Bonfante Gardens has lost an appeal of the Santa Clara County
assessment of the value of its property.
Bonfante Gardens has lost an appeal of the Santa Clara County assessment of the value of its property. And that latest event demonstrates exactly why Mayor Al Pinheiro should recuse himself from all City Council discussions and votes involving Bonfante Gardens or resign from the Bonfante Gardens board.
To his credit, Pinheiro has decided to seek a ruling from the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission on whether or not his service on the Bonfante Gardens board of directors is a conflict of interest with his duties as a mayor and a City Council member.
The ruling is immaterial. What’s necessary is common sense and a higher sense of integrity.
Consider the Bonfante Gardens problem – the county tax ruling. After losing the appeal, the Bonfante Gardens board of directors – with Pinheiro as a sitting member – will decide whether to sue the county.
“Obviously there will be options, and we’ll have to decide which is the best option,” Pinheiro told reporter Peter Crowley.
The best option for whom? The best option for Gilroy, which keeps a portion of every property tax dollar generated within city boundaries, might be for the assessment to remain high.
The best option for Bonfante Gardens, obviously, is to get its property assessed at as low a value as possible.
There are simply too many cases where the city of Gilroy’s best interests and Bonfante Gardens’ could be in direct conflict. And the citizens of Gilroy should not be left wondering if the mayor is voting with his “city” hat on or his “theme park” hat on.
Because the FPPC looks primarily at financial conflicts of interest, it’s likely that the opinion will be narrow, echoing the comments made on the matter by City Attorney Linda Callon: Pinheiro does not need to recuse himself because he will not gain personally.
But Pinheiro is trying to serve two masters. Though he has the best interests of the community in mind, serving the city and Bonfante can’t be done be done without irreconcilable conflict.
Recuse or resign: Those are Pinheiro’s options.
