I am Joan Bennett, former American Canyon City Council Member. I publicly protest the decision of the Napa County Board of Supervisors’ (BOS) to snub our District 5 Supervisor Belia Ramos via their vote to deny her chairmanship of the 2022 BOS year. The BOS, led by Supervisor Dillon, to by pass the decades long tradition of honoring the rotation of Supervisors to Chair was successful in changing the way a chair is chosen from a just and fair rotation to a popularity contest of the five supervisors.
In December, Supervisor Dillion asked for the issue to be put on the December 17 agenda, where it was determined that the chair rotation was not a policy, but a tradition and could be changed. The fix was in. On Jan. 4 the BOS. Proposed by Dillion, elected Ryan Gregory as Chair for 2022. Does anyone really believe that this action was just “taken out of the blue?” What discussions between supervisors took place before this vote? It certainly seems a real likelihood that there were brown act violations leading up to this decision.
So, then the question needs to be asked, what did Supervisor Ramos do to provoke this change of tradition? Supervisor Dillon stated, when asked by a reporter, “there were extenuating circumstances.” Pressed further what those circumstances were, she said, “I don’t think I have the liberty to say.” This is code for, I dropped an accusatory bomb and I don’t have to be accountable to back up my smear. Just let it hang there, it’s enough.
It is no secret that Dillon and Ramos have not had the best of relationships. Supervisor Ramos is an independent, innovative, critical thinker who sometimes doesn’t walk in lock step with others. Some may not like it, but I think it is a good trait to have. Looking at issues from different perspectives is a healthy thing.
Needless to say, this decision by the BOS is also a slap at District 5. Can the BOS be trusted to be fair and just with American Canyon and other parts of the district in the future? Stay tuned.