoted was on grand opening stories.

Here’s the email exchange between Hernandez and Freeland about the issue:

From: Mayor Roger Hernndez
Sent: Friday, April 17, 2009 5:41 PM
To: Chris Freeland
Cc: Mike Touhey; Shelley Sanderson; Sherri Lane; Andrew Pasmant; Sandy Galvez; Thomas Bachman
Subject: Re: Press Releases

Chris,

Thank you for your quick response and research. I may not have been clear when conversing with you and inquiring about the inclusion of a Mayor’s quotes in press releases. My request was not that the Mayor be quoted in every press release. Rather, my request was to be informed as to whether it is practice to refrain from including a quote from the Mayor in ANY press release issued by the City. It seemed odd that after several months as Mayor, I had not been asked to contribute quotes and have, indeed, not been quoted in a single press release since the commencement of my term. I do recall that previous Mayors had been quoted. As I shared with you, I am not seeking to be treated better or be given any privileges not afforded to others. I sincerely hope you did not leave with that impression. I only want to be treated equally, and certainly no worse. However, thank you for answering my question and confirming that the Mayor is quoted in, at least, some press releases. I think it is best to continue that practice, and for staff to continue to use their judgment in determining when quotes are appropriate. As spokesman for the City, you can understand that I am eager to participate in the same way that other Mayors have done in the past. I do look forward to assisting the City in the preparation of future press releases. Please let me know how and when I can assist.

Sincerely,

RH

Roger Hernndez
Mayor
City of West Covina

________________________________
From: Chris Freeland
To: Mayor Roger Hernndez
Cc: Mike Touhey; Shelley Sanderson; Sherri Lane; Andrew Pasmant; Sandy Galvez; Thomas Bachman
Sent: Wed Apr 15 18:13:09 2009
Subject: Press Releases

Dear Mayor Hernandez,

The other day you requested that City staff include quotes from you in each of the press releases that are generated by the City. As I mentioned to you, past practice has been to include quotes from the Mayor in some, but not all the press releases. For example press releases that promoted a grand opening included a quote and other significant programs and projects had a quote from the Mayor. We have not historically included a quote from the Mayor in every press release that is generated, for example the canceling of an event, invite to attend certain City activities, etc. After further discussions, to include a quote from the Mayor in every press release would be a change in the past practice that would be something for the City Council to review for the possible development of a clear policy for City staff to follow.

Chris Freeland

Deputy City Manager
City of West Covina

1444 W Garvey Ave South, West Covina, CA 91790
(626) 939-8402 direct | (626) 939-8406 fax

www.westcovina.org