Coachella City Manager Placed on Leave

Hours of Accolades Fail to Help Coachella City Manager Hold on to Job

COACHELLA — After more than four hours of public comments made in person, over Zoom and through email, which were overwhelmingly positive, Coachella City Manager Gabriel Martin was placed on administrative leave immediately.

After meeting in closed session for 5 1/2 hours, the City Council voted to 3-2 to place Martin on administrative leave immediately. There was no public explanation.

Mayor Pro Tem Denise Delgado, along with Councilmembers Frank Figueroa and Yadira Perez, voted placing the city manager on administrative leave immediately. Mayor Steven Hernandez and Councilmember Stephanie Virgen opposed the motion.

Shouts of “Shame on you” and “recall” greeted the mayor’s announcement.

After the mayor announced the decision, Martin thanked the city for the opportunity and said he had no regrets.

He was scheduled for a performance evaluation in six months.

Maritza Martinez, the city’s public works director, will serve as acting city manager. The council then plans to appoint Bill Pattison, a former city manager in Coachella, as acting city manager at its regular meeting next Wednesday, Jan. 22, according to Hernandez.

Before going into closed session — and hearing hours of accolades about the city manager — Hernandez said he thought Martin “deserves a raise.” His comment was greeted with applause.

“I’ve never seen this amount of support for a city manager in 19 years,” Hernandez told Uken Report. “Denise, Frak and their outside supporters don’t know this city.”

So, was the move by newly elected Councilor Yadira Perez, Frank Figueroa and Denise Delgado an effort to oust Martin in a hastily called special session on a Tuesday morning driven by politics or performance?

“I went to UCR with Dr. Martin,” Hernandez told Uken Report. “I worked with Dr. Martin at the County. He is my friend. I think that is the issue.” He said the Council has not yet even held an official meeting this year.

Delgado, Figueroa and Perez were threatened with recall efforts should they vote to terminate Martin.

Those speaking in support of Martin were his emotional wife and two children, an emotional Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez who said he was speaking as a constituent: former Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia; College of the Desert Area 1 Trustee Rubén AríAztlán Pérez; Coachella Valley Unified School Board Trustee Joey Acuña; and CVUSD Superintendent Dr. Frances Esparza. Martin also received support from the Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“Daddy, I love you and am really proud of you,” one of his children said during public comments.

In an emotional plea to the City Council during public comments, Economic Development Director Celina Jimenez, with tissue in hand, pleaded with the City Council not to fire Martin and instead work as one Team Coachella. She suggested the City Council have a strategic session in which Councilors could settle their differences. She spoke of hos Martin believed in her for the job and helped her during a steep learning curve.

His wife called on Councilors for “empathy and truth.”

“The residents in this community are paying attention,” Mayor Steven Hernandez said.

Martin was unanimously appointed in May 2021. He had been working works for the city as the economic development director. He lives in Coachella.

Martin grew up in Home Gardens, an unincorporated part of Riverside County near Corona, he said. Born in Argentina, he and his family moved to the United States when he was 2.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and business administration from the University of California, Riverside, a master’s in public administration from California State University, San Bernardino, and a doctorate in public administration from the University of La Verne.

 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.