Indian Wells City Manager Chris Freeland Directs Former City Councilmember Not to Interact with City Clerk
INDIAN WELLS — City Manager Chris Freeland has directed City Councilmember Ty Peabody not to interact with City Clerk Angelica Avila following a situation in which Peabody allegedly attempted to get his paperwork for City Council processed. Read his letter here: https://ukenreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/City-Letter-to-Peabody-2024.pdf
Peabody, who is termed out of office this year, and Former City Councilmember Doug Hanson have sued the City of Indian Wells trying to get on the Nov. 5 ballot so each can seek a four-year term on the Council. Both men simultaneously filed paperwork for office on July 18. Both men have previously served two four-year terms and are not eligible to run because of the city’s term-limit ordinance.
A hearing on their lawsuit is set for Aug. 20 in Riverside.
In the meantime, “both men are causing all kinds of trouble at City Hall,” a City Hall source told Uken Report.
The impetus for their resolve to run appears to be Measure J, which limits members to a lifetime maximum of two four-year terms on the City Council.
Measure J was approved in March 2020 with about 61% of the voters in support. The court is deciding whether it applies retroactively.
During the November 2020 election, the City Clerk refused to accept nomination papers from those who had served two full terms on the council. Hanson sued in response, leading the Riverside Superior Court to rule under state law that Measure J did not apply to terms served before its passage.
Hanson’s name was on the ballot in 2020, with the same interpretation being applied in 2022.
However, city officials now say that appellate cases decided in 2023 have changed the dynamic.
They point to Cultiva La Salud v. State of California, which emphasized that charter cities such as Indian Wells are insulated from state regulation in municipal affairs like local term limits. A second case, Monell v. San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, “supports the application of Measure J’s term limit to all terms served during a person’s lifetime, regardless of when Measure J was adopted,” Indian Wells officials said, according to Patch.com.
That interpretation prompted City Clerk Avila to reject nomination bids for the November 2024 election for those with two four-year terms on their resume.
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