At Ontario City Hall, It’s 1 Against Many

Ontario, a burgeoning community on the western edge of San Bernardino County, boasts booming retail sales, one of the region’s fastest-growing job markets and an airport that is predicting a fivefold increase in passengers by 2025.

But beneath the economically sunny veneer, Ontario is the scene of an ugly political feud that has included a lengthy City Hall investigation and the censure of a councilwoman accused of berating city employees. The councilwoman says she is being illegally silenced for challenging the city’s power structure.

The conflict has so enveloped the city that some officials fear it will distract from Ontario’s efforts to become one of Southern California’s most vibrant communities.

At the center of the feud is City Councilwoman Deborah S. Acker, a former flight attendant who came to City Hall two years ago on a crusade to expose wrongdoing. She has been quick to vent her criticism of her colleagues in the local newspapers, often accusing them of operating in secrecy.

The hostilities date back several years, when she ran to unseat two of her council colleagues and, more recently, the mayor. But her efforts have also upset several city employees, including a few who have filed claims against the city, accusing her of verbally abusing them and causing stress-related physical ailments.

The controversy came to a head in January, when Acker’s four council colleagues voted to formally censure her, a legal rebuke that forbids her from speaking to any city employee except the city manager and his designees. Acker says she distrusts City Manager Gregory C. Devereaux and communicates with him mostly through hand-written memos.

Under the censure, Acker is also restricted to public areas of City Hall. The city has even established a special phone number to take voicemail queries from Acker.

“I’ve had hell to pay for being a dissident,” Acker, 44, said during a recent interview.

But her council colleagues charge that she brought this on herself by abusing employees and exposing the city to charges of fostering a hostile work environment. Three employees recently filed claims, each demanding $250,000 to settle their grievances against Acker and the city.

“She is not a professional,” said Mayor Gary C. Ovitt, a teacher who has often clashed with Acker. “She doesn’t work well with others.”Peace between Acker and her colleagues is not likely to emerge soon. Neither side takes responsibility for the feud, and each says the other started it.

Ontario merchants and residents say they would like to see their elected officials get beyond the feud and return to the mission of improving the city.

“We are just trying to decide what is really going on,” said Helena Johnson, Ontario Chamber of Commerce chairwoman. “Once we think we know what is happening, some other information comes up.”

With a growing manufacturing base, rows of auto dealerships and skyrocketing retail sales, primarily from the 1.7-million-square-foot Ontario Mills Mall, Ontario leads even larger cities in the region in sales tax revenue. A few years ago, the city annexed more than 8,200 undeveloped acres, where officials hope to build upscale homes, manicured parks, new schools and high-tech business centers.

Ontario International Airport is expected take a bigger chunk of the region’s air travelers in the next two decades, bringing the city increased sales tax revenue for parking and terminal concessions.

“Ontario is the strongest single economy in the Inland Empire,” said John Husing, an economist who writes a regular newsletter about the region. Husing predicts the city will continue to prosper despite the feuding. The conflict began before Acker joined the council in 2000. A former employee at the convention and visitors bureau, Acker ran for a council seat twice before winning. She lost both times to councilmen with whom she now shares the dais. Two years after taking office, Acker ran against Ovitt in an acrimonious campaign for the mayoral seat.

She also clashed with Devereaux before she took office. She filed a claim in early 2000 for damages against the city, accusing Devereaux of ordering city staffers to bar her from a Chamber of Commerce meeting. The city manager denies it.

Acker’s claim demanded $1 in damages and an apology from the city manager. She later dropped the claim, saying she wanted to put the incident behind her. In the midst of Acker’s mayoral campaign against Ovitt, Devereaux received two written complaints from City Hall employees, saying Acker had verbally abused them while angrily demanding information and documents.

Worried that Acker’s actions would open the city to a lawsuit, Devereaux hired a Palm Springs law firm to investigate the complaints. The investigation, by the firm of FitzGerald & Mule, included interviews with dozens of employees over seven months.

Acker and the investigators never met, because of scheduling conflicts and other problems. When the investigation was completed, the law firm presented several options, including censure.

In the inch-thick report that resulted from the investigation, one employee said Acker erupted in anger when the employee refused to turn over information about gifts the city had bought for visiting dignitaries. The employee quoted Acker as saying, “I am entitled to receive any information that I request. If you refuse to follow through with my requests I will write you up as being insubordinate.”

Another employee described Acker as belligerent toward the staff, comparing her to “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”

Acker acknowledged that she called an employee “insubordinate” but said she did not bully anyone. She said she has simply been persistent about getting all the documents and information she needs to scrutinize the business dealings in City Hall.

“The bottom line is: I was elected to be the public’s watchdog,” she said, noting that several Ontario citizens routinely defend her at council meetings.

Another employee said in the FitzGerald & Mule report that Acker entered the employee’s work area and looked through an “in” basket that contained confidential records.

Acker acknowledged looking at a report on an employee’s desk but said it was a public document.

“These guys want to cover up stuff, and I’m not going to let them,” she said.

For all of Acker’s efforts to review city documents, Ovitt and Mayor Pro Tem Paul S. Leon say she has yet to uncover any wrongdoing. Ovitt describes Acker as a “press hound” who enjoys seeing her name in the newspaper.

“All she does is nitpick,” he said. “She is really there to build her name recognition.”

Acker says she has uncovered wrongdoing. She complains, for example, that Devereaux holds weekly meetings with each council member to discuss the coming council agendas. Acker says she believes those meetings violate state law because they allow Devereaux to form a consensus before the public meeting. Devereaux said the meetings are legal because he simply provides information and never asks council members their opinions on city matters.

The censure has made it more difficult for Acker to collect information, but she said it has not deterred her.

“It’s really been hardball politics,” she said.