Another elected city leader in Stanislaus County faces official scrutiny, following accusations of improper conduct while in office.
Oakdale City Councilman Jarod Pitassi is the subject of a $40,000 abuse-of-power investigation commissioned by the city, though he denies any wrongdoing.
Results of the investigation in a few weeks could lead to a council decision on whether to discipline Pitassi in a public rebuke similar to those that recently embarrassed the mayors of both Patterson and Hughson.
Pitassi says he became a target because he refuses to fall in political lockstep with other council members and City Manager Jerry Ramar, whose job could be in jeopardy if a slate of conservative candidates succeeds in the Nov. 3 election, Pitassi says.
“They’re trying to make me look bad,” Pitassi told The Modesto Focus. “It’s part of the process. Punishment is the process.”
Among the list of allegations, the councilman, elected two years ago, used his position to obtain surveillance footage of a critic, tried to obtain police intel on a Pride event, and attempted to fix a parking ticket.
The allegations are outlined in correspondence between him, the city manager and other staff, in documents obtained by The Modesto Focus through a California Public Records Act request.
The councilman multiple times has gone around City Manager Ramar’s back to communicate with city staff members who felt intimidated by the contact, Ramar said.
“The city has the duty to take workplace complaints seriously and provide a workplace free from intimidation,” the city manager told the Oakdale council before its Oct. 19 vote launched the investigation.
Pitassi denies intimidating people. “I’m a guy who asks a lot of questions and maybe pushes harder than others,” Pitassi told The Modesto Focus, “but I have nothing to hide. I haven’t done anything maliciously or intentionally to create what (Ramar) is saying.
“I have a right as an official and as a human being to ask questions,” he continued. “A lot of this stems from when we get in the weeds and they don’t like that I’m asking questions, but if they had the answers, I wouldn’t have to go higher up.”
Is gateway arch an improper use of transportation money?
For example, Pitassi disagreed with the council’s Sept. 8 vote to spend $269,480 on a gateway arch welcoming motorists, which he views as a vanity project while other deteriorating Oakdale streets could use that money, he contends.
A week after the vote, Pitassi sent a written request to the Stanislaus Council of Governments – which apportions proceeds from taxpayer-approved Measure L to area cities – asking if an arch meets eligibility requirements for that money.
Measure L would cover $171,603 of the total amount.
In an Oct. 1 response, StanCOG Executive Director Amber Collins noted that Measure L funds must be used for transportation projects – while also citing language allowing “Community Enhancements, such as downtown streetscapes.”
Whether Oakdale is misusing the money may be looked at when StanCOG reviews projects or during an annual audit, Collins said.
Ramar viewed Pitassi’s inquiry as an affront to his position as city manager. “A (council) member who loses a vote does not get to reopen it by inviting the funding agency to pull the allocation,” Ramar said in a Sept. 30 note to council members.
On another occasion, Pitassi told city planning commissioners deliberating on an apartment proposal that approval would require the city to purchase a $2 million fire engine with a ladder high enough to reach upper levels, according to another Ramar letter.
The comment was meant to sabotage a project Pitassi did not like, Ramar alleged.
“I did not talk down to anyone or belittle them in any capacity, rather I showed respect and thanked them for the service they are providing to the city,” Pitassi said in a written response.
Alleged “pattern of interference”
In an Aug. 28 letter to the council, Ramar said Pitassi also:
- Instructed Ramar’s assistant to change wording in a city social media post.
- Asked the police chief “in a roundabout way” to get Pitassi’s parking citation dismissed.
- Demanded that Ramar instruct the chief to prosecute someone who had criticized Pitassi.
- Demanded that the city remove “hate speech” in a social media post disparaging Pitassi.
- Used his position to obtain surveillance footage of a critic following him at a local store.
- Used his position to open Greger Sports Park so his baseball team could practice.
- Demanded that police not hire a sergeant who Pitassi had challenged to fight.
- Belittled police with a chicken emoji in a group text.
- Asked a police lieutenant to gather intelligence about a Pride event in June 2026.
- Inferred that he wanted to assault Ramar.
Some allegations ‘comical,’ says Pitassi
Pitassi denied wrongdoing in each instance in the Aug. 28 letter.
For example, on the allegation that he obtained surveillance footage of a critic following him in a store, Pitassi says he did so at Ramar’s suggestion, to document the woman’s harassment.
The councilman said that since allegedly challenging the police sergeant to fight, they have gone duck hunting together, dined with mutual friends, and Pitassi coached the officer’s children in Little League.
Pitassi said the altercation happened long before he was elected.
“The fact (Ramar) brought it up 15 years later is kind of comical,” Pitassi said.
On the allegation related to Gregor Sports Park, Pitassi said he called a public works employee to open a new lock replacing one that had corroded, and all baseball coaches had access to the lock.
“It was not special treatment,” he said.
In a written response to Ramar, Pitassi said, “Your continued attacks and attempts to intimidate me, influence me (and) scare me need to stop immediately.”
While Pitassi maintains his innocence, he joined with other council members a 4-0 vote Oct. 19 approving the investigation (Councilman Rich Murdoch was absent).
Ramar had asked for $30,000 to hire a legal firm to do the probe. But the council bumped it another $10,000 when Councilman Jeff Kettering – a former Merced County probation chief and criminal justice instructor at Stanislaus State University in Turlock – suggested the lower amount might not be enough.
Pitassi voted “yes” because he could see that voting against the investigation would be fruitless, he said.
“They’re going to do what they’re going to do,” he said. “Let them do their little investigation. I won’t be removed from office or step down or be bullied.
Unrelated to the investigation, Pitassi two years ago was sued by a coworker who alleged that he exposed himself to her. The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, permanently ending the legal action and barring it from being refiled.
Timing of investigation before election questioned
Tuesday’s election could affect the balance of power on the Oakdale council, particularly if a self-described conservative slate composed of candidates Fred Smith, a former councilman, and Chris Chavez win two at-large seats.
Also running are incumbent Kayleigh Gilbert and challengers Mary Buchanan, Benjamin Amaral and Sal Hernandez. Only two of the six will be elected.
Mayor Cherilyn Bairos is running unopposed for reelection.
Oakdale is among the remaining few governing bodies that have not yet moved to district elections, where council members are chosen to represent distinct areas of a city.
The Oakdale City Council recently put a transition plan in motion and expects to run district elections in 2028.
In Waterford, Measure O on the current ballot asks voters to approve district elections in that city.
Also recently slapped with discipline from council colleagues were Mayors Michael Clauzel in Patterson and George Carr in Hughson. Both are running for reelection on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Clauzel was reprimanded by his council in early October for bullying behavior, escaping a more serious censure.
Carr was censured twice this year for lewd behavior toward employees.
Others making recent headlines include:
- Turlock mayoral candidate Kelley Coelho, who received a trespass admonishment from police after allegedly disrupting a stand-up comedy performance Oct. 25, the Turlock Journal reported.
- Stockton City Councilman Brando Villapudua was detained Wednesday while investigators served search warrants related to allegations that he does not live in the district he represents, Stocktonia reported.
- Jason Lee was stripped of his title as vice mayor of Stockton a couple of weeks ago “over his leadership role amid ongoing tensions at city hall,” CBS News reported.