Brouhaha at Ocean Beach Town Council, President Asked to Resign, at least One Member Resigned in Protest

There is a serious brouhaha going on with the Ocean Beach Town Council these days. For unknown reasons, Mark Winkie, the president and a board member for 5 years, was asked to resign on July 6.

At least one other board member has resigned in protest. And former board members and others in the community are demanding that the current board explain why Winkie was asked to resign or offer an apology, or both. There’s also allegations the board did not follow its own by-laws.

On the OBTC facebook page, the board stated it “will consider a response and the community can expect that from us in the coming days” as it relates to issues raised by Susan Winkie’s public comment, Mark’s spouse. Here is Susan Winkie’s public comment:

Statement Regarding the Resignation of Mark Winkie, President, OBTC

Ocean Beach Town Council
July 27, 2021

On July 6th Mark Winkie received a letter from this board and was asked to resign as President of the Town Council. The membership of the Town Council deserves to know the way this situation was handled and have it become part of the public record.

Just 7 hours before Mark received the letter asking him to resign, he sent a letter himself to the entire board. In this letter he took responsibility for his personal actions outside of the Town Council and wanted to reach out and address any concerns. In addition, he offered a vision for the future and re-committed to the issues he is passionate about in Ocean Beach. Lastly, and importantly, he said he would be contacting every board member individually to have an open and transparent conversation to ensure the Town Council could move forward effectively and with confidence.

He never had the opportunity to talk to anyone because less than 7 hours later he was asked to step down. Note that two legacy members of the current board never had the opportunity to weigh in on this letter. Another board member felt coerced to sign quickly, and has since resigned and an additional board member refused to sign and also resigned.

The Ocean Beach Town Council has a very specific set of by-laws that includes guidance on asking someone to step down. These by-laws were not followed as intended and there was no due process.

The OBTC is one of the key advocacy groups in this community. It’s great to have pancake breakfasts and parades – but advocacy is critical for our town. Mark provided consistent leadership on the issues that really matter; the rise in homelessness, unchecked crime, Short Term Vacation Rentals and the erosion of our neighborhoods, the future of the pier, and a vendor ordinance to curtail the out-of-control situation at Veterans Plaza. He knows the problems intimately, has contacts throughout the city including partners in other Town Councils up and down the coast.

He will continue to be passionate about these issues and work as a citizen to make sure they get the attention necessary. However, the Town Council provided an elevated platform for these messages. And that has been taken from our community by this board and specifically a few people who advocated hard for his resignation.
The membership of the Ocean Beach Town Council deserves an apology from the board for the way this situation was handled, and / or rescind the letter, reset and move forward following the by-laws in an open and transparent manner.

Susan Winkie

Arlene Schreibman-Fink, a board member who resigned, stated this on the OBTC facebook:

Susan Has spoken for many of us who have felt manipulated and out voted. I am in total agreement with her narrative and factual account of events that led to the resignation of board members.

Another former board member said:

I was very disheartened and dismayed when I learned of the Board’s actions relative to the Council’s President. These actions seemed to have been an underhanded overreaction . As a former Board member, I am aware of how hard my original cohort worked to update and uphold the Council’s bylaws and standing rules, following the decades of precedent preceding us.

These bylaws and standing rules not only bestow credibility on the Council, but as a registered organization, the Council is required to adhere to them. These actions strike at the very credibility of the Council. I believe the community deserves having this issue brought to the forefront as a top agenda item at an upcoming public meeting, including all of the individuals affected who are willing to participate.

Mel Roark, a longtime resident and active community contributor, said she likewise, “would very much like to express my disappointment in the way that the Town Council has been to making choices for the whole community, without giving us and some new Board members the opportunity to have a full understanding of changes being made. And most importantly, not having a chance to weigh in on the changes. This shows a total disregard and a disrespect.”

Roark also stated on the OBTC facebook:

There are members of the Town Council Board that have agendas unrelated to community service. A Board member was targeted for something that was personal, and a narrative was put in place to imply that their leadership was questionable. The manner in which the situation was handled was very manipulative and does not serve the community well

Claudia Peters Jack, the unofficial mayor of OB said it was “scary” in “having this many board members step down …”

There is much the denizens of OB don’t know about all of this. Just as a reminder, the OBTC is a private organization run by a board of directors; it has an active membership which elects the board members and then the board members select the president and other officers. It holds two meetings a month, one private and one public. As a private organization, the OBTC is not beholden to the Brown Act and is not required to be wholly transparent to the public.

Meanwhile, the board has a lot of vacancies and is actively campaigning to fill them.

Yet, the Town Council is usually the most important group in the village of OB. Publicly, it represents the community and the community’s will and tries to resolve community problems. It also does a ton of fund raising, normally, for various efforts to help the needy.

But when a scandal like this puts a pause in the step of a mighty organization, then the fog must lift so the rest of us can see what happened and why. But not until then, will the OB Rag advertise for new members to the board.