I attended my first SLO city Personnel Board meeting on Aug. 14 at 9 a.m. because I wanted to present my comments regarding a censure for Mayor Erica Stewart. I am very glad I attended, but I left extremely disappointed. The meeting was a clear example of a chairperson dominating and pushing his opinion on the entire board. From the beginning, he constantly defended and made excuses for Stewart’s behavior. He did not appear to consider how his actions or those of the board reflect on the entire city government.
A newly sworn in member, Chintan Desai via Zoom from New Jersey, gave us an opportunity to hear the full oath taken by City Council and advisory group members. It clearly listed following all city rules, policies, and regulations. When discussion turned to the board’s recommendation that a censure hearing before the council was unwarranted, he clearly stated that he had read all the rules, regulations, and evidence provided regarding Mayor Stewart and saw clear evidence to vote to recommend a censure hearing to the council.
Board member Patricia Ponce went over the clear evidence she had found in the report and information that aligned with Chintan Desai’s assessment. Mayor Stewart chose to ignore the warning letter from the grand jury by sharing the confidential draft with a staff member from Cal Poly, and then she tried to cover it up. This was very clear. She intentionally violated the city’s code of ethics and the state’s penal code.
Two other members spoke more about her not meaning harm, but the chairman seemed to ignore the fact that she violated both of these codes she swore to uphold because she didn’t intend to break the law. (How does that make sense?) He tried to give us a new, flowery meaning of the word “intentional.” I felt like he was a lawyer trying to confuse the jury. As I see it, she made an intentional decision to forward a confidential draft that she did not have permission to share. Erica Stewart is an educator at Cal Poly. If she administered a test to her students and a couple of them cheated (unintentionally), would she not reprimand them? If I unintentionally violated a traffic law, would the city let me off? But the roll call vote taken by the clerk was three in favor of no censure, and two against.
Sharon Roberts
San Luis Obispo
This article appears in Aug 20-27, 2026.
Yeah, the Chair was super sleezy. He even compared the Mayor’s leak of the confidential Grand Jury leak as no more significant than “littering.” To him, the confidential Grand Jury report was merely a piece of trash that one can illegally leak/liter.
I participated in that meeting on my lunch break via Zoom. After listening to the sleezy Chair speak, I had to take a shower when I got home just to feel clean. The whole thing was a joke and already fixed. The Mayor and SLO City administration are an embarrassment. We look as corrupt as New Jersey
It’s laughable to hear several SLO county locals that seem hell-bent on censuring a Mayor for leaking an inconsequential yet confidential document to a Cal Poly staff member, whilst we all are living through the middle of an era where democracy is seriously threatened on a national level. Where are your priorities?