Adams Calls Appointment a 'Setup'

Councilman Tom Adams got what he wished for, and then he didn't.

Adams had pushed for a caretaker to be appointed to Councilman Clarence Shaw's seat when the council deadlocked on a vote earlier this month, but he firmly opposed the man the council ultimately chose for the job. Larry Spicer, the vice chair of the city's planning commission, .

"Absolutely not," Adams said in announcing his vote. "I think this has been a setup for quite some time and I just think it's wrong."

Mayor Mary Ann Lutz shot back: "I don’t know how it could be a setup, Mr. Adams--you're the one who brought the item before us."

Adams had placed the topic of replacing Shaw on the agenda after the idea had been voted down 3-1 at the last council meeting. At Tuesday's meeting, Adams made a motion to have former Monrovia Mayor Bob Bartlett fill Shaw's seat. The motion was not seconded.

In an interview, Adams said that he had nothing personal against Spicer--he just wanted an "independent voice" to join the body.

"I think I had hoped that we would get someone a little more independent than the candidate who was selected," Adams said. "I think there was a big push for quite some time now to get Mr. Spicer on the council."

Adams said Spicer has too many ties to sitting council members. He questioned whether Spicer would have the same independent streak that he said Shaw has.

"I think you’ll probably see a voting pattern that will be aligned less independently than Mr. Shaw has been in the past," Adams said.

Lutz said in an interview that she was "baffled" by Adams' opposition to Spicer, reiterating that the whole replacement vote was his idea.

"I still don’t understand why he thinks this is a setup," Lutz said. "This whole thing came about by a motion that he made. How could this be a setup by somebody else when he’s the one who brought it up?"

Spicer, a Monrovia Area Partnership graduate and former military colleague of Shaw's in the Army, earlier this week.

Shaw is serving a in Washington. He told City Manager Scott Ochoa that he'd prefer for his seat to remain vacant but named Spicer as his preferred replacement should the council decide to do otherwise.

Spicer addressed the council briefly Tuesday and said he'd be glad to accept the appointment.

"I’ll be more than happy to serve my city," Spicer said.

Lutz said the council chose the best candidate it was presented with and noted that she was partially swayed by Shaw's support of Spicer.

"I think we made the decision based on who would do the best job at the time," she said. "[Shaw's endorsement] does mean something to me."

City Attorney Craig Steele said he will have to do research to find out what happens to Spicer's seat on the planning commission. Spicer will be sworn in to the City Council at its next regular meeting.

Adams was at least pleased that the City Council will have a tie-breaking vote again.

"I think it’s a good day for Monrovia to have a full council again and I look forward to it," he said.