Oceanside Sanitation Commissioner Hemsley calls for fellow commissioners to resign

Tensions remain high in the sanitation district

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Oceanside’s Sanitation District No. 7 is struggling to move on from a string of controversies, as embattled Commissioner Ryan Hemsley called for the resignations of Commissioners John Mannone and Joe Samoles, alleging that the two had verbal altercations with employees.

At the July 7 special meeting, Hemsley made a motion to investigate Mannone and Samoles, but was rejected by a vote of two to one, with commissioners Patrick Doherty and Austin Graff opposing. Hemsley denied requests to comment from the Herald.

Hemsley defeated Dawn Veit in the September election by a count of 1,036 to 141, securing the final two years of outgoing commissioner Matthew Horowitz’s term. Horowitz stepped down from the position in January 2020, citing conflicts with his job. Hemsley had assumed Horowitz’s duties between January and the September 15 election.

Hemsley was accused of posting racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic Facebook posts that drew the ire of local officials State Sen. Todd Kaminsky and Assemblywoman Judy Griffin. Members of the sanitation district called for Hemsley to resign, though he has remained in office. Hemsley claimed in October of 2020 that the posts in question were doctored to hurt him after the contentious election.

The district brought Valley Stream-based Chandler Law Firm to conduct a probe recently, but Hemsley refused to respond to the firm’s attempts to contact him after the sanitation district’s insurance company declined to cover his legal fees. A representative of the firm, La Wanda Williams-Israel, recommended that a code of conduct be created to avoid similar situations in the future.

Hemsley’s calls for Mannone and Samoles’ resignations come just over a month after members of the sanitation district expressed their desire to move on from the affair in the aftermath of the unsuccessful probe into Hemsley’s Facebook posts. With neither side backing down, it appears the district will have to settle for updating policies and otherwise move on.

“I have worked extremely hard to eliminate any vestige of political corruption at our district over the last six years,” Mannone said to the Herald. “I am a strong believer in the marketplace of ideas, and that we should defend everyone’s right to express their viewpoints.”

“Accordingly, I have urged my board to fully investigate the matter, because any attempt to suppress legitimate speech is an act against all of us and only leads to an environment of fear and repression,” Mannone continued.

Mannone has proposed new rules meant to protect employees of the department against political discrimination. Those new rules and regulations will be introduced at the department’s next meeting on August 5. This comes after Commissioner Austin Graff signaled the sanitation district’s intention to create a new code of conduct in its employee handbook in June.

“Sadly for Mr. Hemsley, he has broken bread with some of the most corrupt people in the community,” Mannone claimed. “It appears that Mr. Hemsley wishes to undermine reform by attacking the person who has been the champion for political reform in Oceanside. Nevertheless, I will not join him in his effort to shut down any dissent in my community.”