Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Resident who volunteers on the Housing Commission alleges slander and harassment by the Mayor
Dear Mayor Himmelrich:
This Cease and Desist Order is to inform you that your harassing and intimidating actions against me have become unbearable. Such anti-social behavior is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. This letter is to demand that your harassment and intimidation cease and desist immediately. Should you continue to pursue these activities in violation of this Cease and Desist Order, I will not hesitate to pursue further legal action against you.
Mayor Himmelrich, you have been engaged in communications about me and Michelle Gray, the Chair of the Housing Commission, that are defamatory in nature, and have done so both publicly during City Council meetings and privately.
One of those defamatory communications was with a non-profit tenant organizing agency, Tenants Together, and could be a conversation that resembles a type of union busting.
On September 13, 2022, Mayor Himmelrich, you contacted an employee of Tenants Together, angry that they had written a letter of support for the proposed Client Advisory Board (CAB) that was submitted to the City Council regarding agenda item 7A for the September 13, 2022, City Council meeting.
Mayor Himmelrich, you asked the nonprofit tenant organizer if Housing Commission Chair Michelle Gray and I were "behind" the letter of support for the CAB and then began an angry litany by stating that Chair Gray and I bullied Commissioners, that I/we were trying to reduce the number of housing vouchers in Santa Monica, and that we were opposed to 100% affordable housing. None of those statements are true or in any way relevant to the letter of support for the CAB submitted by the Tenants Together organizer for agenda item 7A on September 13, 2022. Clearly, Mayor Himmelrich you are engaged in an act that is analogous to union busting and spreading false accusations you know are not true.
Mayor Himmelrich, during the City Council meeting on May 10, 2022, you made inflammatory and disparaging remarks that were slanderous in nature alluding to me and the Chair of the Housing Commission, Michelle Gray, regarding our positions and actions while on the Housing Commission.
You have done all of this, Mayor Himmelrich, in an attempt to silence the voices of some of the most vulnerable community members in the city even though you purport to support low-income households.
Please note that I have a right to remain free from your intimidating tactics, and I will take action to protect that right. Note that a copy of this letter and a record of its delivery will be stored. Note too that it is admissible as evidence in a court of law and will be used as such if need be in the future.
This Cease and Desist Order demands that you immediately discontinue, and do not at any point in the future, under any circumstances, make untrue, disparaging remarks about me as a person or as the Vice Chair or member of the Housing Commission.
This Cease and Desist Order demands that you immediately discontinue, and do not at any point in the future, under any circumstances, obstruct the organizing efforts of low income tenants.
I urge the City Attorney to ensure Mayor Himmelrich ceases her ongoing slanderous statements against me and other Housing Commission leadership.
Theresa Marasco
Editor's Note:
The above is the text of a letter submitted to the Mayor and City Council on October 11, 2022.
Reader Comments(1)
HarveyMushman writes:
Santa Monica is an absolute cesspool. Too much development and too many members of the Homeless Industrial Complex and their friends have turned The once wonderful Santa Monica into a sad joke....
10/13/2022, 8:37 am