Locunity/Cloverdale, CA·City Council
The City Council is the legislative branch of the City of Cloverdale, comprised of five members each elected at-large for four-year terms. The Council sets policy direction, adopts the annual budget, appoints the City Manager and City Attorney, and also sits as the Board of Directors for the Community Development Agency. The Mayor and Vice Mayor are appointed annually by a majority vote of the Council at its first regular meeting in December.
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Recent updates from Governing Board
Councilmembers argued the governance manual calls for a neutral investigation before warning or censure, and Marquez abstained because none was done.
Why it matters: The process dispute decided how severe the sanction was and flagged risk of further grand jury or legal escalation.
Public commenters ranged from backing censure and staff protection to defending Morgenstern, objecting to cost and calling the dispute an embarrassment.
Why it matters: The testimony shaped the council's choice of a lighter sanction, with residents across all views urging the council to end costly infighting.
Councilmembers proposed revisiting personnel policies and the governance manual at a later regular meeting, and the mayor limited a speaker to agenda topics at the special meeting.
Why it matters: The proposed review could give the council de-escalation tools before similar disputes reach formal discipline.
Staff allege a pattern of hostile behavior by Morgenstern; she says the issue is bullying and retaliation, while the clerk and other officials deny her strip club account.
Why it matters: The dispute pits competing, mostly unsubstantiated accounts and touches the city clerk's reputation and staff retention, including the departure of an assistant city manager.
After hours of testimony, the council passed a motion to warn Councilmember Morgenstern rather than censure her, with one abstention citing the lack of an investigation.
Why it matters: A warning is a lighter discipline than censure, which requires a written finding, and the mayor explicitly cited the November 3 election in declining to censure.
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