SELMA – Accusations of criminal conduct, harassment and retaliation filled the Selma City Council chambers as the council voted to remove a Selma resident from the planning commission.
In an item City Attorney Neal Costanzo said was brought forward by him and him alone, Costanzo recommended to the council on March 17 that it pass a resolution removing Louis Franco from the Selma Planning Commission. The recommendation stemmed from what Costanzo said were false complaints made against him to the State Bar of California by Franco and a family member.
“Louis Franco doesn’t satisfy the qualifications for sitting on your planning commission,” Costanzo said. “He cannot be fair and impartial. He has a built in automatic conflict of interest. He’s prone to dishonesty and apparently prone to committing crimes. So I would urge you to remove him, and I would urge you to adopt the resolution as it’s been presented to you.”
After hearing a detailed report from Costanzo and a brief response from Franco, the Selma City Council approved the resolution and removed Franco from the planning commission on a 4-1 vote, with the only opposition coming from Councilmember John Trujillo…