One would think that with a base salary of $241,020 (more about that here), Tracy’s City Attorney Bijal Patel would be a happy, high performing public employee. Yet, the public comment period at city council meetings increasingly is used by business community members to implore the city council to intervene on their behalf and instruct the belligerent city attorney to do her job and process simple agreements. Failing to process these simple agreements in a timely manner, according to these businesspeople, prevents them from opening businesses, costing them substantial amounts of money, or both. It creates an atmosphere that Tracy is anti-business.
The latest complaint comes from Nord Sordstrom, Director of Construction for DaVita Inc. For those that don’t know, DaVita specializes in dialysis and kidney care. Mr. Sordstrom spoke during the “Items from the Audience” segment at the council’s November 7th hearing.
We’re no experts in kidney disease or dialysis, but we think it’s safe to say that local residents suffering from these types of diseases are not benefiting from Patel’s incompetence. Can’t the city have some level of compassion and empathy for residents suffering from this debilitating disease? Shouldn’t we expect and demand more from our government?
But the city’s anti-business stance is richly illustrated by a major corporation’s attorney sending a letter that we’re certain highlights their legal rights and potential recourse, i.e. litigation. DaVita never should have need to send this letter.
DaVita’s complaint follows those issued by several local cannabis businesses, Prologis, Ellis, Tracy Hills, and others. The focal point of each complaint is the city attorney’s inability to process simple agreements. And these are just the businesses that have come public.
Who knows how many unsettled items are piled up on Patel’s desk?
This is likely a case of out-of-sight, out-of-mind, with Patel working from her tony home in San Ramon. Her office is already short staffed with one disgruntled Assistant City Attorney quitting after working a short time with Patel.
The Tracy City Attorney’s Office does at it pleases. The “Incompetent 3” have handed the keys to the city over to Patel, so she does whatever she wants. And, by all accounts, that means doing nothing.
It is time for her annual review. In the last year, the city council has received countless complaints about her conduct, as have the State Bar, the District Attorney, and Grand Jury. The State Bar suspended her license to practice law, but she continued practicing without a license until she was caught in the act. How will Evans, Davis, and Bedolla evaluate her performance? If they say everything is fine and award her a healthy raise then we know the situation is hopeless.
In contrast, Mayor Young and Councilman Arriola to their credit have tried to question Patel on why her office is bottlenecking the business community, amongst other issues, to which they’ve gotten this response: