Was Tracy City Attorney Bijal Patel Paid While Her License Was Suspended?

Forgotten in the ongoing saga with the absent, embattled Tracy City Attorney Bijal Patel is whether she was paid her bloated salary during the month of July while suspended by the State Bar of California.

If Patel was indeed paid her salary, then either she hid the fact of her State Bar suspension from the city, or the city council chose to disregard the suspension, or both. In either scenario, the taxpayers of Tracy lose. 

The fact that Councilmembers Dan Evans, Eleassia Davis, and Mateo Bedolla continue to try and sweep the City Attorney debacle under the rug is an even bigger loser for taxpayers. The lack of transparency and ethics is alarming. 

This is backroom politics at its worst. 

Again, this issue is not as simple and dismissive as the majority three council members are making it to be. There are many unanswered questions that each are focused on their inaction. 

• Why isn’t the city council holding a public hearing for Bijal Patel’s actions of allowing her legal license to get suspended by the State Bar of California? 
• Why isn’t the city council investigating whether Bijal Patel broke the law while practicing law while her license was suspended? 
• Why didn’t the city council immediately terminate Bijal Patel once her license was suspended as stipulated in her Employment Agreement? 
• Did the city council authorize Bijal Patel to be paid her full salary and benefits while her license was suspended by the State Bar? 
• How much about Bijal Patel’s issues with the State Bar did the city council know and when?
• What is the justification for the city council to cover for Bijal Patel on this matter? 

One explanation for the city council’s inaction: the majority three’s handing over all power to the city attorney. 

Councilmembers Evans, Davis, and Bedolla handed the keys to the city over to Bijal Patel earlier this year. As things now stand in Tracy, all things must go through the City Attorney’s office. Even if the city council decided to retain outside legal counsel to investigate this matter, Bijal Patel will have to approve of the action. 

Make no mistake about it: Bijal Patel is the most powerful person at Tracy City Hall. 

It wasn’t complicated how she went about it either. The majority three, especially Davis and Evans, have been so obsessed about clipping the wings of our lame duck Mayor, that they were willing to do and sacrifice anything. Patel saw the opportunity to snag power and she took it. 

Patel orchestrated the ousting of Michael Rogers. Patel orchestrated the censoring of Nancy Young. Patel directed all community development matters to go through her office. Patel wrote the playbook to take out the mayor and all she asked in return was control over City Hall. The majority three gladly gave her the power when they amended her responsibilities. 

The collusion between the city attorney’s office and Councilmembers Evans, Davis, and Bedolla is the one transparent thing at City Hall; everything else is being hidden behind closed doors.