Tracy’s City Council Remains Tight-Lipped in Bijal Patel Cover-up

In a classic case where the cover-up is worse than the crime itself, Councilmembers Evans, Davis, and Bedolla remain steadfast in their support of embattled City Attorney Bijal Patel. 

Or Ex-Tracy City Attorney as we see it...



In the first public hearing since their closed session meeting regarding Bijal Patel’s suspension by The State Bar of California, a clear breach of her Employment Agreement with the City of Tracy, the majority three chose to ignore calls from the community to explain their inaction against Patel. The taxpayers of Tracy are being wronged.

The lack of transparency behind why there was no action taken against Bijal Patel by Councilmembers Evans, Davis and Bedolla is the worst display of unethical behavior by councilmembers that our city has seen in years.

Their silence speaks volumes and sends a clear message that these three don’t believe they owe anything to taxpayers. It’s reminiscent of Sacramento where the majority Dems do as they please, taxpayers be damned. But this is a precarious stance taken by the majority three, as there are implications to Bijal Patel’s failure to renew her licensure with the state. 

The most serious offense is Patel breaking California law by practicing with a suspended license during the month of July. The facts are clear: 

1.) Patel was “not eligible to practice law in California” on July 1st, 2023, 

2.) Patel participated in the July 5th Closed Session and Special Meetings as the Tracy City Attorney. 

This is illegal and not something the city can just dismiss. Patel knew that her license had been suspended, as she failed to renew her licensure by February 2023, yet she sat in meetings as the Tracy City Attorney and provided legal counseling to the city council. As far as the public is aware, Patel did not communicate this with anyone in the city. This action alone should justify some action by the city council. But not with this bunch. (BTW – didn’t Michael Rogers get run out of town for playing favoritism?)

On a city level, the majority three’s blatant disregard for the violation of terms in Bijal Patel’s Employment Agreement with the city is dangerous. 

We covered this matter in one of our previous posts (read more about that here). From our perspective, Bijal Patel is no longer Tracy’s City Attorney, as her contract terminated the moment (the word used in the employment contract is “immediately”) she was suspended by the State Bar of California. Why the three are turning a blind eye to what everyone can read with their own eyes is politicking at its worst. Are all contracts with the City of Tracy irrelevant or subject to political whim? The three must be held publicly accountable for their actions.

She was hired as an attorney, she was suspended as an attorney, but never told the city about being ineligible to practicing law. How can the city trust her in the future? 

Councilmembers Evans, Davis, and Bedolla have gone around town claiming the moral high road, while at the same time trashing anyone who is against their political agenda. It’s clear that Bijal Patel is a key part if not the central part of that agenda. Afterall, they handed the keys to the city over to her by amending her scope of authority earlier this year. But things are different now. This unfinished episode with Patel reveals that these three lack the ethics and character they’ve been claiming. Instead, it is all about grabbing power.

By the way, Bijal Patel was nowhere to be seen at last Tuesday night’s public hearing. It’s an interesting turn of events from a City Attorney fighting to get rehired. More on this to come.