Colton Mayor replaces Councilman Woods with Councilman Toro on Railroad Subcommittee

On May 5, Colton Mayor Frank Navarro appointed Councilmember David Toro to the city’s Council Railroad Subcommittee, replacing Councilmember Jack Woods, who served for two years.

“This evening I am going to make a change to the Council Railroad Subcommittee. Currently, Councilmember Woods from the fifth district is serving on the subcommittee and today I am going to appoint Mr. David Toro in his stead,” said Navarro.

As the council began casting their vote as Woods was experiencing technical difficulties over the video conference call, City Manager advised the group to come back to the appointment item later in the meeting to give Woods an opportunity to express his sentiment regarding being removed from the subcommittee.

“It’s important that Mr. Toro serve that committee because a majority of the railroad project is in his district. Mr. Toro should be there to get all the information first-hand so he can answer any questions or concerns from his constituents, directly,” continued Navarro.

Moments later, the city’s information technology department successfully assisted Woods into regaining access back into the video conference call.

“I have been thinking about the subcommittee realignment. I’ve been serving in my position for over two years now. I do not see it a necessity in making a change at this time. If there is any information garnered at any committee meetings, any other council member can call any commissioner on that committee and ask for any information on what was discussed; that information will of course come back to city council anyway,” shared Woods.

Navarro reaffirmed Woods that the decision is not personal, but made so that Toro can better represent and answer questions from his constituents who live in the district where the project is taking place.

“With that in mind, I am not in favor of the move. In fact, I look at this as a similarity to the city council opposing me and placing a female resident on the planning commission and the objections that came from that were misleading; it’s not an appropriate move to make. I am not in agreement with the change,” concluded Woods.

Navarro assured the council that ultimately it is the mayor’s decision to align appointment to the subcommittee, as stated in the agreement.

“It’s not that I was approached by a councilmember, it’s the mayor’s decision. I definitely want Councilmember Toro to be on this committee as I stated before, because I want him to be there on the forefront so he is accessible to his constituency for the impacts that are going to be happening in his area,” Navarro said.

“That is the main thrust of my decision to replace you with him, so he can directly respond to his constituency immediately, instead of having to chase someone else down to garner the information. It’s nothing personal at all. Jack, thank you very much for serving on that committee the last two years,” concluded Navarro.

For more information, visit https://www.ci.colton.ca.us.