When the Alameda City Council weighed on Wednesday whether to admonish Councilmember Trish Herrera Spencer for intoxication during a city-funded trip to Long Beach, Spencer was conspicuously absent.
During the League of California Cities conference in Long Beach, California last month, Spencer was found intoxicated on the sidewalk shortly after midnight on Oct. 18. Emergency medical staff transported her to a local hospital, where she was given further treatment before returning to Alameda that day.
Ultimately, the council did not hand down any real punishment to Spencer, who was defeated in her re-election bid on Nov. 5. But some councilmembers did criticize Spencer for breaching the city’s code of conduct.
“If this had been an employee of the city, we would be asking questions about that employee’s ability to perform their job, and whether it was becoming of their official capacity, as well,” councilmember Malia Vella said. “We have to hold ourselves to the same standards that we hold our employees.”
Spencer’s supporters were vocal during the public comment period, backing her statement that she was the victim of a crime and suffered a concussion as a result.
“I believe a grave rush to judgment has happened, for there isn’t a scintilla of evidence such as a blood-alcohol test result,” Alameda resident Margaret Hall said. “I believe with all my heart that Trish was maliciously roofied.”
Some supporters like Tod Hickman went as far as to allege the council manufactured the incident to remove Spencer from office, calling it a “setup” and the “most disgusting, ridiculous thing” that he’s ever seen.
Vella then shared that inquiries by the city revealed that conference attendees witnessed Spencer drinking in excess on Wednesday, Oct. 17. These inquiries, she said, confirmed the observations made by Long Beach law enforcement and medical staff that Spencer was intoxicated. In addition, no police report had been filed, and there was not any indication that a crime had occurred, according to law enforcement.
Vella further alleged that Spencer’s intoxication during the conference was part of a pattern. She said that she and other unnamed officials in Alameda had witnessed past incidents where Spencer drank alcohol to excess at public events that violated the city’s code of conduct for its elected officials.
“There’s also been a history of going to events, other conferences, where I’ve encountered her drinking,” Vella said. “It’s one thing to go to an event, it’s another thing to end up on the sidewalk outside.”
Councilmember Tracy Jensen and Vice Mayor Tom Daysog, however, did not support the resolution to admonish Spencer. Jensen said she was not interested in whether her fellow councilmember was drunk, or whether she had been the victim of a crime – she was primarily concerned about Spencer’s health. Daysog declined to reprimand Spencer, citing a lack of evidence.
With a split council and an absent Spencer, Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft made a final statement that urged Spencer to seek assistance for substance use and mental health in the wake of the Oct. 18 incident. She defended the council’s consideration to reprimand Spencer, saying it was necessary to emphasize the city’s code of conduct in the wake of the controversy.
“I knew this would be a difficult motion to bring forward. It was the right thing to,” Ashcraft said. “I believe that all the evidence does point to public intoxication, and it is also my first hope that our council member will recover and seek help.”