Oceanside Transportation Manager Resigns
By Chris Tribbey, North County Times, Escondido, Calif.
Apr. 7–OCEANSIDE —- Transportation Manager Frank Watanabe resigned from his city post Thursday amid allegations by a councilwoman that he violated city rules and granted a developer special favors.
His resignation, which becomes effective April 20, comes one week after Councilwoman Esther Sanchez accused him and City Manager Steve Jepsen of allowing developer Loren Ritter to cut corners with his three-home development at 303 S. Barnwell St., a project that was shut down last month after soil tests revealed the dirt contained potentially harmful levels of a toxic substance.
The resignation comes one day after the council voted unanimously to go forward with an investigation into how dirt came to be “stockpiled” at the project, as well as other allegations that Ritter received special treatment from city employees, violating city codes.
A former city employee who worked closely with Watanabe told the North County Times he will cooperate with the investigation. He accused Watanabe of giving the developer permits after work had been completed, and said that Ritter had received variances for his project without the proper city approvals. The former employee did not mention Jepsen in his allegations.
Sanchez said last week that she had other Oceanside employees, current and former, willing to testify against Jepsen and Watanabe. Sanchez declined to comment Thursday.
Councilmen Rocky Chavez and Jack Feller praised the work of Watanabe and said that his resignation hurts the city, which already has more than 100 empty positions, including several other department heads.
“I think the last time Frank Watanabe addressed the council, there was universal praise for the work he’s done,” Chavez said. “I believe other council members put a lot of pressure on him (to resign).
“I wish him and his family the best of luck. He was a professional who did a lot of positive work with the community.”
Feller said Watanabe was forced out by Sanchez’s allegations, and the political climate at City Hall has made it hard for Watanabe and other employees to do their jobs.
“These are normal, everyday, hardworking people, and they’re being forced out … because they’re being torn from the inside out by council members who have an ax to grind,” Feller said, predicting Watanabe would “get a job wherever he wants.”
Watanabe wrote in his resignation letter to the City Council: “I truly appreciate the opportunity to work for this great city these past five years,” and that he’s leaving because “I believe it’s now time for me to move on in my professional career.” He did not address the allegations leveled by Sanchez. He has not returned calls from the media seeking reaction to the allegations.
“It’s going to leave a pretty big gap to fill,” Jepsen said Thursday. The city manager said Watanabe was a key Oceanside representative to the San Diego Regional Transportation Agency, was responsible for the city’s progress in its traffic signal enhancement program, and brought Oceanside’s neighborhood traffic program ahead “light years.”
Watanabe was also the city’s community development director, but Jepsen said those responsibilities will be handled by other employees, leaving Oceanside’s transportation issues as the big concern with Watanabe’s absence.
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