Tensions within the La Jolla Town Council came to a head at its April 10 meeting, culminating in President Mary Soriano removing Vice President Peter Wulff as a board trustee on allegations of bylaws violations.
Soon after the meeting, board Charmaine Haworth and Chas. Dye resigned, citing dissatisfaction with the group’s direction. Their resignations followed that of board member Seth Cohen, who quit April 7.
Soriano’s action was done without a board vote. Seven attended the meeting, including Wulff via Zoom. But because the board’s total number of trustees was less than the minimum of 13 described in the bylaws, there could be no vote, according to several sources.
The Town Council website now lists eight board .
The bylaws say a trustee’s term “can be terminated at the discretion of the president” for certain reasons: three or more unexcused absences from regular meetings in a 12-month period, not meeting regular hip qualifications or not paying yearly hip fees. The vice president has various other istrative duties.
The bylaws also give “the trustees” the power “to select and remove all officers and trustees of the LJTC.”
Soriano claimed Wulff had violated several bylaws by:
• Not properly fulfilling his duties and responsibilities
• Offering his opinion as a representative of the Town Council in a Fox-TV/5 interview about the controversial proposed 239-foot “Turquoise Tower” residential/commercial building in north Pacific Beach
• Requesting that a meeting in which he expressed a lack of confidence in Soriano’s leadership not be recorded. Soriano described it as an “executive meeting,” while Wulff claimed it was characterized as a “special meeting,” which he argued does not require a recording.
Asked for further clarification, Soriano on April 12 cited a bylaw stating “All trustees shall serve on at least one LJTC committee or t committee. Failure to do so shall be grounds for immediate termination. In addition, trustees are expected to volunteer for and participate in LJTC functions and events on a regular basis. All trustees must fulfill their stated commitment to work four hours a month, 48 hours per year. This can be accomplished by recruiting new , serving on committees or representing LJTC.”
In addition to the bylaws allegations, Soriano accused Wulff of bullying and condescension.
Wulff asked to respond to Soriano’s comments during the April 10 meeting and described her actions as “malicious.” But on her request, he was muted on Zoom for the rest of the meeting.
“Do not challenge me,” Soriano said. “We have enough emails to show your bullying and your condescending and undermining of my leadership. I don’t think we want to go there.”
“I am trying to be as polite as possible and as bylaw-correct,” she added. “So if you would please stand down, I am asking you, let’s not go back and forth. I have read the bylaws and I think I am within the bylaws.”
Wulff was elected in 2023 to return to the board after having served years earlier. He told the La Jolla Light that the April 10 proceedings were “a sad day for the Town Council” and argued that Soriano’s interpretation of the bylaws “may not be legally correct.”
“What happened is the capricious and unilateral behavior that really goes against the intent of any bylaws and certainly the ethos of a volunteer organization,” Wulff said.
Wulff said he has demonstrated his commitment to the group and that he was not out of line in the Fox 5 interview or the “executive” or “special” meeting. He described the latter as “legally dubious.”
“[Soriano’s] action I consider actually as a badge of honor, and I think something good will come of it, as her true nature has been shown publicly,” Wulff said. “And what she accuses of me is really a reflection, in my eyes, of her. And it’s for others to see.”
He said he hopes the April 10 proceedings will lead to “a holistic review on leadership.”
“The Town Council has had good standing in the past, decades ago,” he said. “The last five to seven years, not as much.”
The board chose Soriano as president in June for a one-year term and she led her first meeting in July.
Wulff said he had previously reached out to Soriano and the board’s executive committee to express doubts about her leadership.
“We try to do things to keep this council from … the drama that could be put out there because it would prevent us … from all the work that has been done since July,” Soriano told the Light.
She said she was unsure how the vice president vacancy will be filled, though the yearly board election is approaching.
With Haworth’s departure, another key role, secretary, is unfilled.
Haworth, who ed the Town Council last year, told the Light she hopes her resignation speaks for itself.
“I think my imagining was that [the council] would be a place of collaboration and transparency, and I think fun, too,” Haworth said. “I resigned because I felt the environment in the council did not reflect the kind of transparent and collaborative leadership that I believe is essential in a volunteer organization.
“I hope it gives people a moment to reflect and maybe ask some questions and hopefully to get back to a more team-centered leadership.”
Dye, who also was elected to the board last year, told the Light that he resigned the evening of April 11.
From his experience, he said, “the role of a trustee on the La Jolla Town Council is not evident” and that “trustees have little or no input into the priorities and activities of the public-facing Town Council.”
“It was a really difficult decision to reach,” Dye added. “The events of the last meeting really sealed it for me. And I think my contribution will be greater outside rather than inside.”
Soriano said that “at times it hasn’t been as collaborative because maybe our working class are sometimes not available, and I move fast. I move and I execute. That’s just kind of how I work. It might not gel with some people, but I get things done.”
After Soriano became president, she pledged to engage with the community to “make sure they are heard.”
The Town Council helped present a Feb. 13 town hall meeting about a cell tower proposed for the La Jolla Bike Path, as well as other recent proposals for 5G wireless communications facilities in town. The bike path proposal was later dropped amid local opposition.
The Town Council also helped organize an effort in which more than two dozen volunteers surveyed La Jolla streets Feb. 21-22 to catalog every pothole they could find to report on the city of San Diego’s Get It Done app.
And Soriano has been a leader in an effort to establish a La Jolla Fire Safe Council to boost local fire preparedness and prevention efforts.
Soriano said she hopes to “collaboratively move forward” with remaining Town Council board and any new trustees elected this summer.
Four community showed interest in ing the board and gave brief statements on their backgrounds at the April 10 meeting. To be eligible for a Town Council election, candidates must attend at least three meetings in the 12 months before the election.
Soriano said she aims to change attendance requirements and reduce the board size to seven to 13. Currently there can be up to 23 . She said she anticipates the changes will take place after the election.
“For our current and hopefully future trustees on this board, I would really hope that we can move forward,” she said.
Next meeting: The La Jolla Town Council next meets at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 8, at the La Jolla Recreation Center, 615 Prospect St. Learn more at lajollatowncouncil.org. ♦
