Modesto councilman-elect Gunderson stays mum about his two offices [The Modesto Bee, Calif.]

Nov. 29--Modesto councilman-elect John Gunderson didn't want to talk Monday about whether he was going to resign from the Stanislaus Union School District board.

"I don't know," he said Monday evening, adding that he wanted The Bee to stop asking him that question. "Don't call my house no more."

Gunderson did not return several calls to his home Monday and was contacted in the parking lot of Muncy Elementary School, after a special school board meeting held in the heart of Modesto's Prescott area.

He had said he would possibly resign after Monday's school board meeting. Nate Howard and another board member also refused to discuss Gunderson's situation and whether he had talked with the board about it.

Gunderson was elected Nov. 8 to represent council District 1, an area of northwest Modesto with 30,000-plus residents.

A swath of the city from Highway 99 to McHenry Avenue, and from Briggsmore Avenue to the north city limit, lies within the K-8 Stanislaus Union School District, which stretches north to the Stanislaus River.

It raises questions about whether Gunderson -- or any council member elected in the future -- should try to divide his or her loyalties between the city and a school district in Modesto.

Gunderson, a substitute teacher, has said he wants to keep his school board seat for the health benefits and has been open about his family's financial struggles. But there is concern his dual service would set a precedent for the governance of local public entities that share the same territory.

Gunderson had said he planned to discuss the legal issues with the city attorney Monday. He and three other victors in the recent City Council elections are slated to be sworn in at 5:30 this evening.

A California law prohibits elected officials from holding two offices that are deemed incompatible because they share the same territory, and if there is a significant clash of duties or loyalties.

Gunderson said in recent e-mails to The Bee that he called the state attorney general's office, but he was referred to the Fair Political Practices Commission.

"I feel it's up to the state, not The Bee or even the city of Modesto," Gunderson wrote in an e-mail Saturday.

It's unclear whether any state agency will decide to intervene in the Modesto issue. Any action to remove Gunderson from one of the governing boards would probably have to come from Stanislaus Union.

Many possible conflicts

The issue is that Gunderson's loyalties could be divided on any number of matters that come before the City Council -- a land-use proposal or traffic issue near one of the district's schools, the setting of urban growth boundaries, business development on Kiernan Avenue or the location of a north-county traffic corridor.

The District 1 election pitted Gunderson against another political novice, Philip Moyer. Gunderson captured the seat by getting 1,730 votes to Moyer's 1,447.

Gunderson spent less than $200 on his campaign. Moyer, who touted tea party values on a Web site, reported spending $1,540.

The new councilman will receive $2,000 a month in salary from the city; individual health insurance may cost anywhere from $5,500 to $8,400 a year in California.

Bee staff writer Ken Carlson can be reached at kcarlson@modbee.com or (209) 578-2321.

___

(c)2011 The Modesto Bee (Modesto, Calif.)

Visit The Modesto Bee (Modesto, Calif.) at www.modbee.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services