On Tuesday, Antioch City councilmember Tamisha Torres-Walker blasted the school board and told them to stay in their lane.
Torres-Walkers comments came as she highlighted the city and AUSD standing committee has not met since Oct 2022 and there was no timetable as when the next meeting would be held.
Although not named, Torres-Walkers comments were directed at Antioch Unified School District Trustee Dr. Clyde Lewis who helped organized and held a community meeting about the city of Antioch. It was labeled as a “non-political forum” to better understand the needs of the city and set priorities for concerns.
Lewis confirmed Friday he was not running for political office in 2024 and didn’t see any issues with bringing the community together.
Torres-Walker said Tuesday that she encouraged the public to go to the school board and tell them to do community meetings about the school board.
The comments came during the City Council committee reports and communications:
“I just want to say myself and councilperson Ogorchock were appointed to the AUSD and City standing committee which our last meeting was 10/27/2022 with AUSD having yet to reach out to the city or respond to the city’s request for those standing committee meetings to resume. Trustee Mary Rocha and Trustee Lewis was appointed to that committee and we spent our time from 2020-22 with both Trustees spending the past four-years being more concerned about how this city’s governing body handles our business rather than being more concerned about academics and services for students in the District.
When we think about this standing committee where we are supposed to share ideas, public safety and what we can do to support each other when it comes to students and parents in the District and in the city, you had two trustees that sit on that committee, didn’t commit to come back, but spent the entire time worried about how we govern rather than how they govern and the concerns of students and parents.
It seems like some trustees are more concerned about how we govern as a city council then how they govern as a school board member. Maybe what we should start doing is start asking what people want to see improve at the school district level as councilmembers since school board members want to know what we can improve in our governance as city councilmembers.”
After a few more comments, she returned to the school board topic.
“Go to your school board meeting and tell them you would like them to do community meetings about the school board and stay out of the city council’s business.”
On Wednesday during its school board meeting, Trustee Dr. Clyde Lewis briefly addressed the comments.
“We held a community meeting about two weeks ago where we wanted to bring folks together and talk. This was not directed at anybody, the goal wasn’t to bash anybody. We made that very clear,” explained Lewis. “The goal was to have conversation around collective challenges that are impacting all of us.”
He continued by stating what happens is people have different ways of explaining things but there was not enough opportunities to come together and share experiences which is why people believe what they believe.
“If people are unhappy to bring the community together, then deal with it,” said Lewis.
On Friday, Lewis provided notes from the March 28 community meeting which he called a good turnout and good discussion.
The discussion revolved around public safety and the need for more police officers and addressing theft. They spoke about economic development which included the need for a city manager and find better ways to attract businesses. Other topics included homelessness. It is not yet determined if and when another session will be held.
Tidbits:
The Antioch City Council and Antioch School Board have had a contentious relationship over then years which included discussions over school facility use. Other issues included:
- Sept. 2021 – Emails from Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe to then school board Trustee Ellie Householder showed “manufactured outrage” after a student as detained during a fight in Aug 2021. Current school board trustee Antonio Hernandez also was participating in this. AUSD confirmed in a statement they never received any formal complaints.
- Feb. 2020 — a 16-year-old was shot and killed at Deer Valley HS after a basketball game. This prompted the call for more security and safety measures. Antioch Unified with the City voted to move forward with school resources officers. Only to have one of the first acts of the city council (under Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe) was to rescind the school resource officer grant. In an attempt to sway votes, Thorpe assisted protesters to the homes of multiple elected officials to utilize intimidation tactics.
- Nov 2017 — members of the Antioch City Council began interjecting themselves into the Charter School debate prior to approval of Rocketship located on Cavallo Road.
- Back in 2014, there was an attempt to collaborate regarding fights and after school crime at Deer Valley Plaza, however, it turned into finger pointing of who was to blame. Deer Valley Plaza has never recovered.
12 comments
Why would AUSD want to meet with a city council who tells them to stay in their lane? Torres-Walker is dumber than a box of rocks. Maybe the community should get together, share stores and realize the lies and nonsense of Torres-Walker, Lamar Thorpe and Monica Wilson are only meant to keep the city divided, not actually fix it.
Burk is right, this dates back to Deer Valley Plaza but also a little further back to the gas city shooting. I am sure the list could be 20 deep if one takes the time to look at the issues between both the school distirct and city council
Open mouth – insert foot. That has been Ms. Torres-Walker’s standard behavior in Antioch. Antioch voters, PLEASE have your brooms handy for future elections.
Help us Ron Bernal.
Antioch, a wonderful city where it’s not safe to use the public library, has City councilmembers with the I.Q. of walnuts, worried about meeting, you deserve what you get Antioch.
Stay in your lane? This comes from someone who thinks she can sway ” world politics” ! She be the boss.
And she will run for Mayor? She makes LaThorpe look good.
Ms.TorresWalker’s Behavior has been nothing but Childish from the very start and she seems to not have an End. So tired of dealing with her and her families abuse of Power and false sense of Entitlement!
Tamisha is full of it. Stay in the lane should be the motto going forward. Stick to Antioch stuff. Give up the ceasefire in the middle east lady. Stay in your lane and stick to Antioch. Not the middle east Not Richmond. And focus on Antioch.
Propose a resolution for council members to consider.
That Antioch become a drama free zone.
Some leaders listen then thin then respond.
There are some needing work when they do not get their way become angry at which point someone or thing must be blamed and must be punished. With time and wise council of third persons or professionals perhaps attitudes and interactions will improve.
Leaving Antioch was the best choice I’ve ever made.
How can anyone take what Torres-Walker says seriously. Stay in your lane? Really lady, everything you talk about has little to do with Antioch and you interject yourself into other issues. Such as Gaza and the middle east, richmond, board of supervisors and other nonsense. She needs to go Antioch.
Freedom of speech and assembly. This is basic first amendment stuff. If there is a politician afraid of the first amendment, rather than supporting and defending the constitution, that is a problem.
They need to focus on the decent into anarchy. There are too few police stretched too then, and cleaning up homeless camps is like sqeezing a balloon–it just bulges out somewhere else. My heart goes out to people who find themselves unhoused. I am sure there are a long list of reasons this is happening and different kinds of long term help needed. No one wants one of these messy trespasser camps on their property or their block, but I don’t see anyone finding a real solution. There are some small programs to help a few individuals, but not on the scale of the problem. So, property values will tend to drop. And, without crime suppression from law inforcement, it will be difficult at best to attract businesses.
These are the issues those who aspire to city council need to address.