On March 3, the Victorville City Council met at 6 p.m. and moved to take no action on their consideration of removal for Planning Commissioner Derek Marshall. The proposal was initially made at a city council meeting on Feb. 17 by current district 4 councilmember Bob Harriman. This action incited Victorville’s citizens to fill the council chambers and protest the perceived act of political retaliation.
At the Feb. 17 meeting, Harriman alleged Marshall’s choice to participate in a student walkout with Victorville High School students in protest of Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), on Feb. 6, while holding a publicly appointed office, demonstrated a “disregard for our local governance structure,” warranting consideration of his removal.
Subsequently, Marshall posted on his Instagram account stating that he had walked with the students as a show of solidarity.
In an interview with the Highlander, Marshall further explained that his decision to walk with the students was made as his right as a private citizen and addressed speculation of the call for his removal having been politically motivated.
Marshall claimed “Oh, 100% like this is purely political … the fact that the city council and members of the City Council were at another student protest just a few weeks before … And the fact that my political opponent would call for my removal from the planning commission … To me, it’s very clear that it’s political.”
At 5 p.m., prior to the meeting, Marshall and his endorsers, Adelanto Councilwoman Stevanna Evans, the Calif. Working Families Party, retired Adelanto police captain Ken Lutz and the Victorville nonpartisan civil action group Not Stepping Back, organized an event where they passed out public speaking cards to attendees and advocated on Marshall’s behalf.
Overall, thirty-two people spoke in public comment regarding the proposal to remove Marshall. They echoed sentiments of support for Marshall and condemned the council’s choice to consider his removal as blatant corruption and a violation of the First Amendment.
Victorville resident John Pinkerton, voicing his suspicions of political retaliation, requested Harriman recuse himself from the vote, stating, “Now we’ve got Derek Marshall being targeted to be removed from the planning commission … It looks to be a conflict of interest when someone has announced their candidacy to run against you.”
Then, fellow resident and veteran Chef Basil spoke directly to Harriman, blaming him for the political division within the city and appealing to him as a fellow veteran, stating, “Come on, Harriman, me and you fought for this man. We fought to give that man freedom of speech … I’m 72-years-old and I’m going to help them fight. And if I have to help them stop you, Bob, and anyone else on here, then I am going to do it.”
The public called for two considerations to be made before the council began their consideration: for the agenda item to be moved up from near the end of the meeting and for Harriman to recuse himself from the vote due to a conflict of interest.
Regardless, the council proceeded as normal, prompting the audience to interrupt the council as they reviewed other agenda items by shouting phrases such as “address your community,” and “We’re gonna get you, Bob.”
After multiple warnings were delivered to the attendees, Mayor Liz Becerra had the room cleared. Members of the audience waited in the lobby as Harriman expanded on his initial allegation.
Harriman stated that councilmembers undergo thorough training to ensure they conduct themselves in a manner consistent with city policy and their adopted code of ethics. Then, emphasizing that Marshall’s action was inconsistent with the council’s approach to governance, they acknowledged that Marshall had not undergone the same training in his position and didn’t have the same restrictions.
With these points considered, Harriman concluded, “I don’t believe it’s necessary at this time to remove Mr.Marshall from the planning commission but instead, communicate to him very clearly that his behavior was very inappropriate.”
After statements were given from the other members of the council, no action was taken to have Marshall removed.
Following the vote, The Highlander asked Harriman to provide a comment addressing allegations that his call to remove Marshall from his position was an act of political retaliation. Harriman responded, “He stood up there, and the city hall had to get locked down, and he should know better, okay. That’s just not responsible…it’s going to end up to be a positive, because we will change our policies and procedures manual now, so it would apply to commissioners and committee members also.”
In the lobby following the meeting, two teenage boys who had organized another anti-ICE walkout at a neighboring high school began a conversation with Becerra. They further questioned the council’s call to remove Marshall and the choice to not denounce ICE to which Becerra expressed that the council lacked the capacity to take a stance against ICE and further stated, “This helped him get so much more political push than he could have ever asked for.”
Before leaving to celebrate with his supporters, Marshall stated that he was excited to continue to represent Victorville and in a post to his Instagram wrote, “Democracy only works when the public shows up … Tonight proved that Victorville is paying attention.”
