By Tracy Martinez
It saddens me to have to do this…
For those of you who received the latest screed from my colleague, Councilmember Dan Quirk, I thought it was appropriate to personally set the record straight as I am a target of his most recent poison penmanship.
Dan Quirk has a tenuous relationship with the ability to tell the truth, a fact noted by the recent investigation into his offensive conduct toward city staff and residents by an independent investigator and third-party attorney who is a retired LAPD police commander.
Dan knows, as does the entire Council, why the all-important commitment to undergrounding utilities is taking longer than anyone expected, and like most things in life costing more than we all had hoped for as a result of escalating costs of labor, materials and other factors post-pandemic.
Nevertheless, the reasons for this have been on prominent display in reports to the Council and to the Undergrounding Project Advisory Committee and Undergrounding Finance Subcommittee.
We received a detailed presentation from staff at this week’s Council meeting. From his notes you would think he’s unaware of these things. Nothing could be further from the truth.
He was at least honest in his report that I voted with the rest of the Council to censure him for his boorish and bullying behavior and pattern of harassment toward our City Manager, members of her team, consultants and members of the public.
This was well-documented in the investigation he caused us to convene as a means of protecting our city and residents. Not only has he caused more than $150,000 in fees to be expended by the city trying to check his outlandish behavior, but he’s also cost the city money and time by interfering with contractors and staffers.
This is not how a Council is supposed to work. His approach is not the Del Mar way.
Councilmember Quirk is quick to blast away at people and organizations with unsubstantiated opinions that often border on reckless and reflect poorly on our city when he acts as if he’s speaking for Del Mar and not just himself.
He says the censure was for “asking questions.”
The 208-page investigative report with 817 pages of addenda told a different story.
Per the city staff’s recap, the investigation “revealed by a preponderance of the evidence that Councilmember Quirk engaged in patterns of behavior and conduct toward the City Manager, City staff and consultants that violated City Council Policies, City Council and City Manager Guiding Principles, the Del Mar Municipal Code and City Manager Ashley Jones’ contract/employment agreement.”
Nine of nine allegations against him were sustained.
(I have provided a link to the investigative report. Judge for yourself if this was for “asking questions.”)
Our residents trust that the city, led by an exceptional City Manager and staff, and the Council are making the best decisions for the long term of our city.
There is a reason four other Council members have rejected Quirk’s suggestion to hire our own crews and just forge ahead:
That is a nightmare scenario that would expose us to countless lawsuits and liability that for now rests in the hands of the competent professional contractors we intend to retain.
We are proceeding in a prudent manner. Dan Quirk’s “I’ll get the barn and we will put on a show” mentality is no way to responsibly run Public Works. His antics will cost the city additional hundreds of thousands of dollars in money and lost time.
Maybe he should ask himself: If four other people on the Council don’t agree with me, am I in the wrong? Maybe he should examine if he really wants to serve the public or just his own ego.
Tracy Martinez is a member of the Del Mar City Council. The opinions expressed are hers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the council.
